Sweet Corn Kakiage with Green Tea Salt

Everyone loves a holiday. We used to travel a lot. We both had jobs that required us to travel frequently & we have been to most of the continents except for Africa and Antarctica.

When we moved to Sydney 12 years ago, Mr J took up a job with extensive travel. I quit my job so I could travel with him instead of spending time apart. Newly married, childless. It was a good time of our life.

We both love road trips. We have done many amazing ones around Malaysia along the coastline, visiting alh the small fishing villages, coastal towns and beautiful tropical beaches & islands.

Darwin to Alice Spring was mind boggling. Being in total isolation, deep in the red centre, without a care of the world. Amazed with God made nature.

Spending weeks driving around the south island of New Zealand was breath-taking. The beauty and serenity overwhelmed us.

Let's not forget the many many road trips all over continental Europe. The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland. Visiting all the small towns, away from the tourist hot spots, staying in charming guesthouses and cottages.

We didn't pause our travelling plans after Miss C was born. She was on her plane trip to Singapore when she was 2 months old and made her first flight to Europe when she was barely 2. However, the initerary of our holidays has changed. It's more about kids-friendly, kid clubs, resort type of holidays. Destinations have changed to Fiji, Hamilton Island, Gold Coast. All parents acknowledge that if the kids are happy, it's a good holiday for the parents.

We are glad that Miss C has picked the love of travelling from our genes from a young age. We couldn't wait for her to grow up a little and continue our adventures to discover the world.

When I first registered my blog back in December 2008, I named it after Anthony Bourdain because Miss C was 6 and we were ready to be on the road again. It was a blog intended to document our travels and unique food finds, staying true to the spirit of Bourdain's show: No Reservations.

A 5-month silence followed. I had an unplanned surgery. Many unforeseen events happened gradually. I slowly realized that I may not be able to travel the way we used to for a very long time.

I picked up the blog where I left it 5 months later and started to document my cooking journal in my kitchen instead of my travelling.

2 years later, I am still struggling but managing. Experimenting with short trips. We took a 1-hour flight for a 5-days holiday to Melbourne last week. Although I wasn't able to be on the road trips with them to Sovereign Hill and Phillip Island, I hope one day I can and will be do it again as a family.

Having a 8 years old child with us meant no fine dining on our agenda. The more casual tapas and Izakaya style of dining are the perfect alternatives. Movida Next Door and Izakaya Den are two places that we spent a great evening at.

This sweet corn kakiage is one of the many outstanding dishes we have tasted in Izakaya Den, which came  highly recommended by Shellie. The traditional kakiage is made with tempura batter but I have changed it to a more eggy, less floury batter with panko breadcrumbs to contrast it with the sweet corn texture.

It an extremely moreish dish and great party finger food with cocktails or beers.

Sweet Corn Kakiage with Green Tea Salt Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients

200 g cooked fresh corn kernel
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/8 cup flour
2 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs
Salt and black pepper
Oil for deep frying

Green Tea Salt:
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp matcha (green tea) powder

Method

1. Add corn kernels, eggs, flour and panko breadcrumbs in a medium bowl, mix well with a fork. Season with salt and black pepper.
2. Heat a deep fryer at 170C. Gently spoon a tbsp of the batter in the hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes, turning once, until it's cooked and lightly brown. Repeating until batter is finished.
3. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with green tea salt. 
4. To make green tea salt: Mix sea salt and green tea together.