Sweet and savoury, this Japanese Corn Rice recipe is a simple but delicious side dish. Made with only a handful of ingredients, this rice recipe comes together quickly and easily. While amazing with fresh summer corn, this recipe can be made and enjoyed year-round!

We have rice almost every day so it’s always fun to change things up to keep mealtime fun. This Japanese corn rice recipe has been on repeat lately as the savoury notes from the soy sauce and sweetness from the corn are such a nice change from regular jasmine rice. Plus, the butter mixed in at the end is just *chef’s kiss.*

Why You’ll Love This Simple Rice Recipe

It only requires a few simple ingredients. You probably already have them in your kitchen! It’s a great and simple way to bulk up your meal without having to make an additional side dish.
You can see fresh summer corn, canned corn, or frozen corn! While fresh summer corn is ideal for this corn rice, it’s not available year-round, which is when I turn to canned or frozen corn. The best part is, you don’t have to do anything different. It all goes into the pot and the pot works its magic.
It’s so delicious! Seasoned simply, this rice is packed with flavour.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Not so much an ingredient but a tool. I use a donabe to make this Japanese corn rice. A donabe is a Japanese pot that translates to clay pot as do means “clay,” and nabe means “pot.” If you do not have one, this recipe can be made in a Dutch oven or even a rice cooker.

Ingredients needed to make Japanese corn rice.

jasmine rice — I use jasmine rice as it’s the rice I always have on hand and is easily accessible. The rice in this recipe uses a rice cup measurement so 1 cup of rice is not 250mL (or 240mL US cup) but 180mL.
salt
mirin — mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine, if you are unable to find it, you can try rice vinegar with extra honey.
soy sauce — use low sodium soy sauce.
butter — I use unsalted butter.
corn — you can use fresh, canned, or frozen corn. If you’re using fresh corn, simply cut the corn off the cob and add it to the pot.

How to Make Japanese Corn Rice

A donabe pot with rinsed rice and water.

A donabe pot with soy sauce and mirin added to the rice.

Rinse the rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. Then add the rice to a donabe or Dutch oven. Add the water.
Mix in the mirin and soy sauce.

Corn added on top of the rice and liquid in a donabe pot.

A pot of Japanese corn rice with a knob of butter in the middle.

Place the corn on top in an even layer, do not stir.
Place the lid on top and cook the rice on medium heat for 8 minutes then lower to low heat for 15 minutes. Then, turn off the heat and let the rice rest for 10 minutes before opening the lid and adding butter on top.

Fluff the rice and give it a good mix so the butter is distributed throughout. Add more if desired.
Serve immediately.

Recipe Tips

To reiterate, the rice in this recipe uses a rice cup measurement so 1 cup of rice is not 250mL (or 240mL US cup) but 180mL. While you could adjust this for a standard 1 cup measurement, the rice juuuuuust fits in my pot once it has been cooked.
Feel free to top off with more salt and some pepper.
If using a rice cooker, simply press the “cook” button. No need to let rest before opening the rice cooker.
If you want to add more soy sauce, simply subtract the amount added from the water so the total amount of liquid doesn’t change.
Feel free to add more butter! While I love the extra buttery flavour but it’s not for everyone.
1 cup of uncooked white rice yields 3 cups of cooked white rice. This recipe will make 6 cups of cooked white rice.

Close up of a pot of Japanese corn rice.

Make Ahead Tips

Meal prep: once cooled, store the cooked rice in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave.

More Japanese Recipes to Try

Japanese Corn Rice

5 from 29 votes

Print Rate

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 23

Rest Time: 10

Total Time: 43

Servings: servings

Ingredients

360 mL jasmine rice, 2 rice cooker cups
350 mL water
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp soy sauce, low sodium
1 pinch salt
1 cup corn, fresh, canned, or frozen
1 tbsp butter

Equipment

Donabe or Dutch oven

Instructions

Rinse the rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. Then add the rice to a donabe or Dutch oven. Add the water, mirin, and soy sauce.
Place the corn on top in an even layer, do not stir.
Place the lid on top and cook the rice on medium heat for 8 minutes then lower to low heat for 15 minutes. Then, turn off the heat and let the rice rest for 10 minutes before opening the lid and adding butter on top.
Fluff the rice and give it a good mix so the butter is distributed throughout. Add more if desired.
Serve immediately.

Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥

Nutrition Per Serving

Author: Carmy

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Asian, Japanese

More Rice Recipes to Try

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