Every summer we buy corn from a farm in Kodaira, in western Tokyo — yes, Tokyo grows corn — and the first thing we make is this: sweet kernels folded into rice, steamed in a donabe, and finished two ways at the table. We can never choose, so we do half soy sauce, half butter.
Serves 3–4 · 10 min prep + about 30 min cook & rest
Ingredients
- 2 rice-cups (360 ml) short-grain Japanese rice
- 1 ear fresh corn (about 1 cup kernels)
- 360 ml water · 1 tsp sake (optional) · ¼ tsp salt
- To finish: good soy sauce and/or a small knob of butter
How to make it
- Rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear, then drain.
- Cut the kernels off the cob — and keep the bare cob.
- Add the rice, water, sake, and salt to a donabe (or rice cooker). Scatter the kernels on top and lay the bare cob in.
- Donabe: cover and bring to a boil over medium heat (about 10 minutes), then turn to low for about 12 minutes, then rest off the heat for 10 minutes. (Rice cooker: just cook as normal.)
- Remove the cob and fold the rice gently to mix.
- Finish each bowl your way — a few drops of good soy sauce for savoury depth, or a small knob of butter for richness. (Both is allowed.)
Tip
The bare cob steams its sweetness into the rice — don’t skip it. With soy sauce it tastes like late summer in Japan; with butter, like Hokkaido.
