๐Ÿš Kongnamul-bap with beef and soybean sprouts cooked on the rice — an easy one-pot bowl

A bowl of rice mixed with beef and soybean sprouts, with kimchi and a seasoning sauce beside it.

Some evenings you still want a warm bowl of rice, even if you have no energy to put out several side dishes. Kongnamul-bap is Korean rice cooked with minced beef and soybean sprouts (kongnamul) laid on washed rice, then steamed the way you usually cook rice.

You do not brown the minced beef in a separate pan. Spread it over the rice and it cooks while the rice cooks. When the rice is done, fold in a Korean regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang) seasoning and mix lightly.

Do not pour the seasoning into the pot from the start. Add it after the rice is cooked, or the bottom turns salty and the top stays bland.

The sprout aroma soaks into the grains

The flavor of this rice starts before the seasoning. As the kongnamul heat through, moisture leaves the stems and mixes with the rice water. That liquid soaks into the grains and leaves a sprout aroma in the rice.

You do not have to pick off every head and tail. Rinse them under running water and shake off the dirt.

The beef does not need a separate sear

100g minced beef spreads thinly over 360ml rice (2 Korean 180ml paper cups). You do not have to pre-fry it over high heat. It cooks until the pink color is gone while the rice cooks.

If you drop the meat in a thick clump, the center stays undercooked. Push it out with your fingers so it covers the rice.

Use 45ml Korean regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang). Poured onto raw rice, it salts only the bottom. The seasoning goes in after the rice is done.

⏱ At a glance

  • Servings: rice 360ml (2 Korean 180ml paper cups), minced beef 100g, soybean sprouts (kongnamul) 200g. About 2 servings
  • Cook time: the time you usually need to cook rice. Mixing the seasoning comes after the rice is done
  • Extra prep: rinse the rice, wash the kongnamul, mix the seasoning
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Tools: pot with a lid, measuring cup, rice paddle
  • Flavor: rice that has taken on the aroma of kongnamul stems, then jin-ganjang and toasted sesame oil. The stems are better with a little bite left, before they turn fully soft

๐Ÿ›’ Ingredients

Rice

  • Rice: 360ml (2 Korean 180ml paper cups). Rinse and have ready
  • Soybean sprouts (kongnamul): 200g. Do not force off every head and tail. Rinse under running water and shake dry
  • Minced beef: 100g

Seasoning

  • Korean regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang): 45ml (3 Tbsp). Korean jin-ganjang
  • Minced green onion: 15ml (1 Tbsp)
  • Minced garlic: 7.5ml (0.5 Tbsp)
  • Toasted sesame oil: 15ml (1 Tbsp)
  • Toasted sesame seeds: 7.5ml (0.5 Tbsp)

๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿณ How to make kongnamul-bap

1. Set the rice

Put the rinsed 360ml rice in the pot and add water the way you usually cook rice.

2. Add the beef and kongnamul

Spread 100g minced beef over the rice. Scatter 200g washed kongnamul evenly on top. Cover.

3. Cook the rice as usual

Cook it the way you usually cook rice. Doneness looks like this. The grains have no hard core, the pink in the beef is gone, and the kongnamul stems are cooked but not hanging limp.

4. Mix the seasoning

Stir together 45ml jin-ganjang, 15ml minced green onion, 7.5ml minced garlic, 15ml toasted sesame oil, and 7.5ml toasted sesame seeds. Add this to the finished rice and fold lightly to the bottom with a paddle. Long, hard mixing crushes the grains.

๐Ÿ’ก Ajumma's Tips

Kongnamul release water as they cook, so you can use a little less water than you usually do for rice.

When you switch to minced pork or mushrooms

You can use 100g minced pork, or 100g minced mushrooms. The weight is the same 100g as the beef.

Watch pork until the pink is gone, and mushrooms until they wilt. Do not copy the timing you use for beef. Different ingredients cook at different speeds.

A one-bowl meal with kimchi

Kimchi or a brothless Korean pickle (jangajji) is enough. The rice is already seasoned with jin-ganjang, so if you add soup, choose a milder one.

It tastes best mixed while it is still hot. Fold once to the bottom with the paddle, then plate so the sesame seeds show on top.

Spread leftover rice out to cool before you cover it. Cooled in one clump, it dries only on the outside when you reheat it the next day.

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