The hardest part of preparing this recipe perhaps is to resist the temptation to use a canned ingredient, creamy style sweet corn.
I have to admit however, with a can of corn kernels and sliced pork, seriously, this dish can be cooked up in less than 5 minutes (so I might not be that anti-canned-food bias).
Forgoing that convenience, what I did was kernelling the plump, juicy corn off the cob and had them boiled in water. That way, really drew out much of the natural sweetness straight from the kernels, and yielded a stock sweet enough for making a sauce free of sugar.
Actually, the fresh corn kernels together with pork alone (imagine the juicy goodness tangle with the meaty mouth feel ) would have been a beautiful match already, but what makes this dish so special is the subtle creaminess from the silky egg strands.
I mean those tiny egg strands that hang in the sauce, made by a simple Chinese cooking technique often used in cooking creamy soup or creamy sauce, which can be easily done like this and this.
Although creamy, you don’t need to add milk or cream to the sauce. I know many mothers cook this for their kids because it’s not only healthy but also boneless, which is good for toddlers.
You may also found this in many small eateries, mostly fast food style, here in Hong Kong. They usually serve this with rice (粟米肉粒飯) as a one-dish meal. But there, just don’t ask them to get you a fresh ear of corn to cook, please!
- Ingredients
- 100g lean pork, cut into ~1/2 to 1 cm cubes
- 1 fresh sweet corn
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- corn starch paste (~1 1/2 tsp corn starch with 3 tsp water)
- 1 tsp thinly sliced spring (green) onions
- ~2 tsp cooking oil
- yields 1-2 servings
- Marinades for pork
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/4 tsp corn starch
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
Method
Add fish sauce, white pepper and 1 table spoon of beaten egg to pork, mixing well. Then add corn starch and sesame oil, mixing well again. Marinade for no less than 15 minutes.
Shuck the corn by removing the husk and pull off all thin silks. A damp towel shall help rub away the silk beautifully.
Rinse the corn under running tap water, and pat dry.
Cut kernels off the corn cob (this is the way I cut them, trying to preserve the kernels in better shape). I cut the top end to create a flat top where I ran the tip of a sharp knife into the kernels, and sliced them off crosswise using a sawing action (I usually do it two to three rows at a time), until all kernels were removed. Note: To grab the ear of corn firmly, wrap it with a towel, and protect your hands with gloves if necessary. While working down to the bottom, just flip the corn over and hold the core instead.
In a pan, bring corn kernels and a cup of water to a boil, then low heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Sauté garlic with oil in a pan or skillet over medium heat until lightly brown. Add in pork, stir-frying for about half to one minute.
Add corn with water (it is a stock now) into the pork, stirring well and bringing to a simmer.
Stir in corn starch mixture, a little at a time, into the skillet. You may adjust the consistency here by adding more water or more corn starch.
As soon as the sauce is thickened to your liking, turn heat to the lowest, gently lay remaining beaten egg in a thin layer over the top. A gentle action is desired as to avoid the egg sinking to the bottom too quickly and forming lumps. Then, quickly stir the beaten egg in swirls so as to create feather-like patterns.
Sprinkle in green onions, heat off. Dish up.
Enjoy!
- Category: Egg . Featured . Pork . Vegetable .
- 15 comments
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What a light and soothing dish for the summer, and a great way to use fresh corn abundant at farmers’ markets right now!
Great! At least you did not give in to convenience. I did so, recently. 🙁
The texture of fresh corn is so different from canned sweet corn.
This looks so delicious! I just want to pick up that spoon and dig right in…perfect comfort food. Great tip on cooking the egg, also.
I was reading an article the other day that mentioned HK people’s fondness for canned goods. I commend you for using fresh corn – I would’ve totally taken the shortcut and used canned! I admit I love spam, too. : )
I don’t think fresh sweet corn gets nearly enough attention. It’s one of my favorite summer foods. I’m glad to find a new way to use it!
I very possibly would just use canned sweet corn…find them pretty delicious 🙂
Your creamed corn sauce looks great!
I never had a dish like this…I like the idea of the creamy corn sauce and the pork sure brings more flavor to it…
Hope you are having an enjoyable week my dear 😀
“Stir in corn starch mixture, a little at a time, into the skillet. You may adjust the consistency here by adding more water or more corn starch”
What corn starch mixture? Are you adding more liquid to thicken before the egg?
I’ll be picking up some pork and corn to try this one- The local corn is just hitting its peak here.
@James J Elbrecht,
Missed out, excuse me! It is now included under ‘Ingredients’, you may not need to add all corn starch paste, just a little at a time until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
Thanks for clarifying!
I agree so much about canned/fresh corn. It’s so tempting, but the sweetness of fresh corn off the cob is just unrivalled… I always face this dilemma when making Chinese corn and eggdrop soup!
粟米肉粒飯 is my favourite childhood dish. I can have a big bowl of rice with the yummy sauce.
I made this today, but pan-fried pork loin chops and put the sauce on top. Was so tasty, thanks for the recipe!
@Rachel,
Am glad that you find this tasty too, thanks for sharing!
I made this the other day, and it was delicious! I replaced the pork with chinese sausage 腊肠. It was so sweet!
Can I just say what a great website this is! I am a Hong Konger but live abroad + am practically illterate in Chinese so this website is just for me! Keep up the good work!
it looks delicious!