Indonesia's sweetcorn fritters. Fresh kernels stripped from the cob and mixed with chopped shallot, minced garlic, sliced spring onion and a fistful of Chinese celery into a thick egg-and-flour batter. Spoonfuls fried in hot oil until the edges crisp and the centres stay tender. Eaten as a snack, a side, a small plate of joy.

Perkedel jagung sits in the broader Indonesian fritter family that includes bakwan, the more famous mixed-vegetable version. Both come from the Dutch-Indonesian colonial hybrid kitchen, where the European frikadeller (meatball) name attached itself to the local fried snack. The jagung (corn) version is the cleanest of the lot: sweet, savoury, herbaceous, with the corn doing most of the work.

Fresh corn is right here; frozen corn can substitute but the kernels release more water and the fritters end up softer. Strip the kernels with a sharp knife straight down the cob, then run the back of the knife down the same cob to extract the milky pulp at the base. The pulp is the secret ingredient that binds the batter without needing extra flour.

Fry in batches at 170 degrees. Serve hot with a small dish of sambal oelek for dipping, sliced bird's-eye chilli on the table for the heat-tolerant. A wedge of lime, a glass of cold beer.