Rainy afternoons call for ginataang mais, a Filipino porridge of young corn kernels and glutinous rice cooked in gata (coconut milk).
This recipe requires white and yellow corn for a mix of textures. White corn, the kind used in binatog, has a milder flavor and a softer bite. Yellow corn, sometimes labeled as sweet corn, has sweet and juicy kernels. In a pinch, you can swap them out for canned corn kernels.
While corn gets top billing in this dish, you want to give the rice attention, too. When shopping for malagkit, try to get long-grain glutinous rice, which keeps its shape better in porridges than short-grain. Or use a blend of malagkit and jasmine rice for a good mix of bite and chew.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 cobs native white corn, shucked
- 2 cobs yellow corn, shucked
- ½ cup malagkit (glutinous) rice, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup jasmine rice, rinsed and drained
- 4 cups water
- 3–4 cups coconut milk
- 1 cup coconut cream
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Prepare corn: Stand your corn stem side down on a chopping board. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice down, cutting as close to the cob as possible, to remove the corn kernels. Transfer kernels to a bowl.
Alternatively, you can do this with the corn laying flat: slice the kernels off one side first, lay the cob on the cut side to keep it stable, then work around the rest of the corn.
Repeat with remaining cobs until you have a bowl full of white and yellow corn kernels.
Cook porridge: Add corn kernels, malagkit rice, and jasmine rice to a deep pot or Dutch oven. Pour water and coconut milk into the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer. Cook rice, stirring occasionally to keep the bottom from scorching, until mixture has thickened, about 15–20 minutes.
Taste for doneness around the 15-minute mark. The rice grains should be tender; the corn should be a mix of chewy (white corn) and crunchy (yellow corn).
Finish and serve: Add coconut cream, sugar, and salt. Stir, taste, and adjust with more salt or sugar. Serve warm.
