Corn Milk

Called sữa bắp in Vietnamese, this creamy, slight sweet refresher comes together easily with just a few ingredients. Use the sweetest corn that’s in season. Including the corn silk, husks, and cobs during cooking pumps up the corn-y flavor. Recipe source: Ever-Green Vietnamese (2023) by Andrea Nguyen. This recipe makes 4 cups.

📝 Ingredients

• 2 large ears corn ((choose yellow or bicolor for vibrancy))
• 4 cups water, (plus more as needed)
• 1/2 cup full-fat (unsweetened coconut milk (whisk before measuring))
• Fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, (plus more as needed)
• 1 to 4 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk ((coconut, if preferred), agave syrup, mild honey, or granulated sugar (optional))

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Shuck, cut, and boil the corn ---
2. 2If the corn is not shucked, trim the dark, wizened portions of the corn silk, then shuck the corn, saving most of the corn silk and six to eight of the inner pale green husks (it’s okay if some silk lingers on the cob). Encase all the reserved silk in the husks, fold the husks over to tidy up the bundle, and tie tightly with kitchen string. Put into a 4-qt saucepan.
3. 3Cut the corn kernels off the cobs, then break the cobs in half. Add both to the saucepan, along with the water, coconut milk, and 1⁄4 tsp salt. Set over high heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and maintain a gentle boil. Cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and, using tongs, lift out and discard the cobs and husk bundle. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
4. 4--- Blend, strain, and season the milk ---
5. 5Transfer the contents of the saucepan to a blender and whirl at high speed for a good 1 minute, until creamy and milky. Pour the corn through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl or a large liquid measuring cup, pressing on the solids with a wooden spoon to extract as much milk as possible. Stir in the vanilla. If the corn milk is too thick, add up to 1⁄2 cup water to thin it out.
6. 6Corn milk intensifies in flavor and sweetness as it cools; especially once it is chilled. Refrigerate for about 4 hours, then taste and add pinches of salt, drops of vanilla, and, if needed, sweetened condensed milk by the tablespoon. Your tweaks depend on your corn, palate, and serving method (make it strong if serving over ice). Stir before serving.