Quick & Easy Cantonese Cream Corn Fish

Name: Quick & Easy Cantonese Cream Corn Fish
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1.77 lbs white fish fillets (sliced into 1.5 inch long strips); 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil (or any neutral oil); 9.6 oz canned creamed corn; 1/4 tsp chicken bouillon powder ((aka chicken stock powder)); 1 tsp Shaoxing Cooking Wine (or sub with dry sherry or omit if you can't find either); 1 clove garlic (minced); 1 large egg (beaten); 3/4 tsp cornstarch; 1/3 cup water; 1/3 cup frozen peas (optional); 1 large egg; 2/3 cup potato starch; 1/3 cup all purpose flour; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 3/4 tsp salt; 1/2 cup water (cold)

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Crispy battered fish fillet with sweet cream corn sauce. This quick and easy Cantonese cream corn fish is so delicious as a main and made with simple ingredients! You can make this at home saving you on takeout!

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Ingredients & Substitutes
Expert Tips
Instructions
Storage
Pairing Suggestions
FAQ
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💬 Reviews

This Hong Kong style cream corn fish features crispy battered fish fried in oil and accompanied with a cream corn sauce with peas.

My husband and I always ordered this seafood dish at the Chinese restaurant because it's so delicious with the contrasting textures of the crispy fish and the creamy sauce with little pops of corn!

I love enjoying this with hot steamed rice and Asian greens to make it complete. The subtle sweetness of the sauce truly compliments the battered fish so well!

This is a must try if you enjoy white fish or anything that is deep fried! Trust me.

Ingredients & Substitutes

Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.

Sturdy White Fish Fillets: White cod, haddock, tilapia or pollock are recommended as they are sturdy in texture and won't break apart easily
Neutral oil

Cream Corn Sauce

Canned creamed corn: not just canned corn
Chicken powder: to give the sauce depth
Shaoxing wine: a Chinese rice cooking wine. Or substitute with Dry Sherry or omit if you can't find either.
Garlic
Egg
Cornstarch or potato starch: to help thicken the sauce
Cold water
Frozen peas (optional)

Fish Batter

Egg
Cornstarch or potato starch
All purpose flour
Baking powder: to make the batter crispier
Salt
Cold water: not room temperature or warm water

Expert Tips

Use a sturdy white fish for this recipe. This way it doesn't crumble when you go to coat and deep fry it.
Use neutral oil with a high smoke point. Avoid using olive oil or any heavily scented oils when deep frying.
Be gentle when battering the fish. Since white fish can flake off easily, it's important to use a gentle hand.
Double fry for extra crispiness.
Do not over cook the cream corned sauce. Once it boils, reduce to a low simmer and quickly add in the beaten eggs.
Keep fish and sauce separate when serving. This keeps the fish from getting soggy.

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your batter ingredients. You should have a batter that is slightly runny.
Slice your fish filets into 1.5-inch-long strips. Pat dry with a paper towel. Transfer fish pieces into batter and give it a gentle mix with your hands. You may use tongs but be gentle as the fish can fall apart if your mix too roughly.
In a wok or medium-large pot, set over medium high heat (180 degrees C to be exact), make sure your oil is hot enough by looking for bubbles after placing a wooden chopstick into it.
Once hot, give your fish and batter a gentle mix with tongs and carefully lower one-third of the batch into the hot oil separating the pieces from each other. Do not overcrowd your wok or pot. Fry on both sides until golden crispy brown, about 7 minutes in total. Fry in three batches. Optional: if you want super crispy fish, double fry each batch again for another 2 minutes. Place crispy fish on a cooling rack or a dish lined with paper towel to soak up excess oil.
In a small pot, whisk together canned creamed corn, chicken powder, Shaoxing wine, minced garlic, corn starch, water and frozen peas. Bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and in a quick stirring motion, drizzle the beaten egg from a slight height to make egg ribbons. Remove off heat.
Pour sauce over crispy fish or serve separately to keep fish crispy.

Storage

Leftovers will keep for 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. I would recommend keeping the crispy fish and sauce separate. To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot.
Freezer friendly? The fish and sauce can be stored into two separate freezer friendly bag and frozen up to 3 months or until you see freezer burn. To reheat, defrost it and reheat the fish in the air fryer or oven at 350 F for 5-10 minutes until crispy and hot and reheat the sauce in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.

Pairing Suggestions

This Chinese dish serves well with:

starters like egg drop soup or egg rolls
white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, fried rice, chow mein, lo mein, plain noodles
cooked vegetables like bok choy, choy sum, gai lan or stir fried snow pea leaves.

FAQ

Can I use canned corn or corn niblets?

No, it must be creamed corn for that creamy texture.

Can I substitute with another type of meat?

Yes, chicken, shrimp, pork or extra-firm tofu would work well.

Can I make this in advance?

This can be made in advance and each component should be stored in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. See reheating instructions above under storage.

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