Kongbap (Korean rice and beans)

When the days are hot, we turn to the classics that satiate us without weighing us down. We teamed up with @everythingalexcooks to share her cherished kongbap recipe that does just that. In Korean, “kong” means beans and “bap” means rice, literally translating to bean rice. Combining our beans with three types of rice might seem ambitious, but Alex shows us how effortlessly satisfying it can be. Whip up some Korean banchan as an accompaniment. The best part? It makes for the most delicious leftovers!   

Featured bean: Ayocote Morado

Other beans to try: Chaparro

Take 'em from dried to cooked with our guide! 

Print recipe here

Ingredients

• ½ cup Ayocote Morado beans, dry
• 2 tbsp black glutinous rice (also called, forbidden rice), dry
• ½ cup brown, short grain rice, dry
• ½ cup white, short grain rice, dry
• Sesame oil and sesame seeds, to taste (optional)

Instructions

Add beans, black rice, and brown rice to the bowl of a rice cooker. Add enough water so that the water covers the beans and rice by a few centimeters. Soak in water for at least 12 hours. It really does not matter how much water you add at this point. You just want to add enough so that the beans and rice remain covered.

Pour water out, and add white rice to the bowl. Rinse rice until water runs mostly clear (3-4 times).

Add enough water so that when you flatten your palm on top of the rice and beans, the water just surpasses your second knuckle.

Cook in a rice cooker (on “brown/mixed rice” setting, if included). The rice and beans should finish cooking within one hour.

Serve with a drizzle of sesame oil and sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Notes

*Korean grocery stores sell a pre-mixed bag of grains, which usually include sorghum, millet, oats, black and brown rice, etc. It is located in the same aisle as the dry grains. You can directly substitute the dry brown and black rice for dry Korean mixed rice mix..For example, ½ cup dry brown rice and 2 tbsp of dry black rice equates to ½ cup of dry mixed rice. Once cooked, this multigrain rice is called jabgokbap (잡곡밥).
*Kongbap is best served with banchan or bibimbap! Need easy banchan recipes? Alex has you covered.