Yakitori corn pops

Try a new way of serving sweetcorn – skewer slices of cob for a lolly effect, then serve with a Japanese sweet, sticky dipping sauce

Prep:15 mins
Cook:20 mins

Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 55
fat 2g
saturates 0g
carbs 6g
sugars 2g
fibre 1g
protein 1g
salt 1.2g

Ingredients

2 fresh corn cobs, leaves and threads peeled away
about 150ml good yakitori sauce (or see recipe in tip, below)
1 tbsp sunflower oil
8-12 wooden chopsticks or short skewers
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Tip

Homemade yakitori
Mix 1 tbsp cornflour with 1 tbsp sake to a paste. Put 2 more tbsp sake, 125ml light soy sauce, 4 tbsp mirin and 2 tsp golden caster sugar in a small saucepan, whisk in the cornflour and heat until the sugar has melted and sauce thickened, then cool before serving.

Method

Put the corn cobs in a microwaveable dish with about 1cm water. Cover with cling film, poke a couple of holes through and microwave for 10 mins on High (we used a 750 watt microwave) until tender. When cool enough to handle, trim the rounded ends and cut the rest into 3-5cm chunks. Mix 1 tbsp yakitori sauce with the oil and brush all over the corn.
Heat a griddle pan or barbecue and sear the corn on all sides until starting to char. Lift into a bowl, add the remaining sauce and toss to coat. Add a stick to each – like a lollipop – then dip each corn pop into the sesame seeds to coat before eating.