Sweet potato rice

Goguma-bap 고구마밥

Hi everybody! I’m pleased to introduce you to another traditional Korean recipe today. It’s called goguma-bap. In Korean Goguma is sweet potato, and bap is cooked rice.

When I was in elementary school in Korea, I often watched my grandmother making this dish. She lived on an island, and when I visited her, I loved her goguma-bap. The main room where she slept was heated using the traditional Korean system called ondol, which heats the floor. The room was divided into 2 sections: the warm area and the cool area.

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During the cold winter, my grandmother slept in the warm area, and the goguma were kept in the cool area. They were sleeping in the same room with my grandmother and they were always ready to be served any minute. : )

Goguma freezes easily so they should always should be kept in cool place. If they’re frozen, the texture is totally changed, just like a radish, and they aren’t tasty at all.

When I laid down to sleep next to my grandmother, I couldn’t help but stare at the pile of goguma, and when I woke up the next morning, the first thing I saw every day was goguma.

She used to prepare them in many different ways. Some of my favorites were:

  1. Sweet potato rice, served as a main dish.
  2. Sweet potato sticks for a snack: the sweet potatoes are simply peeled and split into several sticks. There was not much candy available on that island at the time, so goguma sticks was delicious enough for us.
  3. Dried sweet potato soup for lunch: my grandmother sliced and dried sweet potatoes for days until each piece got hard like a rock. She put them away in a sack for future use, and boil them in water for lunch. Sometimes she added red beans and sugar or some other kind of sweetener.
  4. Steamed and dried sweet potatoes for a snack:  sweet potatoes are cooked, sliced, and dried until they are rock hard. It was a delicious snack for us, and we treated it like candy. I’m not sure I would enjoy it these days though. I should make it and see if I still like it. : )

In this video I use the sweet potatoes with orange flesh because these are easier to find than Korean sweet potatoes, which have white flesh. Both are equally delicious.

Enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients (for 2-3 servings)

  • 1 cup of short grain rice
  • 1 pound (453 grams) of sweet potato
  • Water

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For seasoning sauce:

Directions

  1. Put 1 cup of short grain rice in a heavy bottomed pot or stone pot. Rinse in cold water and drain. Scrub the wet rice with your hand, and rinse and drain until the drained water runs clear. Drain the last of the water by tilting the pot as much as you can. The rice should still be wet. Add 1 cup of water and soak in the pot for 30 minutes with the lid closed.
  2. Peel the sweet potatoes and rinse in cold water. Cut them into ½ inch cubes.
  3. Add the sweet potato cubes over the rice in the pot.
  4. Bring it to a boil over medium heat and let it cook for about 15 minutes in a stone pot (or 10 minutes in the regular pot).
  5. Open the lid and turn over the rice and the sweet potato with a wooden spoon.
  6. Close the lid and let it simmer for another 15-20 minutes in a stone pot (or 10-15 minutes in a regular pot) until the sweet potato and rice are cooked fully.
  7. Open the lid and use a wooden spoon to turn over the rice and sweet potato so they mix well.
  8. Transfer some to serving bowls and serve with seasoning sauce.

For the seasoning sauce:

  1. Combine the soy sauce, chopped chives, garlic, honey, hot pepper flakes, vinegar, and toasted sesame seeds in a small bowl.

Posted on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012 at 5:42 pm. Last updated on July 29, 2021.
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42 Comments:

  1. Cutemom Indonesia joined 3/13 & has 82 comments
    Posted September 23rd, 2020 at 3:36 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi, Maangchi!
    It’s been awhile since i make this dish. I’m a bit on the lazy side to cook this in earthenware pot. How would you cook it in a cuckoo rice cooker?

    Thank you,
    Ima

  2. KaediLove joined 9/15 & has 2 comments
    Posted July 14th, 2020 at 12:25 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi, Maangchi!

    I just wanted to let you know that another site is using one of your pictures from this recipe. I noticed when I was trying to find this recipe and searched for “sweet potato rice” and recognized the image, but it leads to a completely different article. I’m not sure if they have permission to use it:

    https://www.eattoperform.com/2014/01/26/5-easy-carb-cycling-tips/


    See full size image

  3. cosimaluise Germany joined 3/19 & has 6 comments
    Posted May 1st, 2019 at 11:51 am | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi, today I made your 고두마밮 it was Soo good :) I used purple sweet potatoes instead so my rice was slightly purple it looks so beautiful. I will take it as lunch to school with me tomorrow. Everytime I bring one of your dishes my one friend always asks me if she can try it and she has like every single dish ever since! :) Thank you for your delicious and easy to follow recipes

  4. ehollon Ohio joined 5/18 & has 1 comment
    Posted May 19th, 2018 at 7:49 pm | or create a profile.

    Hello!
    I found your website for the first time today and I love it. :) I felt like cooking something this weekend, so when I found this recipe I went right to the grocery store to buy some fresh ingredients!
    I did have to change a few things to suit my family’s taste, though. My mom doesn’t like sweet potatoes or green onions, and she doesn’t understand how rice and potatoes make a full meal (her mother made big dinners growing up and they always had to have bread, at least two different vegetables, and a protein. So it’s a tradition for her)
    So I replaced the potatoes with pan fried chicken and used half the amount of green onions. She also asked me to omit the sesame seeds. But I bought fresh garlic and green onions for the sauce. The only problem my family had with the sauce (because this is the first time they’ve ever tried a Korean recipe) is the strong presence of the vinegar, so I got creative and used extra honey and 2 and 1/2 teaspoons of La Choy Sweet and Sour sauce (I couldn’t find anything else to cut the vinegar, and adding too much honey would have offset the balance). I also added water chestnuts to give it a little bit of texture.

    After that, they loved it! My brother doesn’t normally try any styles of cuisine from other countries, but on his way back to his room with his plate he told me, “It’s pretty good.” and that’s a huge victory! Thank you for the recipe! Eventually I’ll convince them to try the original. :)


    See full size image

  5. SammyWolf joined 7/15 & has 2 comments
    Posted August 25th, 2015 at 6:32 pm | or create a profile.

    I love this!! I make it all the time – I double the batch and take it to work for lunch! This with an Apple will keep me full all day!!! ❤️❤️❤️

  6. Kikallez Hinterlands of Minnesota joined 1/14 & has 5 comments
    Posted January 13th, 2014 at 5:17 pm | or create a profile.

    Wow! Wow! Wow! Guess what we are having for supper? I will have to use my Vitaclay or enameled cast iron pot until I can get my hands on a Korean stone pot. After becoming vegan we are experimenting with many cultural foods. May have to stick with Korean for a long while. This recipe appears to ring all the bells of color and flavor and fun to cook. I am so happy to find maangchi site….hubby is, too!

    • Kikallez Hinterlands of Minnesota joined 1/14 & has 5 comments
      Posted January 14th, 2014 at 2:28 pm | or create a profile.

      This was an absolute success! Worked great in my Vitaclay rice cooker….which sorta disappointed me as it makes it harder to argue the case that I now need an authentic Korean stone pot! My husband gave it his highest compliment “remember this one, I’d like it again.”

      • Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,049 comments
        Posted January 15th, 2014 at 2:16 am | or create a profile.

        “remember this one, I’d like it again.” : ) Congratulations!
        Actually you don’t need a Korean stone pot or an earthenware pot to make this rice. I sometimes use my stainless pot and it works well.

        • Kikallez Hinterlands of Minnesota joined 1/14 & has 5 comments
          Posted February 10th, 2014 at 6:18 pm | or create a profile.

          This has become a weekly favorite. I thought you and others would like to know that we eat this as a lettuce wrap now. This has become comfort food for us in the bitter cold Minnesota winter. Thanks again!

          • Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,049 comments
            Posted February 11th, 2014 at 11:37 am |

            Gogumabap in lettuce wrap sounds very delicious and healthy!

          • Kikallez Hinterlands of Minnesota joined 1/14 & has 5 comments
            Posted August 11th, 2014 at 5:36 pm |

            Hi there Maangchi! Making your dish again tonight. Wanted to add that in addition to making these with butter lettuce leaves as a wrap or lettuce scoop we add toasted cashews for a nice little crunch!

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