Barbecued Corn On The Cob With Seaweed Butter

By Yumi Stynes

Barbecued Corn On The Cob With Seaweed Butter

Barbecued Corn On The Cob With Seaweed Butter. I gag when non-Japanese chefs come up with wacky things to do to Japanese ingredients, like putting wasabi into ice cream. Gross. This, however, does not apply to nori seaweed. It’s delicious, mainstream, easy-to-find and rich in iron, so get among it.

I love the way this dish adds more vegetables to a barbecue, while any leftover butter can be used on whole baked potatoes or steak. If making up your own nori butter like this feels like giving too many fucks, then you can always serve it with lots of the cold, regular stuff, but mate, give it a go – it’s strange and blackish looking and you’re totally going to make weird ’num num’ noises while eating it. 

 

Serves 6

Cooking time: 30 mins  |  Prep time: 5 mins

 

6 Corn Cobs, husks removed

Shichimi Togarashi, to serve (optional) 

Black and White Sesame

Seeds, to serve (optional)

 

Seaweed Butter

2 single-serve packets of Nori Seaweed (about 10 G/ 1/2 OZ in total) 

100 G (31/2 OZ) Butter, at room temperature 

Zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

To make the seaweed butter, add the seaweed to a very dry, clean food processor and blend it into tiny flakes. Add the butter, lemon zest and salt and give it one last whizz, then scrape it into a small serving bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. (This can be done up to 5 days in advance.)

When you’re ready to cook your corn, get the barbecue nice and hot.

Lay the corn cobs out on the barbecue chargrill plate and cook for about 30 minutes, rotating the cobs about 60° every 5 minutes or so. At this point the corn should look charred in places and have taken on a vivid shiny, deeper-yellow colour (it looks duller when not cooked). Don’t sweat the details too much – the corn is pretty forgiving and continues to taste good even after some terrible neglect. Transfer the corn to a heated plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

When ready to serve, use a knife to spread the seaweed butter  all over the cooked corn, working quickly. Sprinkle with shichimi togarashi and/or sesame seeds, if you like, and serve immediately.

 

TIPS

1. Nori is the seaweed commonly used in sushi rolls and is not to be confused with wakame seaweed (which traditionally is wetter, for soup or salad use). It can go stale easily so I like to use single-serve packets in this recipe. (To avoid it going stale my mum stores hers in the freezer.)

2. Barbecued corn takes longer to cook than you’d think so start with plenty of time and don’t freak out if it gets a little black in places – it’s tasty that way. I get my kids to use a timer and they are the bosses of this dish.

3. Shichimi togarashi is a commonly available Japanese condiment used like pepper, which adds a chilli kick.

 

This is an edited extract from Zero F*cks Cooking: Endless Summer by Yumi Stynes published by Hardie Grant Books RRP $39.99 and is available in stores nationally. Photographer: © Chris Chen

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