Kong jang is made with soybeans and Koreans eat it as a side dish for any meal. It’s a little sweet and sticky, like honey, and addictive to eat. You’re going to love it!
Soybean side dish (Kongjang or Kongjorim)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of soy beans, ½ cup of soy sauce, 1 ts of vegetable oil,
- 2 cloves of minced garlic,½ cup of sugar, ½ tbs sesame seeds.
Directions:
- Rinse 1 cup of soy beans and drain it and place in a skillet
- Add 2 cups of water in the skillet and soak the beans for 8 hours
- Boil the beans on the stove over medium high heat for 10 minutes
*Tip: about 5 minutes later, it may boil over, and then open the lid and turn down the heat over medium heat and cook another 5 minutes - Add ½ cup of soy sauce, 1 ts of vegetable oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and ½ cup of sugar and boil it over medium heat for 30 minutes (cover the lid)
- Open the lid of the pot and heat it up over high heat and stir the beans occasionally with a spoon until the beans look shinny.
*Tip: Beans will be submerged with shiny and sticky seasoning sauce - Turn off the heat and add 1 tbs of toasted sesame seed and cool it down.
- Transfer it into a container and keep it in the refrigerator
HI Maangchi, Could i substitute the sugar with honey instead?
yes, you can use honey about 1/4 cup in the recipe.
An nyeong ha se yo Maangchi,
My husband and I just came back from a 2 weeks holiday in S. Korea. Our trip has been great. We ate different Korean food while we were there. Being exposed and introduced to your recipes before going there has been good. We have had the opportunity to meet up with 1 Korean family from Anyang in Gyeongju. They invited us to have dinner and breakfast with them. I asked about their various banchan and was told some of which have been preserved for 6 months or so. However, they are very tasty and moist but not watery. 1 in particular is squid strip banchan and fish banchan. Do you know how to make them?
Kam sa ham ni da.
More squid side dish recipes will be posted in the future. There are so many types of banchan (side dish) made with either dried squid or fresh squid. If you want, please give me more description about the side dish.
Got a package of soy beans and will make this maybe tomorrow or monday… can’t wait!!
Is it a good combination with doenjang jjigae and rice? Or is eating two dishes with the same ingredient (tofu is after all made of soy beans) not usually done? If so I may just make it some other time or maybe make kimchi jjigae or something.
yes, doenjangjjigae is served with rice.
I just made these and they are wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing.
good news! Happy Korean cooking!
Hi Maangchi, your site is my “Go to” site whenever I want to cook Korean. Thanks for all the great recipes! I bought a bag of soybeans to make the soybean noodles & kongjang… but I read on another website about beans that it’s best to buy organic non-GMO (genetically modified) beans b/c soybeans are normally grown with a lot of pesticides & GMO soybeans contain much higher, and possibly dangerous, levels of phytoestrogens. So I plan on throwing out the bag that I bought & finding the organic non-GMO beans. Hope this tip is helpful!
Hi Maangchi. Thanks for all your recipes. I have a question. I made this kongjorim with black beans but the beans were very dry. What did I do wrong? I doubled the recipe to make a lot and soaked for 9 hours. I followed the recipe but boiled a little longer because there was so much water. Did I boil it too long? Did I not soak it long enough?
Soak the black beans longer maybe overnight until they get softer before cooking. Soaking time of beans depends on the types of beans and how hard dried they are.
hi maangchi, i just have to say, this is my mom favorite snack! I finally made this dish right! the 1st time i burned it! but the 2nd time I finally succeeded. I am going to make this for my mom when i go back to NY! she will be amazed! thanks so much
oh, your mom is living in NY! She will give you lots of compliments if you bring her favorite kongjorim. : )
Hello Maangchi!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! It looks so tasty, but do you think it is a healthy dish? I am trying to watch my weight! Any other healthy dishes you recommend?
haha, if this innocent looking soybean side dish is not healthy food, what else could be? : )
Use less sugar if you are worried about gaining weight.
Thank you for the advice. I am so excited to start cooking!
Hi again,
I forgot to tell you on my previous comment that I had soaked the soybean overnight (more than 8 hours). Thanks for the tips about removing the skin.
Hi
Thank you for the great recipe. This is my first going to your web site and you have almost every recipe that I have been searching for. The soybean sidedish is the first one that I am trying to cook. I have one question. After I boiled the soybean during the first 5 minutes in high heat, the skin of the soybean came off. From your video I didn’t see that happen to your soybean. Please advise. Thanks again for the outstanding web site. Zoe
hello, Zoe,
Thank you for your nice comment!
How many hours did you soak the soybeans?
Next time you make this side dish again, soak them less hours than you did.
Usually soaked soybean skins are not separated unless you scrub them. I’m showing how to remove skins of soybeans in my kongguksu video. http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kongguksu
Hi Maangchi,
Wow, thanks for the speedy reply! I wished I had seen your reply before I started picking the skin with chopsticks. lol. I am actually trying two of your recipes today. The other one is Sikhye (barley malt drink). I am now in the process of waiting for the fermented barley water to cool down so I can put it in my refrigerator to enjoy soon. One question though, my barley water and rice turned out to be darker in color than yours. Is it because I did not filter the barley water enough? Also, the rice looks smush. Once again, I am so excited to try all your recipes. Btw, you look very beautiful and talented in all your videos. Your family must very lucky to have such a great chef. Bravo!!! Fondly, Zoe
Zoe,
For kongjorim recipe, don’t remove the skins of soybeans.
“my barley water and rice turned out to be darker in color than yours. Is it because I did not filter the barley water enough? Also, the rice looks smush.”
It sounds like your shikye is well made! Grayish color is very normal! You can add more water to your shikhye to dilute if you like clear shikhye. If so, you will have to add more sugar, too.
The rice in shikhye turned out mushy? I think you fermented the rice too long.
Good luck with your Korean cooking!
Hi Maangchi,
could you kindly let me know how to make Root Lotus sidedish. I tried in korean cusine before, it was yummy.
thks
Ven
Have you any tips for using anything besides soybeans? Once in a restaurant I had it made with barley and the texture it gave the grain was wonderful – I assume I’d have to adjust the water but if you have any experience I’d be grateful!
Hi Maangchi, Thank you for the recipe. I used peanuts instead of soybeans and it turned out good. But there is a problem, are the sauce supposed to be thick because the peanuts seem to be too sticky (maybe I cook it too long). Thank you again.
very nice! If it turned out too sticky, use less corn syrup, maybe 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup?
I used to buy this side dish at a local food store before but never figured out how it is made. Got around to try this dish since it’s a fave of my hubby. And not to mention that it’s something that we can both enjoy since it’s not spicy at all. Tried a small part of it at first successfully and made more since hubby really liked it and demanded I make some more. This I have to oblige.
This got me hooked on soybean stuff recently. I’m into making soy milk, tofu and even thinking of soy yogurt now. Ah..one at a time.
BIG thank you for this recipe. No pics for now though. I can’t find the pic that I took.
THANK YOU,THANK YOU!
wow, you are soybeans lover! good! It’s good for our health. I’m going to post the recipe for soybean cold noodles (kong gooksu) this summer. You will love it. thank you!
samwei,
Thank you for posting my recipe on your blog! I’m going to link to your website from my website.
Hi Maangchi I made this successfully. thanks for your recipe. xxx
http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/London-samwei/article?mid=9279
james,
Korean candied soybeans! It sounds like good translation! Once your partner heard the word “candy”, he must have already liked it. : )
Yeah, oisobagi and kongjang with jasmine rice will be a decent meal. If you add soup, it will be a perfect Korean meal.
I should post some soup recipes.
Just finished making a batch of kongjang tonight. My partner asked me what I was making and I told him Korean candied soybeans. Also made some oi kimchi. I think these will go great with some Jasmine rice tomorrow night for dinner.
I always finish eating vegetable side dishes in a day, but you can keep it in the fridge for a few days.
Sure, more side dish recipes will be posted soon. Thanks,
Dear Maangchi,
How long could I normally keep the side dishes in the fridge? I normally make spinach side dish and potatoes.
By the way, could you teach us some other simple to make side dishes? My husband is a korean and I would like to make some for him.
Thank you in advance.
Cheers,
Sagua
oh, Maria Maria! : )
Let me know how your kongjorim turns out,
I’ve been looking for this recipe for so long! Will definitely try making this! Thanks so much!
Your small tip could be a big help. Thanks!
This dish tastes really different to my western taste buds. Different but nice. A small tip for the ones of you who try this for the first time – do not judge the final result from the taste during cooking! Only when almost all fluid is gone, the soy and sugar sticks to the beans and fulfill the taste. Also, I found the cooking vapor kind of ehhh not so nice? However, as aldready stated – great result in the end.
Qiu,
Thank you for the update. Wonderful!
This is one of my favorite panchans! Made it tonight, also added some ginger and chili pepper, delicious. Thanks Maangchi!
Kathy,
Soak soy beans in cold water longer about 10- 12 hours before cooking, and it will be soft.
how do you make the soy bean to be softer?? i dont like it chewy :\
Hi Maangchi,
This is absolutely yummy! Thank you very much for sharing.
Wisteria
Janice,
Yes, you can make kong jorim (or kong jang) with black beans. Same recipe! Some people prefer black beans to soy beans when they make kong jo rim.
At our local Korean restaurant we get some type of black bean. I’m wondering if your recipe is the same or similar. Is there a recipe using black soy beans?
Amanda,
Next time you happen to eat at a korean restaurant, I’m sure you will have chance to taste kong jang. They usually serve as side dishes before serving main dish.
Thanks for your reply! :D as i never tasted kong jang before, i’m unsure of what it is suppose to taste like. :P so it all depends on personal preference! Thanks maangchi :D i love it the way it is with a slight bite~ and the sesame seeds! YUM!
Amanda
Amanda,
Your kongjorim(kong jang: soybean side dish) is too chewy for you? Then soak soybeans longer than my recipe next time you make it again.
Some people love chewy and harder kongjang.
Hi Maangchi!
Thanks alot for this recipe~ :) i tried, love the test of it, like honey glazed. But is it supposed to be soft of chewy? mine is kind of chewy~ :P i wonder if it is right?
Amanda
I have never used frozen beans to make kongjorim side dish, so I can’t tell you how long it will take.
Hi – I just found your blog and I can’t wait to try out some recipes.
For this recipe can you use the frozen beans? I have some in the freezer that I would like to use up. How would you adjust the cooking time?
Thanks.
Hi Maangchi,
I tried making these again, this time with a longer soaking, and they turned out much better. I soaked them overnight and then most of the day. In the video you were out of sesame seeds, but I added these and it really makes the dish even better. Now I’m addicted! Thank you, LM
hi,a.l.s
Thank you for updating your successful “Kong Jang”
I made these last night using your recipe and they turned out great!
Hi,Agasuka,
Yes, I’m using “Sem pio” Soy sauce.
Say “I’m looking for Sem pio jin gaan jaang” at a korean grocery store.
Maangchi,
Which kind of Gan Jang (korean soy sauce) do you use? Do you use the same kind of soy sauce for all of your dishes including soup/stew?
Is it the red lable one with a letter S on it in plastic bottle? My korean roommate used this kind.
Agasuka,
My quick answer about your questions:
1. yes
2. yes
3. about 1 week
4. Mine was no name. The store
where I am going, seemed to
make their own package. I don’t
think dried soy beans’ brand
name is important.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hi Maangchi,
I got some questions after watching the video:
1. Can sesame oil replace vegatable oil for Kong Jang?
2. Is the Black Bean side dish cooked the same way as Kong Jang?
3. How long can Kong Jang stay in the fridge?
4. There is a huge variaty of Korean soy sauce in the store.
What exact brand/type/line of soy sauce do you use?
Thanks.