When you’re cooking up a quick and delicious dinner on the Traeger, don’t forget to do your side dishes at the same time, all on the grill. This quick recipe for Korean Corn Cheese comes together in a flash, is delicious and different and will soon be something your family asks for on the regular. Made up of ingredients you likely have in the fridge and pantry, Korean Corn Cheese on the Traeger pairs great with grilled meat.
KOREAN CORN CHEESE
If you’ve been to Asian restaurants lately, you might have been noticing a new item on the appetizer menu. At our local favorite sushi place, all the sudden “corn cheese” is on the menu and it’s been enticing and curious. What is it? Is it good? And of course our age-old question “could we make it on the Traeger?” You know… because everything we do is on the Traeger and it’s our party trick– show people how to cook amazing food on their backyard pellet grill.
So after trying restaurant corn cheese (yum) and investigating recipes a bit, we wanted to give it a go. With some twists of our own, it really turns out fantastic and is now on the regular rotation at our house. Korean corn cheese is perfect going with grilled meat… so we’re sold.
WHAT IS KOREAN CORN CHEESE
If you google Korean Corn Cheese, you’ll see that it’s a much-loved side dish in Korea, often enjoyed as an accompaniment with grilled meats and vegetables. It’s incredibly simple– but flavorful, rich and comforting. With a few simple ingredients that you have on hand in your pantry, you can whip up a dish of corn cheese in under 10 minutes, and give it a quick bake or broil to get it hot and bubbly.
For a fusion twist, you could serve it with corn chips as a dip, but we really just enjoyed a heaping spoonful on our plate along with butterflied chicken drums that we cooked up at the same time on the Traeger
WHAT TO MIX INTO IT?
We kept our version super simple. Corn, cheese, a little green onion, some basil for herby flavor and that’s about it. The addition of our Garlic Junkie seasoning added the garlic taste that is iconic in this dish, but also brought in strong notes of pepper which really complimented the ingredients.
Other versions of this recipe we’ve seen can be more complex– including diced red bell pepper. Instead of red bell pepper we added a bit of sweet and heat to our version, chopping up some canned sweet and spicy pickled jalapeños, for just the right kick
THE RIGHT TYPE OF CHEESE
The more traditional versions of this dish only call for mayonnaise and shredded mozzarella cheese. Those are two delicious staples, but we thought we could add a bit of tang and extra creaminess to the dish by adding a few tablespoons full of cream cheese to the mix.
In this recipe, we take the cream cheese and microwave it for about 30 seconds, just until it gets soft. Cream cheese will often hold its shape when heated, despite getting really melted in the center. So 15-20 seconds should be sufficient, depending on your microwave.
Mozzarella cheese is the best cheese for this recipe for Korean Corn Cheese on the Traeger because of its excellent melting qualities. When heated up like in this application, you want the cheese to be stringy and decadent– and you will definitely get that result with mozzarella cheese.
PRIMARY INGREDIENTS
- Canned whole kernel corn
- Cream cheese
- Mayonnaise
- Mozzarella cheese
- My Garlic Junkie Seasoning
- Sweet and spicy pickled jalapenos
- Green onions
- Basil
WHY COOKING KOREAN CORN CHEESE ON THE TRAEGER WORKS
Korean corn cheese is traditionally cooked in the oven, resulting in a hot, bubbly concoction full of flavor. Using our Traeger grill as an outdoor oven, we find that Korean corn cheese actually ends up more delicious than the original version. There’s something about the combination of cooking in the Traeger– doing it outside (more fun), the hint of wood-fired smoke from the pellets (more flavor), making the entire meal on the Traeger (more surprising) that really takes cooking to the next level.
When cooking a dish like this in the Traeger, you want to use the grill on a high heat setting so that you get a similar result to baking it. The design of the Traeger, paired with the super consistent heat source from the auger-driven pellet burner, makes for even and high heat. This results in hot and bubbly Korean corn cheese.
STEP-BY-STEP
- Preheat your Traeger Grill to 350*.
- Open and drain the can of corn.
- In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, heat the cream cheese for 15 seconds until just softening.
- To the softened cream cheese, add the mayonnaise and the drained corn.
- Mix well.
- Chop the jalapeños, green onions and basil leaves into small dice.
- Stir those three ingredients into the corn mixture.
- Season generously with Garlic Junkie rub.
- Stir in the shredded cheese and mix to combine.
- Pour the mixture into a grill-safe shallow bowl or dish and spread evenly.
- Bake in the Traeger for 15-20 minutes until and hot and bubbly.
- Carefully remove the dish from the Traeger and allow to cool slightly.
- If desired, use a kitchen torch to brown the top of the corn mixture just before serving.
- Serve the Korean Corn Cheese as a side dish or dip.
OTHER DISHES SIMILAR TO KOREAN CORN CHEESE ON THE TRAEGER
PRODUCTS USED IN THIS RECIPE
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Korean Corn Cheese on the Traeger
Equipment
- Traeger grill
- Microwave safe mixing bowl
- Grill-safe baking dish
- Kitchen torch optional
Ingredients
- 1 can whole kernel corn
- 4 tbsp cream cheese
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 tbsp Garlic Junkie Seasoning
- 2 tbsp sweet and spicy pickled jalapenos
- 2 tsp green onions
- 2 tsp basil
Instructions
- Preheat your Traeger to 350*.
- Open and drain the can of corn.
- In a microwave safe mixing bowl, warm the cream cheese in the microwave for 10-20 seconds.
- To the softened cream cheese, add the mayonnaise and the drained corn.
- Mix well.
- Chop the jalapeños, green onions and basil leaves into small dice.
- Stir those three ingredients into the corn mixture.
- Season generously with Garlic Junkie rub.
- Stir in the shredded cheese and mix to combine.
- Pour the mixture into a grill-safe shallow bowl or dish and spread evenly.
- Bake in the Traeger for 15-20 minutes until and hot and bubbly.
- Carefully remove the dish from the Traeger and allow to cool slightly.
- If desired, use a kitchen torch to brown the top of the corn mixture just before serving.
- Serve the Korean Corn Cheese as a side dish or dip.
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