Grilled corn, butter and salt is the perfect snack. You’ll find street vendors along Odori Koen in Sapporo, and tourist stops throughout Hokkaido selling them as a Hokkaido specialty dish. This miso soup is my take on yaki tomorokoshi (grilled corn on the cob). I use two types of miso to give it a salty and sweet taste and the butter to give it a rich finish.
Ingredients (2 servings)
1 ear of corn
1/2 of onions sliced
2 cups of dashijiru (Nibandashi is fine or as always substitute with 1/8 tsp. of dashi powder and 2 cups of water)
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of shiro miso
1 tablespoon of awase miso
Finely minced parsley for garnish
Directions
1) Prepare the dashijiru and set aside
2) Break the corn in half and cut off the kernels from the bottom half, leaving the top half (since it looks nicer) for part of the garnish.
3) Blanch the top half in a pot of boiling water for about 2 minutes.
4) Rinse the corn and cut in half lengthwise. (Tip: the corn is difficult to cut from the side. Cut off the tip of the corn and cut down the middle from the top. Make sure the bottom is secure and cut it slowly.)
5) Pan fry the corn, kernel side down with a little vegetable oil and grill it or use a grill pan.
6) Add the butter to the pot and as soon as it melts, add the onions and stir fry on low for about 2-3 minutes.
7) Add the corn and continue to stir fry for about a minute.
8) Add the dashijiru and simmer until the corn and onions are soft.
9) Add the shiromiso and awasemiso and mix well.
10) Serve the miso soup in bowls, top with the grilled corn and sprinkle with parsley.
Break the corn in half and cut off the kernels from the bottom half.
Blanch the top half in a pot of boiling water.
Cut off the tip and cut down the middle.
Fry the halves, kernel side down in a frying pan with canola oil.
The onions should be sliced and ready to go.
Melt the butter.
Add the onions and continuously stir fry on low heat.
Add the corn and stir fry for another minute.
Add the dashijiru and simmer until the onions and corn are soft.
Mix in the miso into the ladle and mix into the soup.
Serve soup into bowls and garnish with corn half and parsley.
Naomi Kuwabara was born and raised in California but spent many summers in Japan growing up. She has spent time living in Hokkaido and Osaka, both meccas for Japanese cuisine. Her passion is cooking and sharing her experiences cooking Japanese food with others. Her blog Umamitopia is about her experiences cooking Japanese food. Her greatest inspirations are from her mother and grandmother. Her cooking adventures can be found at http://umamitopia.com.
