Vietnamese Grilled Corn (Bap Nuong)

This blog has been one of the best projects I’ve worked on because I get to share it with you my readers and with my family and friends. It’s something I talk about a lot with my friends, and it means a lot to me they feel as excited about it as I do. I also sometimes get the coolest ideas from them for blog posts. For example, this recipe for Vietnamese grilled corn (bap nuong) was a suggestion by a close friend of mine. He told me that this is something his mom makes all the time. It was so exciting because I had never heard of such a simple but tasty version of corn, and I knew I definitely needed to share it.

Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments

This recipe has the simplest ingredients: corn on the cob, neutral oil, green onions, and fried shallots (optional). The only ingredient you have options for substitutions is the neutral oil. I used extra light olive oil but a good vegetable or corn oil should work as well. Make sure the oil has a high smoke point or it will taste burnt. The fried shallots are optional and also a non-traditional ingredient, but I like the crunchy texture it adds to the dish. Another optional topping that is a bit more traditional is fried small shrimp.

Making Vietnamese grilled corn

Remove the husks from the corn. Put the corn on a plate and microwave for 10 minutes. Alternatively, bring a pot of water to a boil and boil the corn for 10 minutes. Both methods work! Heat a grill pan until hot. Test the pan is hot by sprinkling some water on it. If it sizzles, the pan is hot. Place the corn on the grill pan and grill until you get those nice grill marks on every side. It should take ~10 minutes per corn. Place corn on a plate.

Add green onions to a small bowl. In a sauce pan, heat neutral oil until it starts to bubble (meaning it’s hot). Pour oil over the green onions. You should hear a sizzle as the oil hits the green onions. Spoon the green onion oil over the grilled corn. You can use as much or as little as you want. Optional: Sprinkle fried shallots on top. Enjoy!

Using the microwave vs boiling water to cook the grilled corn

Cooking the corn before grilling it helps preserve that tender texture of the corn. I’ve found that just grilling it dries it out even though this is the traditional way of making it. But if you want to just grill it, definitely feel free to do that! If you want to cook the corn, I found 2 methods you can use. You can either microwave the corn for 10 minutes or boil it for 10 minutes. I actually preferred the microwave because it was just so easy, and I didn’t have to clean an extra pot.

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