Korean Thistle Bap

This is a healthy and delicious Korean rice recipe called GonDeuReBap (곤드레밥), which is made using dried Korean thistle, rice, and a special sauce.

Yield: 2 Servings

Short Korean Lesson

• PiGonHan (피곤한) = Tired
• JolLin (졸린) = Sleepy

Video Instructions

Main Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Dried Korean Thistle (Cirsium Setidens) (0.5 oz or 15 g)
• 1 Cup Short Grain Rice
• 1¼ Cups Water
• ½-1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1 Tbsp Soup Soy Sauce

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• ½ Tbsp Water
• 1 Tbsp Green Onion
• 1 tsp Red Hot Pepper
• 1 tsp Hot Pepper Powder
• ½ tsp Garlic, Minced
• 1 tsp Sesame Seeds
• ½ tsp Sugar

Directions

This is dried Korean thistle, which is called GonDeuRe (곤드레) in Korean. Although it is a unique Korean ingredient, luckily you can buy it on Amazon.

We need about 1 cup (0.5 oz or 15 g) of dried Korean thistle for this recipe.

This step is optional but if you have enough time, soak the Korean thistle in warm water for about an hour to soften it before cooking.

Cook the Korean thistle in boiling water for about an hour on high. Make sure that the pot has plenty of water in it.

After an hour, the Korean thistle will be soft. Remove it from the water.

Then, rinse it in cold water to help get rid of the bitter flavor.

Squeeze out the water.

Cut it into ½ inch chunks.

Obtain 1 cup of short grain rice.

Wash the rice several times. If you want softer rice, you can soak the washed rice in cold water for at least 30 minutes to an hour. However, I prefer a firm and chewy texture, so I will skip doing that.

Drain out the water.

Today, I will cook this rice in my cast iron pot. If you don’t have one, you can use a clay or metal pot instead. Put the Korean thistle in the pot along with ½ – 1 Tbsp of sesame oil and 1 Tbsp of soup soy sauce.

Fry it for about 2 minutes on medium-high so that the Korean thistle gets seasoned nicely.

After 2 minutes, add the rice.

Some people put the rice on the top or bottom of the the Korean thistle separately, but I like to mix them all together. This way, the rice can get some of the great flavor from the Korean thistle.

Now, pour 1¼ cups of water into the pot.

Once the water starts to boil, cover it and cook it for about 5 minutes on medium-high.

After 5 minutes, stir the rice to help it cook and evenly and not have some parts dry out.

Cover it again and reduce the temperature to medium-low. Cook it for 10 more minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Combine 1 Tbsp soy sauce, ½ Tbsp water, 1 tsp hot pepper powder, ½ tsp sugar, 1 Tbsp finely chopped green onion, 1 tsp finely chopped red hot pepper, ½ tsp minced garlic, and 1 tsp sesame seeds.

After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and let it finish cooking for 2 more minutes.

 

Simply add the sauce to the rice, mix, and then eat. Please try it someday and don’t forget to give me some feedback with your comments and pictures (You can hashtag your picture for #aeriskitchen at Instagram or Facebook).:)