Baby Corn and Corn Silk
Ingredient Name: Baby corn, baby maize, candle corn or corn shoots (as directly translated in Chinese)
Traditional Chinese Name: 玉米筍 (yù mǐ sǔn)
What is this?
- A premature corn that has a relatively soft cob that can be eaten whole
- They are normally 4.5 – 10 cm in length depending on when they were harvested
- They are harvested around the time that the corn silk emerges from the ear tips (thereby enabling the harvester to also remove the corn silk – as shown above)
How do I prepare it?
- Rinse in warm water and use
Where can I buy this?
- This is available fresh in most Asian supermarkets
- To find it with the corn silk is not common, but wet marts in Hong Kong will carry them (seasonally)
- It’s not common to find it with the ears (as the corn will already be prepared)
- Canned baby corn is most common and available in most supermarkets, though for usage in soups, it’s not recommended to use canned/processed baby corn – fresh is always best
What is the cost?
- A bunch as picture above cost $5 HKD
Any benefits?
- Corn contains healthy amounts of Thiamin (Vitamin B1), Niacin (Vitamin B3), Folate (Vitamin B9), Vitamin C and Magnesium
- It is low in fat but high in dietary fibers
Any precautions?
- Some people think that since it is a vegetable, it is a relatively complete substitute for many foods – however, corn has a lot of starch and should be eaten in conjunction with other vegetables and legumes
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