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
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Hot buttered corn rice
Ingredients
- 50g/ 4 tbsp unsalted butter , divided
- 3 big garlic cloves , finely minced (can use garlic press)
- 2 cups frozen corn (no need to thaw), or fresh corn kernels (Note 1)
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- Pinch of pepper
- 1 cup long grain rice , uncooked, not rinsed (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock/broth (+ 2 tbsp extra if using fresh corn)
- 2 green onion stems , finely sliced
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:
Life of Dozer
Me: He failed.
Dozer: Winning!
This looks amazing – and so easy!
One question – I can’t eat dairy, so is there a best vegan butter or other substitute, such as coconut oil / olive oil to use? Or is it one that will only work with butter?
I know the taste would be different (how I miss being able to have butter!), but it would be good to have a steer on the best way to change it up 🙂
Thanks!
Hi! I have yet to make this recipe but I’ve made other buttery rice recipes of Nagi’s – I opt for either the Violife butter block or, my favorite, the Rama buttery block. These are great 🙂 some margarine/vegan butters are very plastic-like but both those taste lovely. I’m also totally dairy-free.
Thanks so much Candice! I don’t have a huge amount of choice here in NZ (one supermarket has one variety, and the other has a slightly different one…), so I’ll have to experiment, but it is good to know that it can work!
No problem! Yeah we’re a bit spoiled for choice here in Germany. Being in NZ though, I’d assume you have Woolworths? I’m originally from South Africa, and from Woolies, I’d get Flora 🙂 maybe that’ll work!
Haha no problem, I checked the comments and saw you’ve replied! Thank you. And what rice do you use, if you don’t mind me asking? As an Indian I usually use Basmati, but was wondering if there are any other local ones I could use. Any idea if Langkornreis is good? Thought of trying it but there are two types, Parboiled and Vollkorn. So confused.
@Hiba I have no idea why I can’t reply to you directly, but I used plain canned sweetcorn from Rewe (Beste Wahl/Bio). Frozen corn is totally absent it’s so weird! But this corn isn’t creamed corn so it held its shape and worked just fine for me.
Hey, I’m in Germany too! Can u plz tell me what corn you used? I haven’t seen fresh or frozen corn kernels anywhere here!
Nagi, would this work with left over rice. I always seen to have that in the fridge. lol
Nagi has done it again. Thank you. A super easy lunch at home. Added kim chi for some spice.
Hi Dozer! So happy to see you playing in the surf again.
Hi Nagi! This recipe is obsolutely delicious. I used corn I’d boiled from the night before, just didn’t cook it as long. Then sprinkled with a few jalepeno slices since our protein was a little bland. I’m full but I can’t stop eating it.
Thanks for keeping things easy and delish.
Cindy from the upper left corner of the USA
Tried this last night with some salmon. Absolutely beautiful meal. Thank you so much, Nagi. Will certainly be making this again.
Trying this recipe today. Pepper is listed in the ingredients but does not appear in the method. Does it matter when it is added?
Yikes sorry Kim! Just add it with the salt. Updating. Thanks for picking it up! 🙂 N x
I made this last night, and it came out beautifully.
I noticed that the ingredients list calls for pepper, but it doesn’t come up in the method. Based on its location in the list I added it with the rice, and it definitely added to it.
Thanks for picking that up Zac! Added into recipe 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it! N x
I made this today to go with Chicken Francese – also your recipe. What a great weekday meal! This is going into the regular rotation. You Never disappoint!!
Ooooh! So glad you liked the combo! I adore Chicken Francese. N x
I love this recipe but have become slave to the rice cooker. If I cooked the corn in garlic and butter before mixing it with the rice, do you think it would then work in the rice cooker? Alternatively, should I cook them separately?
Hi Chris! If you can do the sautéing step in the rice cooker then you can just do the whole recipe in it! Lucky you 🙂 N x
Fabulous, simple, comforting recipe again Nagi, thank you! I made it for dinner last night (doubled it) add served it a big omelette and everyone was happy. I had a few issues with the rice not being cooked despite using a big shallow cast iron pot for the requisite time. I just added some more vege stock and cooked for another 10 mins but it tasted delicious and was a new fave with my family.
Hi Cherry! I’m glad it worked out 🙂 How big was the pot you used? One around 20 – 22 cm/8 – 9″+ is ideal 🙂 N x
I made this tonight with fresh corn and pan fried cod fillets
I thought I knew how to cook rice, but this recipe was fantastic.
We will definitely be having it again soon, thanks
Yuuumm! I love cod. It’s hard to get good cod here in Australia!
Looks very interesting and looks easy to scale up and down!
Dozer’s distant (very!) cousin Mustang Sally would have absconded with the cheese in one swell foop!
Great, now that song is going to be stuck in my head all night! 😂
I shall cook this for our “Miners Meal” at the Grawin Club In the Scrub using the oven (40 – 60 serves). They love all your recipes – they keep saying what a great cook I am. Thanks for making me look good 👍
Lucky miners!! At RTM we do large batch rice cooking in the oven using gastronorms. Works perfectly! N x
I often think Sandra that some restaurants could do well to use some of Nagi’s recipes. I’m not surprised they love your cooking! but of course it still does take some skill especially for those numbers.
If I wanted to use half corn and half peas, would you add the frozen peas with the corn or add them quickly just before the rice rests like in some of your other recipes? Thank You!
Hi Steve! I’d just cook the peas with the corn in this recipe, I think it’s so nice to get some of the flavour performed throughout the rice 🙂 Plus, then the peas benefit from sautéing in the garlic butter! N x
This was good but needed just a little something more. Since I made breaded chicken cutlets with parm to go with it, I decided to add about 1/2 cup parm to the rice mixture right before serving. Perfect!
Glad you were able to tweak it to your taste Marcia!! (YUM to breaded chicken, were they schnitzel thickness or thicker??) – N x
I love corn and rice together but this is different from anything I’ve seen before. Will have to make it tonight as I have some fresh corn. As always the dishes look and usually taste wonderful once cooked and then are keepers. Thank you and belly rubs for Dozer; so happy he is doing so well. 🐾🐾❤️❤️
Please post the nutritional breakdown. Thank you
There’s a food blogger who calls your videos “pans and hands” recipes. I love the brevity in your videos because the ingredients and outcome are enough to get me to try your recipes – I can read and don’t require a lot of talk to “guide” me. And obviously I’m not alone in this.
I’ll be making this wonderful side dish with carnitas next week.
Thanks Nagi – I love your food!
This is right up my ally. Growing up in southeast Louisiana we ate most everything over rice (I still do). My mom made what we called “Stewed Corn”. It was considered a main dish and the rice stretched the meal.
She would sauté onion in bacon grease or butter until transparent. Add garlic and tomato paste and sauté for one or two minutes. Add diced ham and sauté a few minutes. Add a can or whole corn and a can of creamed corn and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. She served it over boiled rice.
Love your recipes!
Can you make this in a rice cooker?
Yes you can, I did it. Did the first garlic butter corn frying in the empty turn on rice cooker. I then added rice with rice measure (supplied with rice cooker) added stock as per levels on side of cooker. Turned on and left it for 10mins and back to Nagi instruction, turned out great.
I’m going to give it a try, with rice cooker quantities for the rice and liquid.
I did and it turned out well
I did turned out well