Soybean sprouts bibimbap

I am very happy to introduce my kongnamulbap recipe to you today. If you’ve been using my recipes for a long time, you might be able to guess what it’s made from by it’s name. Did you? : )

Kongnamul means “soybean sprouts” in English and bap means “rice.” I’ve posted a few recipes that call for soybean sprouts like bibimbap, kongnamul muchim, and kongnamulguk. And how about recipes that use bap? Bibimbap, yubuchobap, what else? Oh, gimbap!

Yes! Bap is definitely a staple food for Koreans, so there are so many kinds of dishes made with rice, adding different ingredients. You could add Korean radish, seafood, even kimchi!

The best things about this dish are that it’s easy to make, simple, and delicious! I want to add 1 more thing: it’s very cheap! Nobody will say, “I can’t afford soybean sprouts!”

Do you want me to add 1 more thing? Yes, you can make a vegetarian version by skipping ground beef or even egg. It will still be very tasty. You can add crushed roasted dried seaweed (kim) if you want, but I prefer simple kongnamulbap because I don’t want to dilute the flavor. I always say this while I’m eating this: “umm umm .. ah delicious.”

Let’s make delicious, humble, decent, and wholesome kongnamulbap!

Ingredients

(for 2-3 servings):
Soybean sprouts (16 oz: 453 grams), rice, ground beef, egg, soy sauce, green onions, garlic, green chili pepper (optional), radish sprouts, toasted sesame seeds, toasted sesame oil, onion, and honey (or sugar), and eggs.

*tip: If you’re a vegetarian, replace the beef with shiitake mushrooms. Soak 3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms in water until they become soft, then chop them up and season.

Directions

Preparation and cooking time: 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Let’s start by making rice!

1. Add 1 cup of short grain rice to a heavy bottomed pot. Rinse in cold water and drain.
2. Scrub the wet rice by hand about for about 10 seconds. Rinse and drain.
3. Scrub, rinse and drain 3-4 times, until the water becomes clear.
4. Tilt the pot and pour out as much water as you can. The rice should still be wet.
5. Add 1 cup of water to the rice, close the lid, and let it soak at least 30 minutes with the lid closed.

Next, soybean sprouts!

1. Take the soybean sprouts out of the package and put them in large bowl with water.
2. Rinse and drain a couple of times to clean thoroughly.
3. Pick out some brownish rotten beans. Drain and set aside.

 Season ground beef (or chopped shiitake mushrooms)

1. Prepare about ½ cup ground beef (4 ounces: 113 grams) and put it in a bowl.
2. Add 1 ts soy sauce, a pinch of ground black pepper, 1 ts toasted sesame oil. Mix well with a spoon and set aside.

Make sauce

1. Combine all these ingredients in a bowl and mix well: ⅓ cup soy sauce, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 stalk of chopped green onion, 2 ts hot pepper flakes, 1 ts honey, 1 tbs chopped onion, 1 tbs chopped green chili pepper, and 1 tbs roasted sesame seeds.
2. Cook 2 eggs sunny-side up and set aside. If you serve 3 people, prepare 3 sunny-side up eggs.
3. After the rice has soaked for 30 minutes, add the soybean sprouts and the seasoned ground beef over top.
   
4. Close the lid and bring to a boil over medium high heat for 10 minutes. After boiling, turn it over with a rice scoop and mix all the ingredients well.
5. Lower the heat and simmer for another 10 minutes with the lid closed.
6. Transfer it to a serving bowl and place the sunny side egg on top. Garnish with radish sprouts (muwoo soon).

Serve with the sauce and toasted sesame oil on the side so that people can adjust the dish to their personal taste.