Summer Corn Rice

This easy, delicately flavored Japanese-style dish is the perfect way to showcase fresh sweet corn when it is in season. Short-grain sushi rice gets cooked with corn (including its cob!) in water that's been infused with kombu and soy sauce, creating a sweet and savory springboard for all sorts of summer meals. There are so many simple ways to enjoy it: alongside a fresh salad, miso soup, or grilled meat; mixed with a dab of butter and topped with shredded shiso leaves; sautéed with butter and more soy sauce as a quick fried rice; shaped into onigiri (rice balls) with flaked cooked salmon tucked into its center. This recipe is easily halved, and you can also make it in a rice cooker.—Hana Asbrink