KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — One of my favourite side dishes at Japanese restaurants is a masterpiece of fusion flavours.
Bacon, corn and butter.
The golden niblets, kissed with the sear of a quick sauté. A hit of salt from the cured pork. Rich — gloriously rich — butter to bind it altogether.
This is not a dish for anyone on a diet.
What makes it more Japanese is the presence of shoyu or Japanese soy sauce to season the dish. It’s a deeper, more complex savouriness than the straight salt of the bacon.
And since we are already playing with fusion flavours (bacon not being traditionally Japanese, of course; nor is butter, come to think of it), why not mix things up a smidgen further?
Instead of straightforward butter, try using ghee or clarified butter to really bring this dish (one of my Japanese friends tells me it’s called Bēkon Batā Tōmorokoshi, which is quite the mouthful) to the next level.
Bacon, corn, shoyu and (clarified) butter. Sounds more enticing already, doesn’t it?
BACON CORN WITH GHEE AND SHOYU
There are only four main ingredients here — bacon, corn, ghee and shoyu — but trust me, you still have some room to be playful. (Who says simplicity has to be boring?)
Begin with the bacon. You may use either streaky bacon or back bacon.
Streaky bacon is produced using pork belly and typically appears as thin strips with flavourful fat running along its length, hence the "streaks”. Back bacon is made from pork loin and is leaner.
Either is fine, or do as I do and use a bit of both to get both the bacon’s savoury character as well as some nice chew.
I’m less pedantic about corn. If I have fresh corn, slicing the kernels off each cob works. Otherwise even the canned variety works, provided it’s rinsed and drained properly.
Don’t neglect leftovers either: the already cooked kernels from boiled or grilled corn can speed up the sauté.
Bacon butter corn typically uses plain, unsalted butter. I prefer ghee or clarified butter. Considered by many to be "liquid gold”, ghee has a stronger, nuttier taste compared to ordinary butter.
Every bit of a flavour boost counts!
Use any type of shoyu or soy sauce you enjoy; I have played with umami-rich aged shoyu to the tangy taste of yuzu flavoured soy sauce. Each gives this dish a different dimension.
Perhaps that is the real lesson here: even the smallest tweak can produce surprising changes. Experiment and the results may delight you.
Ingredients
100g bacon, sliced into 1 inch pieces
200g corn kernels
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon ghee
1 tablespoon shoyu or soy sauce
A sprinkle of dried mixed herbs
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
Add the bacon to a large pan (deep enough to fit all the corn kernels later). Heat to medium high, allowing the bacon fat to render.
You only need a few minutes for the bacon to cook; once ready, transfer onto a plate lined with paper towels using a slotted spoon. Set aside.
Add the corn kernels to the rendered bacon fat in the pan. Sauté until fully cooked. (If you are using leftover kernels from boiled or grilled corn, you only need for the corn to warm up.)
Add the minced garlic and continue to sauté the corn. The kernels should get some nice colour now, golden brown in spots.
Turn off the heat. Add the ghee and shoyu or soy sauce. Stir until well combined. Season with dried mixed herbs and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
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