Kongnamul-bap (Soybean Sprout Rice)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 3-quart pot with tight lid or electric rice cooker
• •Rice paddle
• •Small bowl for yangnyeomjang (seasoned soy sauce)

Instructions

1. 1

   Rinse the rice

   Rinse the rice in a bowl, changing the water 3 or 4 times, until the water runs mostly clear. Drain it well, then soak it in fresh water for 20 minutes. Soaking lets the grains cook evenly with the reduced water, which matters here because the soybean sprouts will release moisture of their own.

2. 2

   Prepare the sprouts

   Rinse the soybean sprouts in cold water and pick out any brown skins. Trim the thin tails only if they look tired; do not make a ceremony of it on a weeknight. Drain them hard. Wet sprouts add water you did not measure, and this dish is already balanced close.

3. 3

   Fill the pot

   Drain the soaked rice and put it in a heavy 3-quart pot. Add 1 3/4 cups water, the kelp if using, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Level the rice, then spread the soybean sprouts evenly on top. Do not stir them in. Rice on the bottom needs the water; sprouts on top need the trapped heat.

4. 4

   Cook the rice

   Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes. When you hear the pot working steadily, lower the heat to low and cook 12 minutes. Keep the lid closed. If you lift it, the temperature drops and the sprouts can turn dull and heavy instead of crisp.

5. 5

   Rest the pot

   Turn off the heat and let the pot rest, still covered, for 10 minutes. Pull out the kelp. This rest finishes the rice without breaking the sprouts down. It is also the difference between grains that separate and grains that smear.

6. 6

   Mix the sauce

   While the rice rests, stir together the soy sauce, soup soy sauce, scallions, garlic, sesame oil, sesame seeds, gochugaru, sugar, and green chili if using. Taste it with a grain of plain rice if you can. It should be salty and sharp, but not so strong that the soybean sprouts disappear.

7. 7

   Fold and serve

   Open the pot and gently fold the sprouts through the rice with a rice paddle, lifting from the bottom so you do not crush the grains. Spoon into bowls and let each person add 1 to 2 tablespoons of sauce first, then more only if needed. Finish with crushed gim if you like. Let it taste like itself: rice, sprout, sesame, soy.

Chef Tips

• •For a rice cooker, use the same rice, sprouts, salt, and 1 3/4 cups water. Put the rice and water in first, lay the sprouts on top, and cook on the regular white rice setting. Rest 10 minutes after the cooker clicks before folding.
• •Do not add all the sauce to the pot. The sprouts vary in sweetness and the rice varies in thirst. Sauce at the table lets each bowl stay balanced.
• •A handful is not a measure. For this amount of rice, 300g soybean sprouts gives a full sprout flavor without making the pot watery. If you use 450g, reduce the water by another 2 tablespoons.
• •If you want protein, add 150g thinly sliced beef or pork seasoned with 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil, laid over the rice under the sprouts. It is good, but the plain version is the one I write down first.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce can be mixed up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Add the scallions the day you serve it if you want their bite clean and fresh.
• •Wash and drain the sprouts up to 1 day ahead, then keep them in a covered container lined with a towel. Do not soak them overnight, or they lose their clean crunch.
• •Cooked kongnamul-bap keeps 2 days refrigerated, but it is best the day it is made. Reheat covered with a tablespoon of water per bowl, then add fresh sauce at the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)