While corn cheese sounds like a dish off the kids’ menu, Koreans enjoy it as anju, or drinking food. (Think pulutan.) It arrives on your table in a sizzling skillet—a hot, bubbling mixture of corn, mayonnaise, and mozzarella cheese.
This recipe adds cream cheese for an extra-creamy dip. For a bonus toasty browned topping, finish your corn cheese in the broiler or with a blowtorch. Or skip it completely and dig right in with nacho chips (or a spoon). Hot, freshly cooked corn cheese waits for no one.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup canned corn kernels, drained
- ¼ cup cream cheese
- 1 ½ tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
- 1–1 ½ tbsp white sugar
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup grated mozzarella cheese, plus extra for topping
- chopped spring onions, for serving
- nacho chips, for serving
Cook corn: Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the canned corn. Cook until liquid has evaporated and corn is browned.
Add cheese: Reduce heat to medium-low and add cream cheese and mayonnaise. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until well combined. Add sugar, salt, and half of the mozzarella cheese. Stir again until cheese starts to form stretchy threads.
Cover: Top the corn mixture with extra mozzarella cheese. Cover the skillet with a lid or piece of aluminum foil. Let cook over low-medium heat until cheese topping is melted.
Serve: If you have a blowtorch, you can torch the cheese on top until golden brown. Garnish with spring onions and serve with chips, or enjoy on its own as a side dish.
