Apple, corn, sugar, spices, and everything nice
Been longing for bakwan jagung — that’s how Indonesians call corn fritters — and apple fritters for days. I never made either, but used to eat bakwan jagung at home… I don’t remember whether I’ve ever eaten apple fritters, but somehow just wanna try them, too. Perhaps to divert my attention from other pressing matter like, uhm, my thesis, essays, and exam.
There’s no scale in my kitchen so I just used the cup to measure the ingredients roughly. I used my mom’s bakwan jagung recipe, and a half of Ree‘s apple fritters recipe with some modifications. I ate so much fritters while cooking them, hahaha.
Bakwan Jagung
1 cob of corn (couldn’t find any in the supermarket so I used a cup of frozen sweet corn)
1 clove of garlic
1 spring onion
3 tablespoons wheat flour
1 tablespoon rice flour
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup of water
oil for deep-frying
Beat the egg. Mix with all ingredients (except the oil, of course). Add water as necessary, keep the batter thick enough to fry.
Heat the oil in deep-fryer or a pot (it’s better than using pan, the oil won’t jump and hurt you). Using Ree’s trick: drop a little drop of batter into the oil. If it sizzles immediately and rises to the top, the oil is ready; if it burns quickly, turn down the heat.
Scoop the batter with a teaspoon, plunge it into the oil. Flip it after a minute or if it’s already gold-ish. Remove and drain on a paper towel.
Best served warm. Eat by dunking it with sweet soy ketchup + chopped cabai rawit (the tiny chilli which is very spicy but yummy!). If it’s too spicy for you, some sweet and sour chilli sauce will be good as an alternative.
Apple Fritters
2 apples, diced (to save the nutrition and your time, don’t peel them)
1 cup self-raising flour (or 1 cup wheat flour + 1 teaspoon baking powder)
1 teaspoon rice flour (it’s not in Ree’s recipe but I add it to make it extra crispy)
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup water (milk will be better but I had none)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon melted butter
oil for deep-frying
In a mixing bowl, put the flours, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg, mix it with vanilla extract, butter, and water (or better, milk). Put the mixture in the mixing bowl. Mix it using spatula or tablespoon. Add the apple dices.
The next steps are the same with the bakwan jagung. Heat the oil in deep-fryer or a pot. Drop a little drop of batter into the oil. If it sizzles immediately and rises to the top, the oil is ready; if it burns quickly, turn down the heat.
Scoop the batter with a teaspoon (ice cream scoop will give better shape, but again, I had none), plunge it into the oil. Flip it after a minute or if it’s already brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel.
Dust generously with powdered sugar and more ground cinnamon. They may look ugly but the taste is heavenly!
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