1. Ingredients for Bap
-Primary ingredients: Rice
-Secondary ingredients: Water
2. Taste evaluation
-Spicy:☆☆☆☆☆
-Salty:☆☆☆☆☆
-Sweet:★☆☆☆☆
-Sour:☆☆☆☆☆
-Toasted flavor: ★☆☆☆☆
3.
Introduction to Bap (steamed rice)
The
typical Korean meal consists of Bap (grains like rice and barley) and
Banchan(side dishes).
The
reason why Korean foods are spicy and salty is because this rice.
Rice
is only steamed in water with no seasoning so it goes well with side
dishes with strong flavor.
As
it is one of essential ingredients of Korean diet, I’ll introduce
you briefly.
Its
history dates back to the New Stone Age when people started to eat
rice in earthenware.
Assuming
from the steamer that was used in the Bronze Age, they made grain
porridge and then started to steam it.
Since
the Iron Age, people used similar recipe to today’s rice recipe as
they started to make caldron made of cast iron.
And
then people started to eat Bap(steamed rice) as Sot(Korean
traditional caldron made of cast iron) was distributed to people in
Goguryeo.
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The
recipe for Bap is not so simple.
You
need to clean the grains and soak it in water. When you boil it with
water in Sot, it is boiled in water at first and then steamed as the
Sot is filled with vapor.
And
you should lower the fire until the water is absorbed more and the
bottom gets yellowish, which needs time to make rice tasty.
So
you need to go through three steps to make riceㅡboiling,
steaming and burning(steaming thoroughly).
In
order to successfully complete this process, the amount of water
plays the central role because the bottom of rice burns if the water
is too little and the water is not properly vaporized if there’s
too much of it.
Plus
the cook needs to control the fire while he/she makes rice all the
way.
Bap
typically refers to steamed white rice and Japgok-bap is white rice
mixed with different grains like barley, bean or adzuki.
Koreans
usually eat white rice and Japgok-bap is popular for a healthy diet.
The
shape of Korean rice is round and transparent that is chewy when it’s
cooked and it looks similar to Japanese or Chinese rice although it
is quite different in taste and texture from Southeast Asian
countries’ rice that is long and non-sticky.
Well-cooked
rice looks yummy. It’s moisturized and chewy and the taste gets
better the more you chew it.
And
if you add barley, bean, millet sorghum or other grains (it’s
called Japgok-bap), the taste of each ingredient will be added.
These
days, restaurants serve Japgok-bap instead of white rice because it’s
known to be very healthy.
Korean
dishes are relatively salty and spicy compared to Western food so it
goes well with this Bap and that’s why you should try Korean food
with Bap.
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4.
Kinds of Bap
Koreans
typically eat white rice but they add other grains or vegetables.
-
Ssalbap: Steamed white rice
-
Japgokbap: Steamed white rice mixed with barley, beans and adzuki.
It’s called Bori-bap(barley), Kong-bap(bean) and Pat-bap(adzuki).
-
Chaeso-bap: Steamed white rice mixed with carrot, radish and other
greens. It’s called Danggeun-bap(carrot), Mu-bap(radish),
Beoseot-bap(mushroom) and Namul-bap(greens).
5.
How to enjoy Bap even more
If
you ever tried Korean traditional menu, you’d notice that there’s
rice and side dishes on the table.
And
it always starts with rice. Rice should be eaten with side dishes and
soup. First try rice, then side dishes, then rice again, and then
side dishes…goes like this.
You
should not finish rice and one side dish after another like you’re
eating Western food.
You
need to eat rice and other dishes alternately when you eat Korean
food. So that rice is harmonized with other food with strong flavors
in your mouth.
There’s
a step for steaming it thoroughly while you make Bap. If you overcook
it, the rice at the bottom would be sticking on the bottom of the pot
which is called Nurungji(crust of overcooked rice).
It
used to be popular as snacks when there was no proper dessert, not to
mention cake. People used to enjoy Nurungji as snacks with sugar on
it.
But
there are plenty of nice snacks today so I want you to try Nurungji
just for fun.
Pour
warm water in Nurungji pot and wait for 10 minutes to make it
Nurungji-tang.
It
will be a good experience for you if you try this because it has a
toasted flavor and feels so soft.
