A step-by-step guide to ogokbap

Korean Heritage

Published: 13 Feb. 2022, 11:03

A step-by-step guide to ogokbap

A traditional market in Daegu gets ready to sell different grains for Jeongwol Daeboreum, the first full moon after the Lunar New Year. [JOONGANG ILBO]

In an era where there are so many quick and convenient offerings of delivery food and meal kits, ogokbap, one of the main delicacies for Jeongwol Daeboreum (a traditional holiday celebrating the first full moon after the Lunar New Year), can too be purchased. This five-grain rice dish is available as a ready-to-eat steamed microwavable rice or alternatively, you can get a pouch of mixed grain rice if you want to use a rice cooker instead.

But back in the day, making ogokbap wasn’t as easy. It required a lot of preparation which had to begin the night before. In addition, the dish is served with an assortment of seasoned vegetables which also had to be prepared from scratch.

Here’s a recipe of how ogokbap is cooked traditionally. A large stone earthenware pot and wood furnace have been replaced by a modern steamer and a gas stove.

Ingredients (for approximately 7-8 servings):
1 cup (approx. 120g) of glutinous rice, 1 cup of adzuki beans, 1 cup of glutinous millet, 1/4 cup of black beans, 1/2 spoon of salt, 7 cups of adzuki-bean-boiled water

Ogokbap, or five-grain rice, is a Korean traditional delicacy for Jeongwoldaeboreum. Using the grains harvested the previous fall, traditional Koreans wished for a bountiful harvest as they celebrated the first full moon of the year. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Wash the grains in separate bowls several times until the water runs clear. Soak the grains in room temperature water in separate bowls for at least four hours, except for adzuki beans.

Boil the adzuki beans for about 1-2 minutes. Drain the first pot of boiled water, pour 5 cups of fresh water back into the pot and simmer for about 20 minutes. If the beans are fork-tender, take them out, and let them sit in a mesh strainer so that they can cool. This process is to remove the bitter taste of the beans.

Pour the water you used to boil adzuki beans with, which will now be brown, into a new bowl. Add 1/2 spoon of salt.

When the adzuki beans have cooled and the other grains are fully soaked, it’s time to mix the grains.

Drain the grains and mix them all in a new bowl. Add one cup of the adzuki bean water as you mix. Use a wooden spoon to mix the grains thoroughly.

Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes.

Now get your steamer ready and a cotton liner. Soak the liner in fresh water and line the steamer. Pour the grains onto it and spread them out evenly. Cover the mixture with the excess ends of the cloth and put a lid on it.

First cook over high gas for about 20 minutes. Open the lid and the cloth and add spoons of adzuki bean water and give it a mix. Repeat this process until you use up another full cup of adzuki bean water.

Cover up the rice with the cloth and put the lid back on. Cook over medium gas for another 30 minutes. Turn up the gas to high about one to two minutes before you turn it off.

Let it sit for 10 minutes before you open the lid.

The ogokbap is ready to be served.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]