Fried Milk (Leche Frita) and Fried Corn Soup

creamy and moderately sweet with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla Leche Frita
Have you heard about thedeep fried corn potage or soup introduced at KFC Japan early this week? It's crazy, I know, but it certainly got my attention. Looking at the photo of the of the fried "soup" nuggets, a Fillipino snack/dessert pudding called Maja Blanca which is made of coconut milk, sweet corn kernels, and cornstarch immediately came to mind. It also reminded me of the Spanish sweet snack Leche Frita, literally fried milk, but is actually chilled pudding, cut into squares, dipped in egg and bread crumbs, then fried.

As much as I hate frying, I was extremely curious and had to make leche frita and a small portion of corn soup. I don't know how KFC Japan prepares them but I just made a wild guess and followed the recipe for leche frita. I won't be surprised if this deep fried corn potage becomes a favorite in Japan; it's all at once crunchy and incredibly creamy and delicious. If I were not averse to deep frying I would make both these treats often.

Leche Frita (Fried Milk)
3 cups whole milk
2 pieces cinnamon stick
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, optional
all-purpose flour for dredging
2 eggs, well beaten
panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
light olive oil

• Pour 2 cups of milk into a medium pan, add cinnamon sticks and heat over high heat until milk boils. Add sugar and boil over medium heat for 3 minutes, and sugar has dissolved. Remove and discard cinnamon sticks. 
• Whisk the flour and cornstarch into the remaining 1 cup milk and beat until smooth. Add to the hot the milk and cook until mixture is thick and creamy. Stir in vanilla extract, if using. Pour into an oiled square pan; chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Once chilled, cut into 2-inch squares. 
• Heat 1 inch of oil in a pan. 
• Dredge a square at a time in flour, dip in egg, then roll in panko. Deep fry in hot oil until deep golden brown. Drain and serve warm or at room temperature.

sweet corn soup pudding on the left and milk pudding on the right

The description of the KFC Japan corn soup fritters says it's breaded and deep fried until crispy and the photo shows indeed they didn't use bread crumbs. I used panko for my copycat version. I heated 3 cups previously prepared soup, stirred in 1 cup of half and half mixed with same amount of flour and cornstarch as leche frita, and cooked until thick and creamy. I also stirred in a teaspoon of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley before pouring into the prepared pan, then chilled for 2 hours.

crunchy and creamy all at once