Photo/Illutration Corn rice balls (Chikako Tada)

The end of summer brings both relief and loneliness, and September conveys such feelings every year.

With the start of a new school semester, many parents probably have resumed making lunch boxes like I am doing.

I am an early bird, so mornings don’t bother me, but since I have been out of the habit of making bento for more than a month, I have to motivate myself to get back into it.

I don’t make "kyaraben," for which one cuts nori into character shapes with scissors to place on top, nor do I make dishes that come in a red-lacquered bento box. Hang in there, Chikako!

I am a baker, cook and writer, yet for the first time in a long time, I am not doing much baking, cooking or writing.

I have become someone who just talks. This is because I was contacted by the director of a TV station and asked to share three of my favorite snacks.

An appearance on an information program? Me? Really?

I made a list. Karinto, the snack made with brown sugar that is famous in downtown Tokyo, went at the top. Pork buns, my favorite since high school in my hometown of Okayama, were next.

Potato chips from Fukuoka, caramel rusks I used to buy at a bakery in Kyoto and rice crackers from Niigata were added. Oh, and coffee-caramel-flavored nuts from Osaka. The list goes on and on.

I noticed my favorites all had something in common. They are all brown and very plain. Would they look good on TV? No.

Sure enough, the TV guy didn’t say, “Go with them.” He asked me, “Tell us something you have never tried and would like to try, but that is available in Japan.”

I could not think of anything. What about you?

So, for a non-brown snack — yes, corn, which can be enjoyed until the end of September, is a perfect way to lament the passing of summer. I like to eat corn raw.

To cook it with rice, the cobs are added together with loose kernels to the broth. When the rice is cooked and the lid is opened, the rising steam is from the corn! Rice balls with corn have a summery flair.

The only time-consuming part of making corn rice is removing the kernels. If you use a knife, you will not be able to remove the nutritious germ, which is close to the cob.

A special peeler is available, but you can use your hands or the handle of a spoon or fork to remove the kernels. If you have a rice cooker, you can make rice without using a flame.

Ingredients for 2 servings

1 ear of corn / 1 cup (180 ml) rice / 200 ml water / 1 tsp salt

Directions

1. Shuck the corn husks and halve each by hand.
2. Pick the kernels out of the cob with your fingers. Hold them with your thumb and then pop them to the side. If they are difficult to remove, insert the handle of a spoon or fork and take one row at a time.
3. Place the salt, corn kernels and cobs in the rice cooker.
4. Cook as usual. If cooking in a pot, open and stir once after boiling.
5. To shape onigiri, wrap the corn rice in plastic wrap and turn 5-6 times with both hands; makes 5-6 balls.

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This article originally appeared in the Sept. 8, 2024, issue of Asahi Weekly.

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Chikako Tada

Chikako Tada: The author of seven cookbooks, Tada is a Japanese food journalist and editor of Pen & Spoon, a website devoted to food (https://pen-and-spoon.com/). She worked as a newspaper reporter for 12 years before going freelance. She spent two years studying baking in Paris and began making bento around 2016 during her seven-year stay in India. She returned to Japan in 2020 and lives in Fukuoka.

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