Korean Corn Cheese Recipe 4 Ways: Stove, Air Fryer, Oven Or Microwave (2024)

We make Korean corn cheese repeatedly as it's the perfect savoury and sweet combination. It's ideal for big parties, Korean barbecues, or a topping for toast or ramen as late-night comfort food. But the best part is that you only need a few ingredients and no fancy tools to make it.

In our recipe, we'll show you how to make Korean corn cheese on the stove, in the oven, in an air fryer, or even in the microwave. There are many ways to make it, so there's no excuse not to make this Korean comfort food if you love cheese.

Our recipe will serve 4 people, but check out our YouTube video tutorial to make a single serving. Our video shows you how to make this for 1 person in a ramekin. Perfect for some late-night snacking. It's a minimalistic dish that gives off maximum comfort through its taste with only three ingredients. The ability to offer so much with its simplicity makes it unique and special.

What Is It?

Korean corn cheese is made with corn, mayonnaise, and cheese. There are also light seasonings like sugar, salt and pepper, while other variations will get creative and add a variety of cheese, spring onion and tuna.

Korean corn cheese tastes sweet and savoury, giving off a similar experience to eating creamed corn with cheese (but even better). Mayonnaise builds a rich, creamy texture, while mozzarella makes it gooey and savoury. The sweetness of the corn cuts through the cheese and turns this into a moreish dish.

Ingredients

The ingredients you'll need for Korean corn cheese are:

• Corn
• Mayonnaise
• Mozzarella
• Sugar
• Salt and pepper
• Butter

These are the basic ingredients for the classic recipe. However, many Korean restaurants add other ingredients such as spring onions, bell peppers, imitation crab meat, canned tuna, and more. Adding different toppings is a marvellous way to add flavours and increase the dish's volume. We personally like adding spring onions and crab meat to our dish.

Corn

We prefer using canned sweetcorn as it tends to be crunchier and sweeter due to its brine. Just make sure to drain out the brine before using the corn.

However, you can also use fresh or frozen ones. Fresh corn kernels work well for our recipe, too. Just slice the corn kernels off the cob and mix them with the rest of the ingredients.

When using frozen kernels, thaw them and drain excess water before proceeding with the recipe.

Mayonnaise

You can decide how much mayonnaise you would like based on your preference, but we suggest using between 4 and 8 tablespoons. Based on our experience, 8 tablespoons is closer to what you would get in restaurants. However, we prefer to add less mayonnaise (closer to 4 tablespoons) to our homemade Korean corn cheese.

Mayonnaise adds richness and creaminess to the dish but is super high in calories. We prefer to reduce the amount to make it comparatively less calorific while still fulfilling that sinful richness. Alternatively, you can check out our Korean corn cheese recipe without mayonnaise, which we list below.

Shredded Mozzarella

For that cheese-pulling effect, mozzarella works best. However, you can also use other types of cheese or even a mix. This dish is a fun and easy treat, so you can experiment with a cheesy combo you like.

We like using mozzarella as the base with a handful of mature cheddar. The saltiness of cheddar helps enhance the dish's flavour, which is generally sweet and creamy.

Seasoning

A little bit of sugar will help enhance the corn's natural sweetness. It will also balance out the creaminess and saltiness of the appetiser. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Korean corn cheese without mayo

Although mayo is an essential part of this dish, the absence of mayo will not ruin it. If you're looking for a no-mayo Korean corn cheese recipe, we have a good substitute mayo recipe you can try.

To make 4 tbsps of makeshift mayonnaise, combine the following ingredients and vigorously whisk until well blended.

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 4 tbsps plain Greek yoghurt

Our mayo substitute recipe above will make 4 tbsps for you to use in our Korean corn cheese recipe. It will mimic the taste of mayonnaise but will be less thick in texture.

Korean Corn Cheese on Stove Top

You can prepare this gooey goodness entirely on a stovetop, but if you want the cheese to be extra crispy, we recommend using the oven or air fryer at the very end.

1. Add sweetcorn, mayonnaise, sugar, and ¼ of the mozzarella in a mixing bowl. If you want to include any optional ingredients, add them in at this point. Season with salt and pepper before stirring altogether.
2. Next, melt butter in a skillet or pan under medium heat. Make sure to spread the butter all over the pan's surface.
3. Then, pour the mixture into the pan and spread it evenly. Top it off with the remaining shredded mozzarella.
4. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook on the stovetop for 5 minutes until it is cooked through and the mozzarella has melted.
5. If you prefer a golden crust top, transfer it into an oven on a broiler setting or air fryer on high heat and leave it to broil for 10 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top. Then, serve and enjoy.

Oven-baked Korean Corn Cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F or 200˚C.
2. Grease an oven-safe dish with unsalted butter. Then, in a mixing bowl, add sweetcorn, mayonnaise, sugar and ¼ of the mozzarella. If you want to include any optional ingredients, add them in at this point. Season with salt and pepper before stirring altogether.
3. Pour the mixture into the greased oven-safe dish and top it off with the remaining shredded mozzarella.
4. Bake for 10 minutes until it is cooked through, and the mozzarella has melted.
5. Change it to the broiler setting and leave it to broil for 10 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top. Then, serve and enjoy.

How To Make Korean Corn Cheese in a Microwave

1. Grease a microwave-safe dish with unsalted butter. Then, in a mixing bowl, add sweetcorn, mayonnaise, sugar and ¼ of the mozzarella. If you want to include any optional ingredients, add them in at this point. Season with salt and pepper before stirring altogether.
2. Pour the mixture into the greased microwave-safe dish and top it off with the remaining shredded mozzarella.
3. Microwave for 1.5 minutes at 600 W to cook through the ingredients. Then, microwave for another 30 seconds at 900 W until all the mozzarella has melted.
4. Then, serve and enjoy your Korean cheese corn.

Air Fryer Korean Corn Cheese

1. Grease an air fryer-safe dish with unsalted butter. Then, in a mixing bowl, add sweetcorn, mayonnaise, sugar and ¼ of the mozzarella. If you want to include any optional ingredients, add them in at this point. Season with salt and pepper before stirring altogether.
2. Pour the mixture into the greased air fryer-safe dish and top it off with the remaining shredded mozzarella.
3. Preheat the air fryer to 400˚F or 200˚C for at least 2 minutes.
4. Air fry for 10 minutes until it is cooked through and the mozzarella has melted. Then, serve and enjoy.

Cooking Tips

Drain out any excess water if you're using canned corn, which will prevent the dish from being too wet at the bottom.

You can prepare the Korean corn cheese dish in advance. Instead of baking it immediately, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to two days. Cover the baking dish tightly once you mix the ingredients and refrigerate until it is time to bake and serve.

This tasty snack can last up to two months when stored in the freezer. Therefore, you can prepare them in big batches and save them for later. Once they're ready to bake, add 10-15 minutes to the baking time. The extra time in the oven ensures your dish is thoroughly cooked and the mozzarella is fully melted.

Any oven-safe dish will do the job when baking, but we recommend using a skillet. Since it can retain heat longer, it can keep the mozzarella hot and melty while you enjoy the meal.

You can even bake it in tiny portions using ramekins, as demonstrated in our video.

What to eat with Korean corn cheese?

Korean corn cheese is a much-loved side dish to eat with Korean BBQ grilled meats. Many Korean BBQ restaurants will have this as a starter, too.

Besides being a yummy dish, it works fantastically as a Korean corn cheese dip for coating Korean spicy chicken, fried chicken, chips and bread. It also pairs well with alcohol, and Koreans will often eat this with Soju and beer.

This sweet and savoury food doesn't only work well as a side dish. You can also incorporate it into other recipes and unleash your culinary creativity.

Other creative ways to eat this at home include making ramen, toast and a Korean corn dog filling, which we’ll show you how to do.

Korean corn cheese ramen

Instead of going for plain ramen, you can upgrade your bowl of noodles by making Korean corn cheese ramen.

First, cook your ramen as usual and put it in an oven-safe dish. We like using Samyang Carbonara or Samyang Quatro cheese ramen. However, it will work just as well with any dry-based spicy Korean ramen noodles.

Next, prepare the corn-cheese mixture and spread it over the ramen. Pop the Korean cheese noodles into a preheated oven at 200 degrees and bake for 10 minutes. You can also broil it at the end to give the mozzarella a nice golden crust.

Korean corn cheese toast

This makes an excellent topping to add to toast as a grilled cheese filling. We absolutely love how crunchy and filling this becomes.

All you have to do is grab a slice of bread and make a light dent in the middle for the corn mix to sit. Add your corn mix and top with the rest of the mozzarella. Pop this into the air fryer at 200 degrees for 8 minutes or until you see it starting to brown. Take it out and enjoy your grilled Korean corn cheese toast.

Korean hot dog filling

You can also make it into a Korean corn dog filling or dip to dunk your corn dogs. The idea of crunchy breadcrumbs combined with oozing mozzarella and sweet corn? Delicious.

South Korea is famous for its yummy side dishes such as Korean marinated eggs, musaengchae, kimchi pancakes and stir-fried glass noodles. Moreover, it is a haven for cheese lovers with cheesy dishes, including Korean corn dogs and rose tteokbokki. So, if you enjoy Korean food or gooey cheese pulls, this is another Korean food invention you shouldn't sleep on.