This Japanese corn rice takes a special place in our family because it is easily the tastiest and satisfying summertime dish. Studded with sweet corn and bursting with a rich taste of butter and umami soy sauce, it is far more exciting than a plain steamed rice. The beauty lies on its simplicity and versatility – you can literally serve the corn rice with any Japanese meal or other Asian-theme cookout or even a western BBQ. We love serving it with grilled meat and veggies, and sometime we make onigiri rice balls with it and pack them up for a picnic. When fresh corn on the cob show up in your local market, I hope you will set aside a few and make this recipe!
What is Japanese Corn Rice
As the short-grain rice is cooked with other ingredients (sweet corn for this case), this recipe is considered a type of Takikomi Gohan (炊き込みご飯) or Japanese mixed rice. If you cook the corn separately and add to the cooked rice, then it’s called Maze Gohan (混ぜご飯).
Butter Shoyu Flavor
The seasoning cannot be any simpler – mainly salt and soy sauce to enhance the natural sweetness and flavor of corn. And once the rice is cooked, you add in butter to the hot steamy corn rice. The butter soy sauce (butter shoyu) will impart the most mouthwatering aroma, enough to wake up anyone’s appetite!
3 Flavor Options for This Recipe
After testing the recipe a few times, we as a family have a few suggestions. If you want to skip the butter, I’d suggest leaving out the soy sauce completely. In our opinion, simple salt-flavored corn rice tastes much better without the soy sauce. Sake is added for the umami and natural sweetness. This is my personal preference – moderate amount of butter + 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. With less soy sauce, you’d get a much subtle color for the rice. The overall flavor is more rounded. Mr. JOC and our son are partial to this option because it has a richer “butter shoyu” flavor. They both prefer their food to have stronger taste. It really comes down to your personal liking. Regardless how you choose to season it, each one is equally delicious. The only difference for Option 3 is the rice will have a much darker color from the amount of soy sauce used.
How to Make Japanese Corn Rice
Ingredients You’ll Need
Ears of cornJapanese short-grain riceSaltSakeSoy sauceButter (I use unsalted; if you use salted butter, adjust the amount of salt)Freshly ground black pepper
Overview: Steps
Remove corn from the cobsRinse rice and add to the heavy-bottomed pot (I used this Hario donabe, or rice cooker)Add seasonings, water, and corn (and cobs) on top.Cook the rice and let steam.Put the butter and freshly ground black pepper on top and fluff up the rice before serving.
How To Adjust Based on Rice Amount
For Japanese cooking, we calculate the amount of rice based on a rice cooker cup (1 cup is 180 ml). For this recipe, I used 3 rice cooker cups of short-grain rice which yield roughly 5-6 people. Depending on the amount you would like to serve, please adjust the rice cooking liquid as following:
1 Rice Cooker Cup (180 ml) – 200 ml (2 tsp sake + 1-2 tsp soy sauce + water)2 Rice Cooker Cups (360 ml) – 400 ml (4 tsp sake + 2-4 tsp soy sauce + water)3 Rice Cooker Cups (540 ml) – 600 ml (2 Tbsp sake + 1-2 Tbsp soy sauce + water)4 Rice Cooker Cups (720 ml) – 800 ml (2.5 Tbsp sake + 1.5-2.5 Tbsp soy sauce + water)5 Rice Cooker Cups (900 ml) – 1000 ml (3 Tbsp sake + 1.5-3 Tbsp soy sauce + water)
If you don’t have a rice cooker cup handy, you can use the following measurement…. but it will not as precise:
1 rice cooker cup = ¾ cup2 rice cooker cups = 1 ½ cups3 rice cooker cups = 2 ¼ cups4 rice cooker cups = 3 cups5 rice cooker cups = 3 ¾ cups
Tips on Making Corn Rice
Use fresh corn – For a simple dish like this, it is common sense to use fresh, raw corn on the cob. Remove kernels from cobs – Holding the cob steady, use a sharp knife and make long downward strokes on the cob, separating kernels from the cob. You can also buy this corn kernel peeler but I honestly prefer using a knife.Always soak Japanese short-grain rice – The amount of liquid for cooking the rice is the same as cooking white rice despite the addition of corn kernels. However, the seasonings (sake and soy sauce) should be included for the total liquid. I recommend adding the seasonings and fill up the required amount of liquid with water. Add the cobs – The cobs have a lot of concentrated sweetness, so don’t throw away! Include them in the pot (or rice cooker) for more flavor! Cut into desirable smaller pieces so the cobs will fit in your pot.
This is truly a quick and easy recipe that celebrates the best of summer produce, so I hope you find joy in making it! Sign up for the free Just One Cookbook newsletter delivered to your inbox! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram for all the latest updates.
