This time of year always feels like a sprint—shopping, hosting, remembering to feed the people who live with you…. Between holiday errands, late-night gift wrapping, and prepping for houseguests, December cooking needs to be simple but still feel special. These Salt and Pepper Wings hit read more
I love a good Caesar salad, but sometimes the classic version can feel a little heavy. And if I’m being honest, I don’t always feel up to the task of separating eggs and whisking together a mayo from scratch. That’s why I decided to ditch read more
When summer corn is at its peak, you really don’t have to do much. But if you want to take it just one step further—without masking its natural sweetness—this quick stovetop Korean Honey Butter Corn is the move. It’s buttery, slightly sticky from the honey, and finished with a hit of coarse salt to make everything pop.
It’s the kind of thing you throw together for an easy late night snack: a quick shave of fresh corn off the cob, a short sauté in butter, a swirl of honey, and done. No boiling pots of water, no extra pans to wash. This is the kind of side dish that’s low-effort, high-reward—exactly what summer cooking should be. Eat it straight out of the pan, serve it with drinks, or treat it like a warm summer salad. However you go at it, it’s ready in 10 minutes and dangerously easy to polish off so let’s get into it.
If you’ve wandered through a Korean convenience store—or just scrolled long enough on Korean food TikTok—you’ve probably seen the honey butter craze in full force. From chips to biscuits to fried chicken, to honey butter seasoning to sprinkle on popcorn and the like, that sweet-salty combo has totally taken over. Korea also loves its corn. You’ll find it served in all kinds of ways as a banchan (side dish) at BBQ spots—often smothered in gooey cheese, like this one. But when corn is in peak-season form? It’s the perfect canvas to soak up all that buttery, honeyed goodness.
Making Korean Honey Butter corn starts with selecting the best corn. Look bright green husks, snugly wrapped around the cob, and tassels (the silky tops) that are golden and slightly sticky—not dried out. If you can, peel back the tip and check for plump, tightly packed kernels. The fresher the corn, the sweeter and juicier it’ll be. (To be honest, if you can’t find any good corn on the cob, I’d choose frozen over sad, dried out and withered cobs.)
Begin by removing the husk and silk from the corn.
Place a small dish upside down in a large bowl, then rest the base of the corn cob on top. This little trick helps keep the corn stable as you cut. Use a sharp knife to slice off the kernels—try not to cut too deeply into the cob.
Heat a small skillet and then add the butter.
Then add the corn kernels and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the honey, and swirl to mix:
Season with some freshly ground black pepper:
Then I transfer my Korean Honey Butter Corn to a serving dish and give it a generous pinch of a flaky sea salt, like Maldon:
Sweet, buttery, salty, and ready in minutes…what are you waiting for?! Go grab some corn and make this tonight, you and anyone lucky enough to share it will be glad you did! Don’t forget to tag us in your pics @funkyasiankitchen, we wanna see what’s cooking in your kitchens this summer!
Love Korean snacks? Check out this Kimchi Pancake or these Spicy Sesame Rice Cakes.
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Prepare the corn: Remove the leaves and the silk from the corn. Place a small dish upside down in a large bowl. Rest the end of the corn on the small dish (this keeps the corn steady) and cut the corn off of the cob. Make sure you do not cut so deeply that you are cutting into the fibrous cob. Discard the cobs.
Cook the corn: Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat for a couple minutes. Add the butter and swirl it around the pan. Add the corn and cook it for 2-3 minutes, moving the corn around the pan with a wooden spoon or just flipping it to cook evenly.
Turn off the heat and add the honey, swirling it into the corn to evenly distribute it. Season with ground pepper and transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with a sprinkling of coarse salt and serve immediately.
*Use the freshest corn available. If you’re cooking this out of season, I prefer frozen corn over canned.
Keywords: korean, banchan, snacks, corn, summer, veggie sides
I used to think my mom made this up. When I was little, she’d serve us bowls of strawberries and let us mash them up, drizzle in a little honey or a sprinkling of sugar, and pour cold milk over the whole thing. The strawberries read more
Chilled Tofu Terrine is one of those dishes that looks incredibly elegant, but is actually super simple to make. There’s no oven involved, barely any cooking, and it can be made ahead—perfect for warm weather days when the last thing you want is to stand read more
Few things say “Spring” like asparagus. And when it comes to quick, delicious side dishes, roasted asparagus is hard to beat. It’s one of those recipes that proves simple ingredients and minimal effort can still deliver amazing results. Whether you’re pulling together a weeknight dinner or setting the table for a more elaborate meal like a springtime brunch, this roasted asparagus is an easy win — ready in about 10 minutes, so let’s get into it!
These are all the ingredients you need — simple pantry staples that pack a ton of flavor.Roasting asparagus is a great way to highlight its natural sweetness while giving it just a little bit of caramelized, nutty flavor. Here I give your standard roasted asparagus a little Funky Asian Kitchen treatment with a quick toss in soy butter. The melted butter and soy sauce gives it a savory, rich finish that makes it downright irresistible. No complicated techniques, no fancy ingredients — just a little bit of oven magic. (and FYI, the melted butter/soy sauce combo is a great trick to add flavor to all kinds of roasted veggies, and even to drizzle over simply cooked proteins, try it with fish!)
There are a couple of tricks to roasting asparagus successfully, which is a little different than roasting other veggies. First, choose the thickest asparagus spears you can find. Asparagus cooks very quickly and those thin pencil asparagus that look lovely blanched will be a burnt mess if you try it with this technique, because we are roasting at a very high temperature. The reason why you need the temperature so high is because asparagus is very watery and will steam instead of roast if you don’t crank up the heat. Finally, oil is typically used in roasting vegetables, but I use butter here not only for flavor, but also because butter has a lower smoking point and will help in achieving some toasty color.
I start my Roasted Asparagus by trimming the stalks. Though you can find it year round now, asparagus is at its peak in Spring. Look for firm stalks, with tightly closed tips. Stay away from discolored stalks or any packages that look wet. In general, I prefer fat spears of asparagus if I have a choice. They have better flavor and texture but you definitely need it here. Stay away from pencil asparagus for this recipe.
The bottom couple inches of the spears are too tough and woody to eat, so first you need to remove it. Snap the ends off by hand — the asparagus naturally breaks where it turns tender. (This method will remove a couple inches of stalk. If you feel that wastes a lot of the asparagus, feel free to use a knife to cut off the bottom inch to 2 inches.)
I cut the spears into bite-sized pieces for faster, more even roasting.
I pour the melted butter on top:
Then I pour the soy sauce on top:
A generous grind of black pepper:
And then a quick toss with clean hands to make sure everything is mixed:
Spread the asparagus out in a single layer so it roasts evenly. It is very important that you have adequate space on the baking sheet. You should have a maximum of 3/4 of the baking sheet full. Any more than that and the asparagus will steam instead of roast.
I roast them for 5-7 minutes, I like them to get some nice browned color.
Perfectly roasted asparagus — tender with just a bit of char:
If you find that you want a little more color on your asparagus, feel free to broil it for a minute on the top rack.
Want to turn this quick side into a light supper? Top them with our Perfect Fried Eggs! Roasted asparagus is also a perfect way to round out my Sticky Char Siu Ribs. Or make a double batch and add leftovers to these Chilled Kimchi Noodles. However you enjoy them, we want to hear about it! Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to tag us in your pics @funkyasiankitchen, we love hearing from you!
Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees and set the oven rack to the middle.
Prepare the asparagus: Break the ends off of the asparagus by holding the asparagus at the base. It will naturally break where the asparagus becomes tender. (Some people think this is wasteful and prefer to just use a knife to cut off the woody ends. In this case, cut about 1 ½ inches off of the bottom).
Cut the asparagus into 1 ½ inch pieces and place them on a baking sheet. Make sure that you are using a large enough baking sheet and you only have 1/2-3/4 of the pan filled in a single layer.
Microwave the butter for 1 minute to melt it and then pour it over the asparagus. Add the soy sauce and ground black pepper. Mix with clean hands and then place the tray of asparagus in the oven.
Roast for 5-7 minutes depending on the thickness of the asparagus. If the asparagus is a little pale, broil for a a minute or two on the top rack.
Transfer roasted asparagus to a plate and serve immediately.
*This recipe is easily doubled. Make sure you are using a large baking sheet if that is the case. Plenty of room for hot air circulation allows for the best roasting.
Keywords: spring, veggies, asparagus, brunch, quick, sides, healthy sides,
Hi there!
I’m Kazu, a restaurateur in Miami who wants to show you all of the best tricks for creating restaurant quality Asian meals at home.
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