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Kongnamul Bap, Korean Bean Sprout Rice Bowl

Kongnamul bap is one of those genuinely humble Korean dishes that turns out to be the thing you crave on a Tuesday night. Soy bean sprouts steam right on top of the rice, so they stay crunchy while the rice picks up their nutty flavour.

The dressing is where it all comes together, a quick mix of soy, sesame oil, gochugaru and garlic that you pour over and stir through at the table. Everyone gets to decide how much they want.

Add a fried egg if you are making it a full meal. It takes about 30 minutes and uses almost nothing from the fridge.

Servings
4
Prep Time
10
mins
Cook Time
20
mins
Ingredients
15
Total Time
30
mins

Pantry bits

Jasmine Rice
Jasmine Rice
Soy Sauce
Soy Sauce
Sesame oil
Sesame oil
Gochugaru
Gochugaru
Rice Vinegar
Rice Vinegar

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (400g) jasmine rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
  • 500ml water
  • 400g soy bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 2 tsp gochugaru
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 4 eggs, fried, optional
  • Shredded nori or perilla leaves, to serve, optional

Instructions

  1. Put the rinsed rice, water and salt in a heavy saucepan with a tight lid. Bring to the boil over high heat, uncovered.
  2. As soon as it boils, spread the bean sprouts evenly over the top of the rice. Do not stir them in, they need to sit up there and steam.
  3. Cover, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 12 minutes, then take the pan off the heat and rest for 10 minutes with the lid firmly on. Lifting the lid early lets the steam out and leaves the sprouts raw.
  4. While the rice rests, whisk the soy sauce, sesame oil, water, gochugaru, sugar, rice vinegar, garlic and half the spring onion together in a small bowl.
  5. Fry the eggs, if using, in a little oil over medium-high heat so the whites are set and the yolks still soft.
  6. Fluff the rice and sprouts together with a rice paddle, mixing them evenly through.
  7. Spoon into bowls, top with an egg if you like, then scatter over the remaining spring onion, sesame seeds and nori. Pour the dressing over and stir it all through just before eating.

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