Yeonnip-bap (연잎밥, Lotus Leaf Rice)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large steamer basket or two-tier stainless steamer
• •Rice cooker or heavy lidded pot
• •Wide basin for soaking lotus leaves
• •Kitchen twine, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak rice and beans

   Rinse the chapssal in several changes of water until the water is only lightly cloudy, then soak it in plenty of cool water for 4 to 8 hours. Rinse the black soybeans and soak them separately for 8 to 12 hours. Sticky rice cooks from the outside in; soaking is what keeps the center from staying chalky after the leaf has done its work.

   The safe shortcut is cooked beans, not unsoaked rice. Use 3/4 cup cooked black soybeans if you have them, but do not skip soaking the chapssal.
2. 2

   Cook the beans

   Drain the soaked beans and put them in a small pot with 2 cups water. Simmer 20 to 25 minutes, adding 1/4 teaspoon of the salt for the last 5 minutes, until the beans are tender at the edge but not splitting. Drain and save 1 1/3 cups of the bean cooking liquid for the rice, topping up with water if you are short. Raw beans will not politely finish cooking inside the packet, so give them this head start.

3. 3

   Soften the leaves

   For dried lotus leaves, rinse off any dust, then soak them in a wide basin of warm water for about 30 minutes, turning once, until they bend without cracking. Cut away the hard center nub and any thick stem. For fresh leaves, rinse well, dip in boiling water for 20 seconds, then cool and pat dry. Use only food-grade leaves, never leaves from an ornamental pond.

4. 4

   Cook the rice

   Drain the soaked rice for 15 minutes. Put it in a rice cooker with the reserved bean liquid, the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil if using. Cook on the white rice or sweet rice setting. For a pot, bring it just to a simmer, stir once, cover tightly, cook over low heat for 12 minutes, then rest off the heat for 10 minutes. The rice should be glossy and firm, not wet, because it still has one more cooking inside the lotus leaf.

5. 5

   Fold in filling

   Turn the hot rice into a wide bowl. Fold in the cooked beans, chestnuts, jujubes, ginkgo nuts, and pine nuts with a rice paddle, lifting rather than mashing. Taste one grain. It should be gently salted, with the chestnut and jujube still clear. Two cups of rice wants 1 teaspoon salt total; more than that makes the leaf and nuts disappear.

6. 6

   Wrap the packets

   Lay one lotus leaf flat with the veined side facing up. Put one quarter of the rice mixture in the center, about 1 heaping cup or 240g. Fold the bottom of the leaf over the rice, fold in the sides, then fold the top down to make a snug square packet. Set it seam-side down, tying with kitchen twine if the leaf wants to open. A tight packet keeps the rice moist and lets the leaf season it evenly.

7. 7

   Steam and rest

   Arrange the packets seam-side down in a steamer basket, leaving a little room between them. Steam over steadily boiling water for 35 to 40 minutes, checking the water level halfway so the pot does not run dry. Rest the packets 10 minutes before opening. That rest matters; the grains settle, the chestnuts finish softening, and the leaf scent becomes part of the rice instead of only sitting on the outside.

8. 8

   Sauce and serve

   If you want the seasoning sauce, stir together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, sesame seeds, scallion, and gochugaru. For a temple-style table, leave out the scallion and gochugaru. Serve each packet in its leaf and open it at the table. Spoon on only a little sauce, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, because yeonnip-bap should taste first of rice, chestnut, bean, and leaf.

Chef Tips

• •Buy dried lotus leaves from a Korean, Chinese, or Vietnamese market and check that the package is sold for cooking. A good dried leaf smells clean and grassy after soaking, not musty. If it smells damp or stale, do not ask the rice to fix it.
• •Fresh lotus leaves are a summer gift, but dried leaves are honest and work well all year. 시대가 바뀌면 음식도 바뀌어야 해요. When times change, food must change too; dried leaves and a rice cooker are fair modern help. Skipping the soak and the tight wrap is not.
• •Without lotus leaves, you can practice the rice mixture in parchment, but write the name honestly: sticky rice with chestnut and beans. The leaf is not decoration here. It is the dish's bowl and its seasoning.
• •The optional sauce belongs on the side. If you mix it through the rice, every bite tastes of soy and sesame, and the lotus leaf has nothing left to say.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the rice and beans the night before. The total time includes this passive soaking, not because the work is long, but because rice and beans do not care about your hurry.
• •The packets can be wrapped up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated. Steam them straight from the refrigerator for 45 minutes instead of 35 to 40.
• •Cooked packets keep 3 days in the refrigerator or 1 month in the freezer. Cool cooked rice promptly, refrigerate within 2 hours, and re-steam refrigerated packets for 20 minutes or frozen packets for 35 minutes, until hot throughout.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 275g)