Andong Heotjesabap (Mock Ancestral-Rite Rice)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rice cooker or heavy 2-quart pot with lid
• •Medium soup pot, 3 to 4 quarts
• •Wide skillet
• •Five small mixing bowls for separate namul
• •Fine-mesh skimmer or spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the rice

   Put the rinsed rice in the rice cooker or a heavy pot with 2 cups water. Let it soak 20 minutes, then cook until tender and let it rest 10 minutes before fluffing. Heotjesabap needs warm, plain rice. Do not season it in the pot, because the namul and soy-sesame sauce will do that work later.

2. 2

   Simmer clear soup

   Rinse the sliced beef briefly in cold water and drain it well. Put the beef and 6 cups water in a pot, bring it slowly to a simmer, and skim the foam so the soup stays clear. Add the radish and kelp. After 8 minutes of simmering, pull out the kelp before it turns the broth slick and bitter. Simmer 20 minutes more, then add the tofu, 1 tablespoon soup soy sauce, and 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt. Cook 5 minutes and keep the soup warm.

   This is a quiet soup, not a stew. If the broth tastes a little plain by itself, that is right; it has to sit beside seasoned rice without fighting it.
3. 3

   Prepare the doraji

   Put the doraji strips in a bowl with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and rub them firmly for 1 minute. Rinse twice, soak in fresh water for 10 minutes, then squeeze dry. Doraji should keep its faint bitterness, but the harsh edge has to go, or it will take over the bowl.

4. 4

   Blanch sprouts and spinach

   Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the spinach for 30 seconds, lift it out, rinse under cold water, squeeze until damp but not dripping, and cut into 2-inch lengths. Boil the mung bean sprouts in the same water for 2 minutes, lid off, then drain and spread them on a plate. The spinach wants softness; the sprouts still need a clean bite.

5. 5

   Season cold namul

   Season the spinach in its own bowl with 1 teaspoon soup soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon crushed sesame seeds. Season the mung bean sprouts in a second bowl with 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon crushed sesame seeds. Taste each one before it meets the rice. Season them as a crowd and they all become the same vegetable.

   Use your hand to toss the namul, but keep the measure. 손맛 is real; I measure it anyway, so it can be handed on.
6. 6

   Cook bracken

   Heat 1 teaspoon neutral oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the gosari and stir for 1 minute, then add 1 tablespoon soup soy sauce and 2 tablespoons clear soup broth or water. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until the bracken is supple and seasoned through. Finish with 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1/2 teaspoon crushed sesame seeds. Bracken is fibrous; dry heat makes it leathery, so give it that small spoonful of broth.

7. 7

   Cook pale namul

   Wipe the skillet, add 1 teaspoon neutral oil, and cook the squeezed doraji over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon clear soup broth or water and 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, then cook 1 minute more. Turn off the heat and finish with 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1/2 teaspoon crushed sesame seeds. Keep it pale. Browning doraji is not care; it is distraction.

8. 8

   Cook mushrooms

   Wipe the skillet again, add the last 1 teaspoon neutral oil, and cook the sliced shiitake over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, until glossy and softened. Add 1 teaspoon regular soy sauce and stir 30 seconds. Finish off the heat with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and 1/2 teaspoon crushed sesame seeds. The mushrooms bring the deep brown note that makes the bowl feel complete.

9. 9

   Mix soy sauce

   Stir together 4 tablespoons regular soy sauce, 2 tablespoons clear soup broth or water, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and 2 teaspoons crushed sesame seeds. This is the sauce. No gochujang. Heotjesabap is not bibimbap in red clothing; soy and sesame are what let the jesa namul keep their own taste.

10. 10

    Assemble the bowls

    Put about 1 cup warm rice in each bowl. Arrange one quarter of each namul over the top in separate piles: gosari, doraji, spinach, mung bean sprouts, and shiitake. Spoon 1 tablespoon sauce over each bowl first, mix, then add more by the teaspoon if the rice needs it. Serve the clear radish soup beside the rice, about 3/4 cup per person. The bowl should taste seasoned, not soaked.

Chef Tips

• •Buy cooked gosari if you can. Dried gosari is good, but it needs soaking and boiling before the recipe even begins. That is a safe corner to cut. The seasoning and separate cooking are not.
• •Keep garlic, scallion, and chili out of this bowl if you want the jesa character of the dish. On another table they are welcome. Here they make too much noise.
• •The namul should be a little lightly seasoned when tasted alone, because the soy-sesame sauce comes at the end. Heavy seasoning in each bowl plus sauce on the rice gives you salt, not balance.
• •For a meatless table, omit the beef and make the soup with 6 cups water, the kelp, 3 dried shiitake mushrooms, radish, tofu, soup soy sauce, and salt. Pull the kelp after 8 minutes all the same. Technique first.

Advance Preparation

• •Dried gosari can be prepared 1 to 2 days ahead: soak overnight, boil 30 to 40 minutes until bendable, then let it cool in its cooking water. Rinse, drain, and refrigerate until needed.
• •The clear radish soup can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat gently so the tofu stays intact and the broth remains clear.
• •The namul can be cooked and seasoned up to 1 day ahead, stored in separate containers, and brought to room temperature before serving. Spinach is best the day it is made.
• •Leftover assembled rice should be refrigerated within 2 hours. Store rice, soup, and namul separately when you can, and eat within 3 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 875g)