This Japanese American style grilled corn is topped with miso butter, Kewpie mayo, and furikake. Think of miso butter corn as a Japanese elote. Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links.
Japanese Grilled Corn
Japanese people love corn. I read somewhere that Japan is the third largest importer of corn in the world. They eat corn rice, corn soup, corn korokke… and of course just plain grilled corn!
Japan also loves miso butter. You can find this flavor in snacks like potato chips! So it just makes sense to put miso butter on corn.
But, if I’m going to be honest, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen people in Japan put miso butter AND mayonnaise AND furikake on their corn. For sure, tons of my Japanese American friends and friends in Hawai’i make their corn like this. But having ALL THE THINGS on your food might be more American than Japanese. Still, this miso butter corn is obviously Japanese inspired, at the very least. All the Japanese grandmas at my Japanese church growing up made miso butter furikake corn, and I pretty much want to cook just like them, so here we are.
How to Make Miso Butter
Making miso butter at home is actually super easy. Just mix an equal amount of miso and softened butter! That’s it!
I like using white miso, as it has a mild flavor and pairs well with pretty much anything. Of course, you can use whatever miso you like.
I know other recipes for miso butter can sometimes add other ingredients like sugar, honey, and/or soy sauce. Definitely adding a little sweetness and soy sauce would taste amazing, but I like keeping my miso butter just miso plus butter. That way it’s easy to firm back up into a log. Then, you can easily grip it to swipe onto your corn! Of course, you can always spray some soy sauce and honey onto your corn after, if you want to add those flavors as well.
Speaking of other ways to flavor corn, even if you don’t do the miso butter, you can try soy sauce butter instead! Butter shoyu is also a super popular flavor in Japan and goes so well on corn!
Corn with Mayo and Furikake
You could keep your corn flavored with just miso butter, OR you can take it to the next level with mayo and furikake. If you like Mexican elotes, you should definitely try adding Kewpie mayo on top. If you don’t have a Japanese mayonnaise, like Kewpie, you could substitute an American mayonnaise. But Japanese mayo really is much more flavorful. I’d probably just skip it if you don’t have Kewpie.
Lastly, I like to sprinkle on some nori komi furikake. The seaweed and sesame flavor just goes so well with miso butter. Of course you can use a different furikake as well.
More Japanese Grilling Recipes
Looking for more grilled Japanese and Japanese American foods? Check out these recipes:
- The Best Teriyaki Beef
- The Best Teriyaki Chicken
- Easy Yakitori Recipe
- Yakimochi (Grilled Mochi)
- Grilled Mochi and Pork Belly Skewers
Japanese Corn with Miso Butter
Ingredients
For Miso Butter
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 4 tbsp white miso
For Corn
- 4 ears of corn shucked
- oil for grilling
- Kewpie mayonnaise
- nori komi furikake
Instructions
Making Miso Butter
- In a mixing bowl, put softened butter and miso. Mix thoroughly using an electric mixer.
- Transfer miso butter to an empty butter wrapper, plastic wrap, or wax paper. Roll into a log and put in the fridge to firm up while you cook the corn.
Making the Corn
- Rub some vegetable or canola oil onto your shucked corn and grill (either an outside grill or oven works) for 15 minutes or until kernels are soft.
- Take firmed up miso butter and rub it over your cooked corn.
- Lightly cover with Kewpie mayonnaise and sprinkled furikake. Slice corn on the cob into thirds if you like and serve.
