Red Bean Rice (팥밥) on Stovetop

It's nice to get back to my blog. It's been too long! Today, in addition to my blog post on red bean rice, I'm sharing a short cooking video of how to make red bean rice. This is the very first episode I shot with my good friends at DramaFever. We'll be making simple dishes out of Asian dramas and movies together. I feel a bit awkward, but I'm excited about fun possibilities in the future.

Here is the announcement from DramaFever about Cooking with Shin

You can also follow this link to Youtube for the video clip.

I hope you enjoy!
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Making rice sounds so basic, but some of us rely on the rice cooker so much and forget how to make rice on the stovetop.

There are slight variations in making short grain sticky rice (a.k.a. sushi rice) on the stovetop using a regular pot, but basically it requires (1) soaking rice, (2) boiling rice with a lid on over low heat until soft, then (3) rest for 10 minutes with a lid on and heat off. I often prefer making rice this way, especially if I'm making a small portion. Rice grains seem fluffier and more alive without losing its soft, stickiness.

Rice that is served with other main dishes and side dishes in Korean meals is usually not seasoned or lightly seasoned if at all to keep the overall meal in balance for its texture and flavor. Beans and grains are often added to rice at home. It adds variations in texture, subtle flavor and, of course, nutrients.

Of course the goal is to get everything added in the pot and have it cooked at the same time. Many beans (black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, etc.) can be soaked for a few hours to overnight and added to the rice for them to cook together. Making red bean rice is a little more involved.

Red beans are smaller and harder, so they need to be cooked completely before being added to rice whether you soak them ahead or not. If you do soak the red beans, soak for 12~24 hours to shorten its cooking time. People often skip soaking for red beans because they need to be cooked completely anyway before they can be used in a dish.

Consider the first boil of red beans as washing and cleaning, so the water from the first boil is discarded. It is also believed in Korea that unpleasant taste and toxins are removed from the first boil. Then you'll boil red beans again with new water and a pinch of salt, this time to cook red beans completely until soft. Any remaining water from cooking red beans should be added to cooking rice. It will enhance the red hue and subtle flavor of red beans in cooked rice.

RED BEAN RICE ON STOVETOP (팥밥 pat bap)
Yields; 2~3 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup Short or medium grain white rice (a.k.a., sushi rice)
2 1/2 Cups Water (may need more water, 1~2 cups)
1/4 Cup Dried red beans
Pinch Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Neutral-tasting oil such as canola or sunflower seed oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Add dried red beans in a pot along with water, enough to cover the beans (about 1/2 cup of water). Bring it up to a boil, then drain. Discard water.

2. Add 1 cup of new water, red beans and salt and bring it up to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until all beans turn bigger, their color thinned to lighter red/brown with many of them about to pop open. Add more water as necessary to cook the read beans until soft. Skim off foams on the surface as necessary. Remove from heat.

3. While the red bean is cooking, rinse rice in cold water then drain. Add 1 cup of water and soak for 30 minutes to an hour, until rice grains turn opaque all around.

4. Grease the bottom of a clean pot with oil by wiping with a piece of paper towel.

5. Drain rice from soaking water. Add rice to the pot. Add red beans on top of rice in one layer along with its cooking water. The water should barely cover the beans laid out on top of rice.

6. Cover with a lid. Cook over medium-low heat until you smell warm, toasty rice, about 20-30 minutes.

7. Turn off heat and let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes.

8. Uncover and fluff up the rice all around with a wet rice paddle or a wet wooden spoon.

Serve hot with Korean side dishes. To store, cool rice to room temperature. Wrap in plastic by the serving portion and freeze. Microwave for 1~2 minutes for serving.