During my childhood days, we would grow our own corn in the vast empty space in one corner of our house compound. We would germinate the seeds first by soaking them in water and I particularly loved the part where one of us would use a stick to poke a hole in the ground and the fella behind would put in two or three of the germinated seeds.
But the variety of the corn we planted was not so nice – best eaten when still young but if it was a bit old, it would be hard and I did not like the taste so much. These days, we have nicer varieties like what they call the Ligo type which is sweet and nice regardless whether it is young or old.
They used to be quite cheap – RM2.00 for a bundle of 6 or more…and the price has been increasing and increasing. But I did manage to get 9 the other day for RM5.00, 9 freshly-cut ones from the kampung and I cooked them right away…
It is best to keep the most inner layer of the ear leaves intact, plus a bit of the silk hair when boiling the corn in water, adding a spoonful of salt to enhance the taste. I hear that those parts of the corn have some medicinal value.
It only takes a while to cook. Just peel off the leaves and remove the hair and sink your teeth into it – removing the kernel from the cob and savouring the sweetness…
Some people love dabbing it with butter or margarine and eating it like that, but not me. What about you?
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 