Sweet and creamy, this Vietnamese corn milk recipe makes a great refreshing drink to enjoy on a busy day. The corn milk is packed full of fresh corn flavor with a touch of pandan thrown in. You’re going to have a difficult time only drinking 1 glass!
What is Vietnamese Corn Milk (Sữa Bắp)?
I first had my run in with Vietnamese corn milk several years back after I returned to Vietnam on vacation. One of my neighbours in the neighbourhood ran a drink shop selling soy milk, Vietnamese herbal tea (nước sâm, and of course Vietnamese corn milk (sữa bắp). After taking just one sip of the drink, I was hooked and had to find out how to make Vietnamese corn milk.
Vietnamese corn milk also known as sữa bắp, sữa bắp lá dứa or sữa bắp mỹ (if you’re using North American corn) is a popular Vietnamese drink that is comprised of fresh corn that is combined with sugar, pandan, and of course milk to produce this incredibly tasty and creamy beverage.
The process of making corn milk is actually quite similar to making soy milk with a few slight variations. The corn is blended down and it’s liquid is strained and then boiled along with other ingredients to produce this yummy drink.
Here’s what you’ll need to make Vietnamese corn milk:
Ingredients
- 3 Large ears of corn
- Water (use a 2:1 ratio of water to corn kernels after weighing corn kernels eg. 800g of corn kernels = 1.6L of water)
- Milk (use a 1:1 ratio of milk to corn kernels after weighing corn kernels eg. 800g of corn kernels = 800ml of milk)
- 40g of rock sugar
- 1/4 tsp of table salt
- 3 Tbsp of condensed milk
- 5 Pandan leaves
Ingredient Notes
Corn: I recommend using yellow sweet corn for this recipe. This will ensure that you’ll have a nice yellow color for the corn milk.
Milk: You can use whatever cow’s milk that you prefer such as whole milk, 2%, 1% or even skim milk. For a creamier drink, use full-fat milk.
Condensed Milk: condensed milk adds an extra layer of sweetness and creaminess to the corn milk. I highly recommend adding it in.
Pandan Leaves: Fresh pandan leaves will add a nice touch of fragrance and aromatics to the corn milk.
Substitutions
- Cow’s milk: You can substitute the cow’s milk with a plant-based milk such as almond milk or oat milk.
- Condensed milk: Again you can substitute the condensed milk with a plant-based version of condensed milk.
- Fresh pandan leaves: If you can’t find fresh pandan leaves then you can substitute it with pandan extract but make sure that you don’t use too much otherwise the corn milk will turn green.
How to Make Vietnamese Corn Milk
- Start off by removing the black silk from the corn at the top and the silk from the outside layer and discard it. Then remove the husks and silks from the ear and put it aside. You can discard the outer husks that are dirty but save the inner husks and silks. Do not discard this as we’ll be using it later!
- Next wash the corn along with the husks and silk.
- Now start cutting out the corn kernels. You don’t need to cut out the kernels perfectly as we’ll be blending it in a few moments from now.
- After cutting out all of the corn kernels, weigh out the corn kernels and note this down.
- Next, place all of the corn cobs, husks, and silks in a large pot.
- Add in double the amount of water as your cut corn kernels into the pot. Eg. if you had 800g of corn kernels then add 1.6L of water into the pot.
- Now place the pot on a stove and bring it to a boil, once it boils, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer with the lid covered for 15 minutes.
- Occasionally mix everything in the pot while it’s boiling and simmering.
- While the pot is simmering, add in your kernels and milk into a blender. For the milk use a 1:1 ratio of corn kernels to milk. For example, if you have 800g of corn kernels then add 800ml of milk into the blender.
- Blend the corn kernels with the milk in the blender.
- Now using a cheese cloth, pour out the blended kernels and milk into the cheese cloth and strain out the liquid into another pot or pitcher.
- Once the pot with the cobs, husks, and silk has finished simmering, strain out the liquid and pour it into the cheese cloth bag from earlier and use another pot to collect all of the liquid.
- Squeeze out any excess water from the cheese cloth bag into the pot and then discard the pulp inside of the cheese cloth bag.
- Now add in your rock sugar, table salt, and condensed milk into the pot of liquid.
- Also add in your pandan leaves as well (make sure you washed the leaves prior to use).
- Now place the pot on a stove, turn on the stove and bring the pot almost to a boil (bubbles forming on the edge) while occasionally stirring the pot.
- Once the pot is almost to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and stir the pot occasionally.
- Now using a spoon, mix the liquid from the blended corn kernels and milk from earlier. There will be some starch at the bottom of the pot/pitcher so make sure that you also mix the bottom as well.
- Pour the corn kernel and milk liquid into the large pot while stirring the pot.
- Continue boiling the pot over medium heat while still occasionally stirring the pot.
- If you notice any foam forming at the top of the corn milk, skim it off.
- Once the pot boils, remove it from the stove.
- Continue occasionally stirring the corn milk to prevent the formation of corn milk curds at the top of the corn milk.
- Once the corn milk has cooled down, you can pour it out and serve it.
Note: The corn milk won’t taste as sweet while still hot, but will become sweeter once it has cooled down.
Tips
- Try to look for corn with kernels that are all yellow to give a nice yellow color to the drink. If you can’t find any that is all yellow then a mix of white and yellow kernels will also work.
- If you want the corn milk to be thicker then use less water. Likewise if you don’t want the corn milk to be as thick use more water. My recipe sits somewhere in the middle.
Common Mistakes Beginners Make
- Adding in too much sugar when tasting the corn milk while it’s cooking over the stove. The corn milk will not taste nearly as sweet while it is being heated up however once it has cooled down, it will taste a lot sweeter.
Storage Tips
The Vietnamese corn milk can be stored for up to 1 week in the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.S)
Can I Use White Waxy Corn Instead of Yellow Corn?
No, just stick with using fresh yellow corn.
Can I Reduce/Add More Sugar to the Recipe?
Yes, you can. Due note though that while heating up the corn milk over the stove, it will taste less sweet. However once the corn milk has cooled down, it will taste a lot sweeter. I recommend following the measurements outlined in the recipe for the first time and then adjusting it the next time you make Vietnamese corn milk.
I Can’t Find Fresh Pandan Leaves, Can I Use Pandan Extract Instead?
Yes, it’s fine. Just don’t add too much pandan extract otherwise your corn milk might turn green instead of yellow. I recommend no more than 1 Tbsp of pandan extract.
Can I Use Frozen or Canned Corn?
I highly recommend that you use fresh corn for this recipe instead of frozen or canned corn.
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Vietnamese Corn Milk (Sữa Bắp)
Equipment
- 2 Pots
- 1 Blender
- 1 Cheese cloth bag
Ingredients
- 3 Large Ears of corn
- Water use a 2:1 ratio of water to corn kernels after weighing corn kernels eg. 800g of corn kernels = 1.6L of water
- Milk use a 1:1 ratio of milk to corn kernels after weighing corn kernels eg. 800g of corn kernels = 800ml of milk
- 40 g Rock sugar
- 1/4 tsp Table salt
- 3 Tbsp Condensed milk
- 5 Pandan leaves
Instructions
- Start off by removing the black silk from the corn at the top and the silk from the outside layer and discard it. Then remove the husks and silks from the ear and put it aside. You can discard the outer husks that are dirty but save the inner husks and silks. Do not discard this as we’ll be using it later!
- Next wash the corn along with the husks and silk.
- Now start cutting out the corn kernels. You don’t need to cut out the kernels perfectly as we’ll be blending it in a few moments from now.
- After cutting out all of the corn kernels, weigh out the corn kernels and note this down.
- Next, place all of the corn cobs, husks, and silks in a large pot.
- Add in double the amount of water as your cut corn kernels into the pot. Eg. if you had 800g of corn kernels then add 1.6L of water into the pot.
- Now place the pot on a stove and bring it to a boil, once it boils, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer with the lid covered for 15 minutes.
- Occasionally mix everything in the pot while it’s boiling and simmering.
- While the pot is simmering, add in your kernels and milk into a blender. For the milk use a 1:1 ratio of corn kernels to milk. For example, if you have 800g of corn kernels then add 800ml of milk into the blender.
- Blend the corn kernels with the milk in the blender.
- Now using a cheese cloth, pour out the blended kernels and milk into the cheese cloth and strain out the liquid into another pot or pitcher.
- Once the pot with the cobs, husks, and silk has finished simmering, strain out the liquid and pour it into the cheese cloth bag from earlier and use another pot to collect all of the liquid.
- Squeeze out any excess water from the cheese cloth bag into the pot and then discard the pulp inside of the cheese cloth bag.
- Now add in your rock sugar, table salt, and condensed milk into the pot of liquid.
- Also add in your pandan leaves as well (make sure you washed the leaves prior to use).
- Now place the pot on a stove, turn on the stove and bring the pot almost to a boil (bubbles forming on the edge) while occasionally stirring the pot.
- Once the pot is almost to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and stir the pot occasionally.
- Now using a spoon, mix the liquid from the blended corn kernels and milk from earlier. There will be some starch at the bottom of the pot/pitcher so make sure that you also mix the bottom as well.
- Pour the corn kernel and milk liquid into the large pot while stirring the pot.
- Continue boiling the pot over medium heat while still occasionally stirring the pot.
- If you notice any foam forming at the top of the corn milk, skim it off.
- Once the pot boils, remove it from the stove.
- Continue occasionally stirring the corn milk to prevent the formation of corn milk curds at the top of the corn milk.
- Once the corn milk has cooled down, you can pour it out and serve it.
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