Hot Buttered Corn Rice is a simple yet delicious upgrade from plain steamed rice. Serve with any cuisine, any dish – it goes with everything. Make lots – everyone will go in for seconds!
I have no idea what you’re planning to make for dinner tonight. But whatever it is, a big steamy mound of garlicky, buttery rice with sweet pops of corn is going to work with it, and it will make your meal even better than you already envisage it to be!!
And such is the beauty of today’s recipe. It is one of those unicorns that just works with any cuisine and any food that can do with a starchy side. A stir fry? Definitely! Lemony Chicken Francese? Oh yes. Firecracker Beef? Oh course! Coq au vin? Try to stop me!
It’s tasty enough to eat by the spoonful, straight out of the pot but neutral enough to work with full flavoured, saucy mains, like the Mexican Chipotle Pork & Beans pictured below. I also see myself topping it with canned tuna, a squiggle of kewpie mayo and dollop of chilli. Hot Buttered Corn Tuna Rice Bowl! Sounds so much more interesting than tuna and rice. 😂
Ingredients for Hot Buttered Corn Rice
Here’s what you need to make this buttery, garlicky rice! Green onion is not critical.
- Corn – I use frozen corn for convenience so imagine how great it is with fresh corn! Canned corn will work too but it’s not my first pick as it’s a little softer so once cooked, it is a little too soft for my taste.
- White rice – I like to use long grain white rice for this dish as the rice stays fluffier because the rice itself is less sticky than short grain rice (like sushi rice).
Substitutes: Basmati rice (works just as well, with a little extra perfume of flavour), medium grain rice (next best), sushi rice (works but the rice is a little stickier).
Do not use: Jasmine rice (too soft, requires different cooking treatment), brown rice, risotto rice, paella rice, wild rice, quinoa, or any faux rice (eg cauliflower rice), any par-cooked rice (those microwave packets). The recipe is not designed for this, it would require tweaking.
- Butter – For buttery goodness! Some is used to cook the corn and rice, then we stir some through at the end for a good hit of buttery flavour.
- Garlic – 3 whole cloves! Garlic + butter + corn = home run.
- Green onion – For a little hit of fresh and lovely green colour. Not the end of the world if you don’t have it. You could also just sauté a little onion or eschalots (US: shallots) with the corn.
- Chicken or vegetable stock/broth – The cooking liquid. Because it’s tastier than water and we’re making a quick recipe here, so we need the extra helping hand. If we were going to the effort of making a homemade corn stock, we could get away with using water. But we’re not! Not today. 🙂 (But if you want to make something using a homemade corn stock, make this Cold Corn Soup! It’s amazing – but it does require more effort than this recipe.)
- Salt – Just a little bit (1/4 teaspoon), so the rice has enough flavour to eat it by the spoonful straight out of the pot. Just lightly salted is best else your overall meal will be too salty when you add a properly seasoned main onto the plate, like the pictured Shredded Chipotle Mexican Pork and Beans.
How to make Hot Buttered Corn Rice
Use a small pot or large saucepan (20 – 22 cm/8 – 9″+). If your saucepan is too small, the depth of the rice will be too deep so the rice will cook unevenly, with mushy rice on the base and raw rice on the surface. If you use a pot that’s too large, then the depth of the rice will be too shallow so the liquid will evaporate too fast, leaving your rice undercooked, and likely with some burnt patches.
The pictured pot is 24cm / 9.4″ and it is a wee bit on the large side, but OK for experienced rice makers!
- Sauté – Melt the butter over high heat. Add the garlic and stir for 15 seconds until it smells amazing, but don’t let it go golden. Add the corn (still frozen is fine) and stir for 2 minutes. It will thaw and coat the surface in the tasty garlic butter.
If using fresh corn, it won’t cook through in this time which is fine because it will steam cook with the rice.
- Coat rice – Add the rice and stir to coat it in the tasty garlic butter flavour.
- Bring to simmer properly – Add the stock and salt. Stir then let the stock come to a simmer.
⚠️ Make sure the whole surface is bubbling or rippling, not just around the edges, before you lower the heat and put the lid on. We want to make sure the stock gets enough heat in it to make sure the rice actually cooks, rather than sitting in hot water just bloating.
- Cook the rice for 12 minutes with the lid on. No peeking (this lets steam escape) and no stirring (express path to mushy rice!). At the end of this time, the water should be absorbed by the rice. Tilt the pot and peek quickly to check.
- Rest 10 minutes – Remove the pot from the the stove and leave it to rest for 10 minutes with the lid still on. This step is so important anytime you cook rice, whether plain or fully-loaded! The rice will finish cooking and the residual water on the surface of the grains gets absorbed, leaving the rice beautifully fluffy. See FAQ for more information about this and for more rice-making rantings, see my How to cook White Rice post. Writing that was so therapeutic!😂
- Butter & fluff – Remove the lid and add the butter. Gently fluff the rice. Once the butter is mostly melted, toss the green onion through. By the time you’ve finished, the butter should be fully melted. Time to serve, while it’s hot and fresh! After all, it’s called HOT Buttered Corn Rice, not Lukewarm Corn Rice (well there’s an average recipe name for you!).
Hot Buttered Corn Rice will last for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. And it will reheat really well, so this is a good one to add to your menu planning for a big gathering because you can make it well in advance then just reheat until steamy!
I’m also thinking this might be a good one to add to the RecipeTin Meals rotation! (This is my food bank where we make and donate meals to the vulnerable). Though possibly my team will make a version with more vegetables in it so it will be a complete two-in-one side dish (ie starch plus vegetables). Then we can just add a piece of protein and we’ll have a complete, nutritious meal that’s efficient to make on a large scale! Must run this past them. 🙂 – Nagi x
Hot Buttered Corn Rice FAQ
No, you do not. You just need the right water to rice ratio which is 1.5 : 1 for most types of white rice cooked on the stove.
If you see a recipe that uses more than this, the rice will be mushy.
If you see a recipe that uses more than this and rinses the rice, the rice will be VERY mushy (because there’s also water in the waterlogged rice).
If you see a recipe that uses more than this and rinses the rice and soaks the rice -> 🤯
The only reason to rinse rice is if you are concerned about cleanliness (if you buy rice in packets from grocery stores like I do, you do not need to worry about this) or if you are making a speciality rice recipe like Biryani.
For lots more rice making rantings, see my How to cook White Rice post. Writing that was so therapeutic!😂
If you insist on rinsing the rice (I get it, some habits are impossible to break) then you will need to reduce the stock in the recipe by 2 tablespoons, to account for the water logged in the rice.
Because during this step, the rice will finish cooking and the water on the surface of each grain gets absorbed, leaving the rice fluffy. If you skip this step, the rice will be wet and slippery with a hard centre.
If you’re thinking can’t I just add more water and cook for longer to I can skip this step so I can get the rice on the table faster? The answer is no! The rice will end up mushy because the outside of each rice grain will absorb too much water and overcook by the time the centre of the rice cooks.
The only way to cook rice through properly is to take it off the stove when the outside of each grain is perfectly cooked but the inside is still a bit hard. At this stage, there is also a slick of water on the surface of each rice grain. Then during the resting stage, this layer of water gets absorbed by each rice grain and the residual heat spreads it through to the centre of the grain so it softens and finishes cooking through.
By the way, if you rinse rice or soak rice, you still have to rest the cooked rice. There is no getting around this step, if you want properly cooked rice!!
You can make up to triple the recipe using a large stock pot. If you try to scale up any more, the depth of the rice will be too great so the rice will cook unevenly (mushy).
If tripling or doubling the recipe, be sure to bring the liquid up to a full boil before putting the lid on, and lower the heat to medium low rather than low, and cook for 18 to 20 minutes (tilt pot to check to ensure all the stock is absorbed). Expect a bit of golden crunchy rice on the base (actually, it’s my favourite part – chef’s treat!)
It will serve 4 to 5 as a side dish for a regular meal. If making it as part of a larger banquet where there are other starches (like bread rolls, potato salad, macaroni salad), it will easily serve 6 to 8 (a large, heaped serving spoon scoop per person).
Make per the recipe, including fluffing and stirring through butter while hot. Then let it fully cool, uncovered, before storing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freezer for 3 months.
Watch how to make it
Hot buttered corn rice
Prep: 7 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Rice resting: 10 minutes
Total: 29 minutes
Rice, Sides
Western
Servings4 – 5 as a side
Tap or hover to scale
Recipe video above. Hot Buttered Corn Rice – a simple yet delicious upgrade from plain steamed rice. Serve with any cuisine, any dish – goes with everything. Make lots – everyone will go in for seconds!
Instructions
- Pot size – Use a small pot or large saucepan about 20-22 cm/8-9″. (Note 3)
- Sauté – Melt half the butter in a pot over high heat. Add the garlic and stir for 15 seconds. Add the corn and half the salt. Stir for 2 minutes.
- Bring to simmer – Add the rice and stir for 30 seconds. Add the stock and remaining salt, and pepper. Stir, bring to a simmer (make sure the whole surface is bubbling/ripplling), then put the lid on and turn the heat down to medium low (or low, if your stove is strong). (Note 4)
- Cook for 12 minutes (no peeking, no stirring!). The liquid should be absorbed by now – tilt the pot and take a quick peek to check.
- Rest 10 minutes – Remove the pot from the stove and let it rest for 10 minutes with the lid on. This step is key, do not skip it! (Note 5)
- Toss – Lift the lid, add the remaining butter, fluff the rice to melt the butter through. Add green onion and toss through.
- Tumble into serving bowl. Serve hot!
Recipe Notes:
2. Rice – Long grain best (this is what I use), also basmati works just as well. Next best is medium grain. Short grain (sushi rice) will also work but the rice is a bit stickier.
No need to rinse rice unless you’re concerned about cleanliness. Don’t worry, the rice is fluffy (see video proof) because we’re using the right water to rice ratio of 1.5:1. If you can’t shake the habit, go ahead and rinse but reduce the stock by 2 tablespoons (to account for waterlogged rice).
Do not use: jasmine rice, brown rice, risotto rice, paella rice, wild rice, black rice, quinoa, or any faux rice (eg cauliflower rice), any par-cooked rice (those microwave packets).
3. Pot size matters for cooking rice well on the stove! Too small = cooks unevenly. Too large = liquid evaporates too quickly = undercooked rice. If doubling or tripling, use a very large pot or stock pot. See in post for more information.
4. Bubbling stock – Make sure the whole surface of your liquid is bubbling / rippling, not just around the edge, to make sure the stock is hot enough before lowering the heat and starting the timer.
5. Resting rice is key to allow the rice to finish cooking and become fluffy. Read in post for more rantings about why this is so important! (In the How To Make section).
Keeps for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Reheats extremely well. Excellent one to make ahead for gatherings!
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