To say that I love rice would be an understatement, so making this umami filled rice bowl was an easy decision. Once you do a little prep work, everything goes into a rice cooker. It’s a suitable meal for lunch or dinner.
Even thought the sprouts are cooked with the rice and other ingredients, they still retain a nice texture. The kimchi adds such a wonderful flavor to the rice, with just a bit of heat.
The original recipe from Korean Bapsang calls for adding a bit of seasoned beef or pork to the rice dish as an option. However, you can omit this for a vegetarian version. I have cooked this dish with and without meat and both are equally delicious. All ingredients are added on top of the rice (pictured above) then cooked together.
Once your rice timer goes off, you are ready to serve your meal.
The sauce is drizzled over the rice bowl. I couldn’t resist adding a sunny-side up egg to mine.
- 1 cup (measuring cup for rice cooker) short grain white rice
- Vegetables & Meat:
- 8 ounces soy bean sprouts, rinsed and drained well
- 3 ounces filet mignon, thinly sliced (omit meat and next 4 ingredients for vegetarian version)
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon mirin
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ cup kimchi, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon kimchi juice
- Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
- 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 2 sunny-side up eggs (optional)
- Rinse rice and drain well. Place in rice cooker. Add water to 1 cup line minus 1 tablespoon.
- Marinate meat (if using) with garlic, soy sauce, mirin and sesame oil. Meanwhile, heat a small skillet with a 1½ teaspoons of canola oil over medium high heat. Stir fry kimchi for 2 minutes, adding some juice from the kimchi to intensify the flavor. Remove to a small plate. Add meat (if using) to the same pan and stir fry for a minute or two, just until barely cooked through.
- Spread soy bean sprouts over the the rice, followed by the kimchi, and meat. Start the rice cooker (do not use quick cooking option).
- While the rice is cooking, mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. When the rice is nearly done, cook your sunny-side up eggs. When the rice timer goes off, gently fluff the rice distributing the bean sprouts, kimchi and meat. Serve in bowls with sauce drizzled over the rice and top with sunny-side up eggs.