Grilled Corn With Garlic and Ginger Soy Butter Recipe

A flavorful twist on corn on the cob.

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated April 14, 2024

Why It Works

  • Shucking the corn before grilling imparts smoky, charred flavor to the kernels that you don't get from grilling corn in the husk.
  • Grilling your corn without the husk also helps it cook faster.

Soy-butter is a flavor combination familiar to pretty much anyone living in Japan. Heck, even McDonald's gives out packs of butter soy sauce for their fries.

I first tasted the combo at a New Years festival in Kyoto a couple years ago. There, the street vendors would grill the bright yellow corn over a glowing coal fire until deeply charred and nutty before dipping it into a bucket of soy sauce and butter. The concept was delicious, but the corn was sadly mealy and not particularly sweet. I vowed then and there that I'd make my own version when I got back to the States.*

*Japanese produce for the most part is remarkably fantastic (in flavor, appearance, and cost), but their corn tends to be lacking.

4 grilled cobs of corn with soy butter and scallions.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Using plain soy-butter is super simple and tastes great, but I prefer my slightly gussied up version which adds a hit of garlic and ginger to the butter and soy base along with some lemon juice (citrus and corn just go hand in hand in my mind). The whole thing gets topped with some finely sliced scallions.

It's not really Japanese, but damned if it ain't delicious.

July 2013

Recipe Details

Grilled Corn With Garlic and Ginger Soy Butter Recipe

Cook 45 mins
Active 30 mins
Total 45 mins
Serves 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 medium cloves garlic, minced on a Microplane grater (about 2 teaspoons)

  • 1-inch knob fresh ginger, minced on a Microplane grater (about 2 teaspoons)

  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) soy sauce

  • 4 tablespoons (55g) softened butter

  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) juice from 1 lemon

  • 8 ears corn, shucked

  • 1/4 cup finely sliced scallions

Directions

  1. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange coals on one side of charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to the highest heat setting, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate.

  2. While grill preheats, combine garlic, ginger, soy sauce, butter, and lemon juice. Stir with a fork until well combined. Set aside.

  3. Place corn directly over hot side of fire. If using a coal grill, keep uncovered. If using gas, cover grill when not turning corn. Cook corn, turning every minute or so, until it is well charred on all sides, about 10 minutes total.

  4. Transfer corn to a large bowl. Coat with sauce using a spoon or brush. Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with scallions and serve immediately.

Special Equipment

Grill, chimney starter, microplane grater

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
131 Calories
7g Fat
18g Carbs
3g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 131
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g 9%
Saturated Fat 4g 18%
Cholesterol 15mg 5%
Sodium 467mg 20%
Total Carbohydrate 18g 6%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 5mg 27%
Calcium 9mg 1%
Iron 0mg 3%
Potassium 211mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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