Korean Beef Rice Bowl with Radish (Mu-bap)
Simple and delicious Korean style beef rice bowl with radish is cooked in a rice cooker. Serve with soy chili sauce dressing. It makes an easy one dish meal with hardly any effort.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup (250 g) short grain white rice
- 1 lb (450 g) Korean radish peeled and cut into 1/4-inch (6 mm) matchsticks
- 1 large piece (10–15 g) dried sea kelp (dashima) see note below
- ⅔ lb (300 g) ground beef bulgogi for topping
For dressing sauce
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) soy sauce
- 1 tbsp (8 g) Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) water
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) sesame oil
- 1 tbsp (9 g) sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) Korean plum extract (maeshil-cheong) optional
- 1 green onion finely chopped
Instructions
- Rinse the short-grain rice until the water runs clear. Cover with fresh water and soak for 15 minutes, then drain well. While the rice soaks, place the dried kelp in 2 cups (480 ml) cold water and let it steep. Remove the kelp before cooking.
- Place the drained rice in a medium pot and spread the radish on top. Pour in the 1 ¼ cup (240 ml) kelp water (or plain water). Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the rice rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Gently fluff the cooked rice and radish together with a rice paddle. Avoid stirring too vigorously to keep the radish pieces intact.
- To make the dressing sauce, combine soy sauce, gochugaru, water, sesame oil, sesame seeds, plum extract (if using), and chopped green onion in a small bowl.
- Scoop the radish rice into serving bowls. Top with warm ground beef bulgogi and drizzle with 1 tablespoon (or more) of the dressing sauce. Mix lightly and enjoy.
Notes
If dried kelp (dashima) isn’t available, you can simply use plain water. The rice will still cook beautifully, and the radish will add plenty of flavor on its own. The kelp just gives a gentle umami boost if you have it on hand.
Nutrition
Calories: 560kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 761mg | Potassium: 644mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1126IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 5mg