Cycle 13 – Item 50

24 (Thu) February 2022

Corn Cheese

3.0

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with the Family

Corn Cheese is a Korean dish.  Canned sweet corn, initially sautéed in butter with minced onions and other vegetables, then topped with cheese – typically mozzarella – and broiled/baked/roasted until the cheese is melted.  Not a traditional dish, likely a derivation of Japanese corn itame (see generally 6.361 Corn Butter Itame).  Found as a side dish in Korean-style Japanese restaurants, or as an anju in Korean beer pubs.

My family loves corn cheese.  Whenever it’s served as part of a full-course spread (see for example 12.176 Chamchi Special), they inevitably request additional servings.

Not a fan myself.  I can’t recall the last time that I tried it.

I encountered a recipe for the dish on Maangchi’s website and gave it a shot.

Actually, I disregarded most of the recipe (e.g., squeezing the moisture out of the corn through a cheese cloth isn’t really necessary, also salting the vegetables to draw out the water, so long as everything is sautéed enough to allow the moisture to evaporate).  However, I did learn the point of adding mayonnaise to the mix, after the sauté and before the broil, which provides the dish with a critical internal creaminess.

The family was very happy with the outcome.

(See all HANSIK)