Makes 32 small cakes
2 cups finely ground whole-grain white or yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 green onions, chopped
Kernels from 1 ear fresh sweet corn
½ jalapeño, or to taste, seeded and chopped
½ bird’s-eye or other Thai red chile, or to taste, seeded and chopped
Canola oil, for frying
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a second bowl or large liquid measuring cup, combine the egg and 1½ cups water. Stir until smooth. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients; add the green onion, corn, and chiles. The batter should be pourable, not stiff; you may need to add a little more water depending on the texture of the cornmeal. (If it’s fine, you might need to add more water.)
Heat a thin sheen of oil in a cast-iron skillet or large griddle over medium heat. Ladle 2 tablespoons of the batter onto the heated skillet. Repeat with additional batter, filling the pan without crowding.
Cook the cakes until the bottoms are a rich brown and bubbles form on the tops and along the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and brown the other side, an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Serve each batch immediately while you continue to fry up the remaining cakes, adding oil to the skillet as needed between batches.
This recipe was part of Tuesday Market’s 2017 Summer Chef Series
