Creamy Korean Corn Cheese

We always get excited when we see a plate of sizzling hot creamy Korean corn cheese coming our way at our favourite Korean BBQ joint. The creamy-ness of the mayonnaise, with the sweetness of the corn and the salty-ness of the melted cheese make our mouths water at first sight.

What is Korean corn cheese (콘치즈)

Korean corn cheese is a side dish often served in Korean BBQ restaurants, to be eaten with a cold beer, soju or your preferred alcoholic beverage. In Korean culture, they refer these type of dishes as Anju. It is served either in a little tray around the grill at the table or on a sizzling cast iron skillet. It is primarily made of sweet corn, mozzarella cheese and sweet corn. Korean corn cheese should be served immediately, and you'll understand why when you see all these bubbling melted cheese that will make you want to eat this all summer long!

Why we love this dish

This dish is so easy, simple, and a crowd-pleaser. Here's why:

1. We cook it all in the oven. Although this dish is traditionally cooked over the stove, and finished in the oven, we like to bake it all in the oven and broil it at the end to get that browned cheesy goodness on top. It's just as delicious and we're all about using the least amount of cooking methods possible!
2. It's a versatile dish. We love to eat it with our grilled meat, banchan (Korean side dishes) and make lettuce wraps, but it also makes a great summer dip to eat with nachos.
3. It uses simple pantry ingredients.

Craving Korean food? Check out our other recipes:

• Spicy Gochujang Fried Chicken
• Spicy Creamy Thick Glass Noodles & Rice Cakes
• Gochujang Stir-Fried Chicken
• Spicy Korean Siklen Soft Tofu Stew (Soondubu Jjigae)

Tips to make the best creamy Korean corn cheese

Although this is a very easy recipe, here's a few tips to achieve the best creamy Korean corn cheese:

• Use fresh corn. Here in Canada, we are blessed to have (if I may say so) the best corn! It would be a shame to not use it to make this dish. However, if you don't have any on hand, canned corn will do the trick. Make sure to drain all the excess water and to adjust the sugar in the recipe, as canned corn is conserved in a sweet brine. Frozen corn is also another option, make sure to thaw before.
• Not every corn is made equal. Make sure to taste your corn and adjust the sugar level to your liking!
• Watch your dish while broiling it. I've learned the hard way to always keep an eye out on my dish in the oven while broiling. A few seconds can make such a difference! As soon as it start browning on top, remove from the oven.
• Grease your skillet with butter. Not only will this help the corn to not stick on the skillet, but also add moisture to the dish.

FAQ's

Ingredients

• Sweet corn: preferably fresh, but can be swapped for canned or frozen,
• mayonnaise: we personally prefer using Japanese mayonnaise, but normal mayonnaise will do,
• white sugar,
• mozzarella cheese,
• unsalted butter,
• green onions,
• salt and pepper to taste,
• gochugaru: this is an optional ingredient if you like to add spice to your dishes!

Instructions

1. Preheat oven at 400˚F.
2. Boil the cobs of corn for 5 minutes. Remove kernels carefully with a knife and discard cobs. This should yield about 2 cups of corn.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, add all your ingredients and mix well.
4. Grease your cast iron skillet with the butter, and pour in the corn cheese mixture, making sure it is spread through the whole pan, creating a thin layer. We used a 8-inch skillet.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until mixture melts and bubbles.
6. Transfer dish to broiler and broil for 2 minutes or until top is browned. Always keep an eye out on your dish, you don't want to end up with burned bits.
7. Serve immediately and enjoy! We love to eat it with grilled pork belly and lettuce.