Kongnamul-bap (Soybean Sprout Rice)

Kongnamul-bap lives or dies by water. People think the hard part is the sauce, but sauce can be corrected at the table. Mushy rice cannot. Soybean sprouts release their own moisture as they cook, so you give the rice less water than usual and let the sprouts sit on top, where they perfume the rice without drowning it.

This is a weeknight bowl, cheap enough for the end of the month and plain enough to carry whatever banchan is already in the refrigerator. My mother made it when the market basket was light: rice, sprouts, a little soy sauce, scallion, sesame oil. That was a meal. Not a poor meal, a sensible one.

The sprouts must stay alive under the tooth, crisp at the stem and nutty at the yellow head. Rinse them, trim only the ragged tails if you have patience, and do not stir them into the raw rice. Lay them on top. When the pot rests, then you fold. 손맛 is real; I measure it anyway, so the next cook can make the same good bowl without guessing.