Korean multigrsin rice advice

July 17, 2022 9:35 AM

I regularly shop at my local large Korean supermarket and (as a not Korean person) am continually learning about the Korean specific foods on offer. Can anyone give me, the main cook in a lacto-ovo vegetarian household, advice on the gorgeous bags multigrain rice I see.

Am I supposed to add white rice to it? Purple rice? And serve how? We love barley, farro, other grains, so I think we'd enjoy!
Thanks for Korean recipes or other "fusion" or new uses.

posted by atomicstone to Food & Drink (2 answers total)

Best answer: Daniel of Future Neighbor (who mixes his own blend in this video) advises a 3 hour minimum soak if the mix has beans and you're using a regular cooking pot. Maangchi's version is 2-2.5 hours of soaking, with peas instead of beans. Or Doris has the quick Instant Pot version here. I haven't made this exact dish at home, but I make other versions of mixed rice and my favorite way to eat these heartier varieties is to dump a scoop of it into a bowl of hot doenjangjjigae (I don't like much of a seafood taste, so I add in mushrooms if I have them and swap the anchovy and shrimp for 2 vegetable bouillon cubes and a dash each of soup soy sauce and fish sauce). The chewier grains are honestly good by themselves with a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil in the cooking liquid, but very tasty with meatless bulgogi like this one (I make it with 50/50 soaked shiitakes to button mushrooms for convenience, and add a spoonful of ginger-garlic paste). I think it would make a nicely savory ssambap, but also a great stuffing for peppers/squash/zucchini or accompaniment for dal.
posted by notquitemaryann at 10:50 AM on July 17, 2022 [3 favorites]

Best answer: In my Korean diasporic household, I buy small bags of the multigrain mix to add into my usual white rice. Given how impatient I am, I often just pick out the largest beans (to set aside and forget to put in chili later) and forgo the soaking and hit the turbo option on the [Cuckoo] rice cooker. Currently am cooking 1 part multigrain to 3 parts white rice because the other eater in my household prefers white rice. If I was eating solo, I would probably do 1 part multigrain to 2 parts white rice or even half/half but should then actually presoak everything.

I just eat it the same as white rice, along with my usual stews and sides.
posted by spamandkimchi at 1:57 PM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]