16 Creative Ways To Use Canned Baby Corn

Just like its name states, baby corn is the adorable miniature young version of a standard corn on the cob. Canned baby corn comes in a couple of options, including cut, in pieces, or whole. Whatever form it takes, there are a lot of tasty and creative ways to use them in recipes that you might not have considered. Usually, they can be used interchangeably, but it will be specified if it's not the case.

Unlike corn on the cob, where you have to remove fibers and kernels, canned baby corn can be eaten in its entirety. You don't have to do any cleaning, chopping, or even cooking if you don't want to. Though the corn may be eaten straight from the can, you can also certainly fry, roast, or boil them to your liking. Canned baby corn has fiber and protein, while the sodium level may vary by the brand. These miniature vegetables are versatile, especially in salads, mixed with chili, or simply on their own.

Read more: 30 Absolute Best Snacks From Trader Joe's, Ranked

Chop Or Leave Canned Baby Corn Whole For Salad

You'll often find corn in salad, so you can use the same approach with the baby corn from your pantry. To prevent a soggy salad, be sure to drain the corn and remove the excess liquid. Leave it at that or rinse off the salty brine, but it can serve as another level of flavor. Pick your lettuce of choice and include other salad fillings such as bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, water chestnuts, peanuts, bean sprouts, tomatoes, or garlic.

There are numerous salad options to make depending on the ingredients you have on hand, what you're in the mood for, and how much time you have. Integrate baby corn into an Asian-inspired Napa cabbage salad or simply use it as a corn alternative when called for in a salad. Use the canned pieces of baby corn or do a rough chop so you're not left with considerable chunks in comparison to the rest of the items in the salad.

When In Doubt, Mix Canned Baby Corn In Stir Fry

The great thing about stir fries is that you can have fun with them. Of course, you can follow a recipe, but for the most part, they're pretty intuitive, allowing you to mix and match ingredients that you find in your fridge and freezer.

When you need a dose of inspiration, make a lotus root stir fry with baby corn, mushrooms, lotus root, and other vegetables. The hues of the garden will be picture-perfect with the incredible lotus root's circular shape and oval cutouts. This dish is loaded with flavor from the ginger, oyster sauce, and other ingredients, while it also has an unbeatable texture with ginkgo nuts and crisp veggies.

Try a beef and udon noodle stir fry if you desire meat and noodles for a filling feast. This is the ideal dish to make when you want to stay home, eat a good meal with canned baby corn, and watch a movie. As you can see, you can add canned baby corn to any stir fry.

Include It In Cornbread

Cornbread is a beloved dish often paired or dunked into something like meatloaf, chili, or meat stew. You can turn cornbread into a lower-carb version by using baby corn since it has under 5 grams of carbs and under 2 grams of sugar per 100 grams whereas regular corn has 21 grams of carbs and 4.5 grams of sugar per 100 grams. This can be a tempting choice when you're craving cornbread but want a lower-carb option.

There are many keto-friendly ways to make cornbread with baby corn, but the recipe doesn't always have to be low-carb. Simply add baby corn to your favorite cornbread recipe in place of creamed corn like in this cornbread casserole. If you're adding them for texture to replace the corn kernels, chop them into small pieces, but if you're replacing creamed corn, it's important to blend them so they integrate into the cornbread. Add mix-ins, such as chopped bacon or canned green chilies, to switch up the flavor as well as the texture.

Add Color To Lo Mein With Canned Baby Corn

Instead of getting pork lo mein from your local Chinese restaurant, make this mouthwatering meal at home with ingredients like marinated roasted pork, lo mein noodles, and vegetables such as Napa cabbage, carrots, snow peas, and baby corn. It's always nice to support small local businesses, but sometimes you want to enjoy a leisurely night at home or need to use up a few ingredients from last week's grocery haul.

This pork lo mein is ideal for making a satisfactory dinner that tastes even more delectable the next day. These leftovers are fantastic when you want a quick meal that you can heat up for the next couple of days after making it. Use cut baby corn or buy the whole version and then chop them in half. You don't want the pieces to be huge since the pork slices aren't too big themselves. This will take about two hours to prepare and cook since you have to factor in time for the pork to marinate.

Experiment With The Way You Eat Beef Ribs

When you conjure an image of what ribs look like, it usually involves barbecue sauce, but this braised coconut beef ribs recipe switches things up. Rather than the sweetness of BBQ sauce, this flavor profile takes a different direction with ingredients like coconut milk, limes, lemongrass, and chilis for a spicy and creamy spin. Add in vegetables, such as diced canned baby corn and bok choy, to give it a refreshing brightness.

Sear the meat to create a brown crust, and then it's time to create the creamy and fragrant coconut milk-based broth. This is a meal to venture into when you've got a bit of time since it needs to braise in the oven for 2 hours and 30 minutes. The baby corn and any vegetables get added last since they don't need as much time to cook, and you want them to retain a bit of texture. Try these ribs and baby corn with a refreshing herby cilantro lime rice or riced cauliflower for something lighter.

Make Magic With Canned Baby Corn And Moo Goo Gai Pan

For a flavorful dinner, make moo goo gai pan to get an utterly satisfying meal packed with strong umami flavors and incredible texture. The use of baby corn, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and snow peas make for a tantalizing mixture of texture. It's the perfect meal to make when you want to impress family or guests because it has all the makings of takeout but it's completely made at home, and it doesn't hurt to have dishes from various cuisines in your recipe arsenal.

Even though you need to cook the chicken breast, whip together a sauce, and cook vegetables, this dish takes around 40 minutes to make. It's still feasible to construct it on a weeknight after school or work. You can also make a larger batch to store leftovers in the refrigerator. Serve this with rice or noodles for a filling dish that will entice your senses.

Don't Forget Baby Corn Belongs In Soup Too

Baby corn can be a delicious complement to soups like shrimp soup with chopped baby corn, carrots, and other veggies you'd like to include. Soup is one of the most creative ways to use canned baby corn because there's no shortage of add-ins to include. For an all-veggie soup, make baby corn the star along with cabbage, mushrooms, and bell pepper. Place baby corn in a tom kha gai soup with a creamy coconut broth you can jazz up with additional vegetables to give it more color and make it more filling.

There are plenty of ways to integrate this canned good into your next soup or stew, whether you want to make it the main ingredient or a supplemental one. It goes well with vegetable, tomato, and creamy-based soups. Soup is warm, comforting, and excellent when you're cooking for a larger crowd because you can simply double up the ingredients.

Marinate Canned Baby Corn For More Flavor

There are loads of vegetable side dishes out there, and as great as nature is, sometimes you want additional seasoning. When this is the case, a tangy dressing marinade for canned vegetables makes for a flavorful dish that doesn't require 50 steps to create. Marinate your pick of canned foods in a vinaigrette or a salad dressing, whether you want peas, water chestnuts, carrots, artichoke hearts, or mushrooms. Four hours should do it, but if you want them to be extra scrumptious and have the time, prepare them the night before.

This is a quick way to get the most out of those canned goods in your pantry. As a tip, consider whether the vegetable itself has any flavoring. For example, sometimes artichoke hearts are already marinated so you want to keep this in mind in terms of mixing flavors. Pair canned baby corn with carrot and water chestnuts for a veggie-dominant side dish. If the vegetables have a high sodium level, think about rinsing the veggies before marinating them.

Serve Canned Baby Corn On A Grazing Platter

Grazing boards are super for parties, at-home movie marathons, and beyond. There's no wrong time to make it. It allows you to use random ingredients if you're trying to use up stuff from your pantry and fridge or keep it on theme with a holiday platter. Canned baby corn makes a wonderful bite-sized addition to the grazing platter. Drain the liquid and rinse it to give it a freshness. Pat them dry with a towel so they're not left too wet. Add them into a bowl and use toothpicks to pick them up.

Do something similar with canned mushrooms and artichokes, or use fresh veggies like cucumbers, broccoli, celery, or carrots for a crudité platter. Assemble a couple of dips to pair with your veggies, such as guacamole or hummus. Boost the flavor of store-bought hummus with toasted spices that people can spread onto crackers or dunk the vegetables in. Mix up the textures with crunchy nuts, crispy crackers, and soft cheese like brie or goat cheese. Keep the board completely savory or include sweet elements such as strawberries, blueberries, or fig jam.

Toss It In Ramen For A Veggie Upgrade

Ramen is savory and delicious with its soothing broth and soft noodles. Whether you order ramen for takeout, want to whip up an instant version at home, or feel like making it from scratch, canned baby corn can provide an additional vegetable component. Since ramen can be pretty hot, we recommend cutting the baby corn into smaller pieces so you aren't left biting into a whole piece of piping hot corn.

If you're looking for a quickie version of making this rich dish, you might want to experiment with canned soups for customized ramen, such as cream of mushroom, chicken, or onion. These can provide a simple upgrade in the overall taste without needing to simmer the broth for hours. For those craving a cozy bowl of ramen but don't have a local establishment in the vicinity, canned veggies and canned soup can turn instant ramen into a colorful and even more delectable dish.

Turn Canned Baby Corn Into Fritters

Make canned baby corn into a scrumptious appetizer that you can serve at a party or before the main course. Since they're ready to eat straight out of the can, you don't have to do any additional cooking to make fried baby corn fritters other than prepare the batter. But you could choose to blanch them in boiling water for a couple of minutes just to soften them a little. Once you're ready to use them, pat them dry with a fresh kitchen towel since these will be fried, and the batter needs to adhere to them.

Make a quick batter with flour and eggs, but you could easily do a tempura batter. Keep the batter simple, or add chili powder, garlic, or cumin. Dunk the baby corn into the batter and then deep fry until golden brown. Since they're quite small, they only take a few minutes to fry, and you'll want to keep your eye on them the whole time. The fried version still retains its shape, so they are recognizable as baby corn, but they have an added layer of crispy fried goodness. Cool them on a drying rack so excess oil can drip off without affecting the crispiness.

Give Them A Tangy Twist By Pickling Them

While baby corn does come in a can, it isn't pickled. If you'd like to give them a tangy twist, try pickling them in a mixture of water, sugar, vinegar, and salt. Pickling is a surprisingly simple process, and you can easily customize the taste. Pickle your vegetables with Old Bay seasoning, give them an oomph with grated garlic and ginger, make a classic version with pickling spices like bay leaf, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and coriander seeds, or give them a spicy zing with red chili pepper flakes.

Follow a basic pickling recipe and then integrate additional flavor components based on how you want the baby corn to taste or what you plan to pair them with. You could even grill them before pickling for smokier, caramelized notes. Add these to a salad or eat them straight out of the jar. It's a great way to add flavor to basic canned food.

Mix Up The Way You Think Of Fried Rice With Canned Baby Corn

Chop up canned baby corn to add to your next batch of fried rice for a balanced bite. If you want a higher corn ratio, you might want to add half regular canned corn and half baby corn. Just dice the baby corn or cut them into coins that can mix easily into the rice. You don't want full pieces of baby corn as they will appear enormous compared to the other small pieces of peas, carrots, and whatever else you'd like to include.

Add water chestnuts for a nice snap when you bite into it or sprinkle in edamame for a touch of green. Fried rice allows for a lot of versatility in the ingredients you mix into it and how you choose to flavor it. The sauce is usually a mix of soy sauce and sesame oil, but you could also include rice wine, red pepper flakes, or oyster sauce. Don't forget the eggs to complement the sliced baby corn. To round it all out, add in pork or chicken.

Use The Canned Veggies In An Egg-Based Dish

Now's the perfect time to add canned baby corn to your egg-based meals. Include baby corn in omelets, egg crepes, scrambled eggs, frittatas, or any egg dish. Try making scrambled eggs with cut-up canned baby corn that are about coin-sized slices. Combine the baby corn with any other vegetables or mix-ins, such as chopped bell peppers, chilis, or cheese. Scramble your eggs in a separate bowl, and then place all the ingredients together before frying it up.

The same goes for egg crepes, frittatas, and other egg dishes, like baked casseroles. For egg crepes, prepare them as usual, cook, and then set aside. Heat and season the baby corn with salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, or however you like to season corn. Mix them with onions, green peas, or tomatoes for your egg crepe, then fold over to eat. Frittatas, scrambled eggs, and omelets are even simpler since the eggs, baby corn, and anything else can get mixed together before cooking.

Pair Canned Baby Corn With Sweet And Sour Pork

Sweet and sour make a fabulous combination because it hits multiple parts of your taste buds. When you're in the mood for food that's tangy but sweet too, make crispy sweet and sour pork using marinated pork and a homemade sweet and sour sauce to create a balanced dish that will leave you craving more. The sauce is a mixture of pineapple juice, soy sauce, ketchup, and other ingredients that create a delightful complexity covering all the crannies of your fried pork.

The crispy fried pork and slightly softened stir-fried vegetables go well on top of a bed of white rice so the rice can absorb the sauce, but you can easily eat it as it is without a carbohydrate component. Not in the mood for pork? Easily swap it with other proteins like chicken, tofu, turkey, or shrimp.

Boil, Fry, Or Roast Baby Corn To Eat On Its Own

Canned foods are convenient and pretty affordable in comparison to buying fresh food, prepping, and cooking them yourself. Though not having to cook the baby corn is a timesaver, you can still do so in the spirit of finding creative ways for this ingredient.

If you're interested in boiling, frying, or roasting canned baby corn to eat as a side dish, drain the liquid and cook to your liking. There doesn't always have to be a rigmarole or lengthy recipe to follow. Boiling the corn allows it to become super soft and tender, whereas roasting it can alter the flavor by giving it a light char as well as slightly crisping it up. You can pick and choose the cooking method based on how you want to eat it and what you want to eat it with. Leave it as is, or season with salt, pepper, garlic, butter, you name it.

Read the original article on Tasting Table