Sweetcorn Takikomi Gohan, Made with Dish Symphony No.5

Not just the sweetcorn kernels: the cob they were cut from goes in as well. What the cob gives up is a sweet stock the kernels alone will not produce. The moment that matters comes before it cooks. Do not stir — simply press the switch.

The sweetness of sweetcorn and butter, left to itself, has a blurred outline. Dish Symphony No.5 is a blend in which three peppers take the top places on the ingredient list, and that heat draws a line along the edge of the sweetness. Heat drives the aroma off, so it is not cooked in; shake it over after serving.

Time needed: about 60 minutes

On top of that, the rice needs 30 minutes soaking in water.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• Dish Symphony No.5: as much as you like
• Rice: 2 gō (about 360 ml)
• Sweetcorn: 1 cob
• Aburaage (thin fried tofu): 1 sheet
• Kombu (kelp): one 5cm square
• Butter: 10 g
• Sake: 1 tbsp
• Salt: 1 tsp

Sweetcorn loses sweetness with every hour that passes after harvest. It is at its sweetest cooked on the day you buy it; if it has to wait until the next day, stand it upright in the vegetable drawer of the fridge with the husk still on.

Preparation

1. Wash the rice and drain it in a sieve, put it into the rice cooker bowl, pour in water up to the 2-gō mark and leave it to soak for about 30 minutes.
2. Strip the husk and the silk from the sweetcorn and snap the cob in half by hand. Stand each half in a bowl, snapped side down, bring the knife down to the base and cut the kernels away from the cob. Shorter, the cob takes the weight of the knife; inside the bowl, the kernels do not fly. Keep the cobs rather than throwing them away.
3. Pour boiling water over the aburaage to rinse off the oil, and once it has cooled a little, cut it in half lengthways and then into 5mm strips.
4. Wipe the surface of the kombu quickly with a well-wrung cloth.

Instructions

1. Scoop about 2 tbsp of water out of the soaked rice, add the “sake: 1 tbsp” and “salt: 1 tsp”, and stir gently until the salt has dissolved.
2. Spread the sweetcorn kernels and the aburaage over the rice, then lay on the kombu and the cob, snapped in half. The cob gives up a sweet stock of its own, so it cooks along with everything else. From here on do not stir; simply set the cooker going.
3. When it is done, lift out the kombu and the cob and drop in the “butter: 10 g” while it is still hot. Fold it through with a rice paddle, turning it up from the base with a cutting motion.
4. Serve into bowls and shake as much “Dish Symphony No.5” as you like over the top.

Heat drives the aroma off, so we suggest shaking it over at the end rather than cooking it in. The amount is decided bowl by bowl, so anyone who does not care for heat can have theirs lighter.

Dish Symphony No.5 is salt-free, additive-free and 100% plant-based. The saltiness is set by the salt added before cooking, so taste it, and if it needs more, adjust by adding a pinch at a time to the served rice.