Ingredient Name:  Baby corn, baby maize, candle corn or corn shoots (as directly translated in Chinese)

Traditional Chinese Name: 玉米筍 (yù mǐ sǔn)

What is this?

• A premature corn that has a relatively soft cob that can be eaten whole
• They are normally 4.5 – 10 cm in length depending on when they were harvested
• They are harvested around the time that the corn silk emerges from the ear tips (thereby enabling the harvester to also remove the corn silk – as shown above)

How do I prepare it?

• Rinse in warm water and use 

Where can I buy this?

This is available fresh in most Asian supermarkets
To find it with the corn silk is not common, but wet marts in Hong Kong will carry them (seasonally)
It’s not common to find it with the ears (as the corn will already be prepared)
Canned baby corn is most common and available in most supermarkets, though for usage in soups, it’s not recommended to use canned/processed baby corn – fresh is always best

What is the cost?

• A bunch as picture above cost $5 HKD

Any benefits?

Corn contains healthy amounts of Thiamin (Vitamin B1), Niacin (Vitamin B3), Folate (Vitamin B9), Vitamin C and Magnesium
It is low in fat but high in dietary fibers

Any precautions?

• Some people think that since it is a vegetable, it is a relatively complete substitute for many foods – however, corn has a lot of starch and should be eaten in conjunction with other vegetables and legumes

References:

• Corn on TheChineseSoupLady.com
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_corn