Updated Corn Fritters, Crispier and Better

Is there any food that you loathe as a child, but grow to love? I have a lot. One of them is corn fritter. Growing up, corn fritter made by my mom's helper wasn't the best. While she is a great cook (she's still working for my mom until today, that makes it 16 years!), her corn fritter is always soggy, oily and whenever you eat them, it leaves this unpleasant oily film inside your mouth. Being the most loyal member of clean-your-plate club, it always perturbed when I had to leave this lumpy disk of doughy corn on my plate.

A decade later, I'm so far away from home. Yet, I crave the food that I used to hate. Sometimes, the homesickness is so strong, I even miss food that I've never had. Last year, the corn fritter came to me in my dream. No, I'm not being funny, it sure did. After calling my mom for the recipe, she just told me the ingredients, with no details of the measurement at all. So there I was in the kitchen, guessing how much each ingredient I need to make this corn fritter. The first try came out too familiar, soggy and oily. So I decide to put more corn in the mixture. While most people looooove the doughy fritter, I adore crispy fritter. And the fact that I cheated and used frozen corn paid off. The corn kernels stay crunchy, while the fresh corn kernels turn mushy.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups corn kernels 
• 150gr all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 100ml water
• Enough oil for deep frying
• Grind together: 4 red chilies, 5 shallots, 4 cloves garlic, salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients together and mix thoroughly. Heat the oil and deep fry by the tablespoon (as big or as small as you want). Fry until it's golden brown, drain on paper towel. Don't eat it right away or it'll burn the inside of your mouth. Believe me, I know.

It makes a great snack, or side dish. I could not stop eating them. This, unlike the doughy, greasy corn fritter of my childhood, is crispy.