NOMS: 고구마만 Sweet Potato Rice

my stomach has been off lately - I had a bout of food poisoning, and now I'm hormonal and craving all sorts of indigestion-inducing foods. the boo and I also have very busy work schedules these days, and haven't had a ton of time for cooking. but cooking and eating korean food is crucial to my wellbeing! so this week we decided to try out a few new recipes. one of them was 고구마밥. it's super easy and very delicious, also mild enough for a sensitive belly. it is versatile - we have eaten it for breakfast, lunch and dinner mixed with 두부 (tofu) or 계란말이 (rolled egg omelette). perhaps best of all, you can make it in a rice cooker!!!

now for my first round of thank yous to folks who have pledged to my GoFundMe campaign! thank you to: Simon, Kyle, Sandra, Kyla, Sydney, Elaine, Sage and Rachel! also thank you to everyone who has pledged anonymously, and those of you have liked, shared and signal boosted. THANK YOU! your support means so much!

also thank you to the three folks running the campaign for me: Stacey 동생, my bestie Ky and my partner Sky - you are my heart and I love you all so much <3

on to the recipe!

고구마밥 (sweet potato rice)

2 C white rice, rinsed 5 times

6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2" cubes

2 C water

sauce - I'm pretty imprecise with these, so adjust to your taste!

1/2 C soy sauce (can be gluten free by subbing in gluten free tamari or shoyu)

3 T vinegar (I used korean plum vinegar)

3 T toasted sesame oil

2 T maesil cheong (Korean plum extract/syrup), or sweetener of choice

1 T gochugaru

2 T toasted sesame seeds

4-5 cloves garlic, sliced or minced

1 C green onion or garlic chives, finely chopped

1. put rinsed and drained rice into the bowl of your rice cooker. add 2C water and let soak 30min.

2. after 30min, add chopped sweet potatoes on top and set cooker to the stew/porridge setting).

3. after 20 min, stir rice and sweet potato together, making sure to thoroughly mix rice from the bottom of the cooker into the sweet potatoes. put lid back on and continue to cook.

4. after 30 min, stir rice and sweet potatoes again. test for tenderness and continue to cook if needed.

5. put all sauce ingredients into a small glass jar. shake vigorously and test for flavor. adjust as needed.

6. serve 고구마밥 warm or cold with seasoning sauce on top.

* this recipe can also be done on the stove top, too. I just love my rice cooker.

NOMS: Gluten-Free Egg Bbang (계란 빵)

빵 stand in Insadong, 2009

These sweet little steamed bbang were one of the first street foods I encountered in Korea. These sweet little muffins were filled with bits of nuts and dried fruit and were absolutely delicious. I remember they came freshly cooked, about seven to a little paper bag. They had a sweet, spongy texture and a delicious smell. When I saw this recipe for Egg Bbang on Aeri's Kitchen, I had to make them.

Our first attempt failed because we tried to use a regular muffin tin. A silicone muffin tin is a necessity for this recipe - I'm not sure if it is the gluten-free flour or the recipe itself, but our first batch was impossible to get out of the pan cleanly. Some of our friends scored us a silicone muffin pan off of Freecycle, so we gave it another go.

I'm diabetic, so we always reduce sugar by half in baked goods. I am also gluten-intolerant, so we subbed in our gluten-free flour mix for the all purpose flour. With the gluten-free flour, the batter ended up being really thick, so we added some extra milk to thin it out a bit. We didn't have any regular milk on hand so we used Korean black soybean milk, which gave the finished buns a darker color. 

Despite modifications these buns were sweet, delicious and really brought me back. We made six with eggs and four without - either way they do not keep and should be eaten immediately.

Here is our modified ingredient list:

• 3/4 C Gluten-Free Flour Mix (see below)
• 2 eggs for batter and more eggs for inside the buns
• 1/2 C melted salted butter
• scant 1/4 C sugar
• 1/3 C soy milk
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• sea salt
• melted butter for brushing

Gluten-Free Flour Mix (adapted from artofglutenfreebaking.com)

• 1 1/4 C brown rice flour
• 1 1/4 C millet flour
• 1 C tapioca flour
• 1 C glutinous rice flour (we use the Thai brand Erawan)
• 2 tsp xanthan gum