''Kongbap'' is a

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

dish consisting of

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

cooked together with one or more varieties of

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu ...

s. ''Kongbap'' may be made from scratch by combining and cooking together dried rice and soybeans (usually black

s), although outside Korea the word "kongbap" is commercially used in premixed multi-grain packages in dried form. In Korea, multigrain rice consisting of grains other than soybeans are called ''japgok-bap'' (mixed cereal rice). The Korean word ''kong'' (bean) alone usually refers to

s and is contrasted with other words like ''pat'' meaning

adzuki bean ''Vigna angularis'', also known as the adzuki bean , azuki bean, aduki bean, red bean, or red mung bean, is an annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small (approximately long) bean. The cultivars most familiar in East Asi ...

s, and as such ''kongbap'' (bean rice) would not also be applied to ''

patbap Red bean rice, called ''patbap'' () in Korean, ''sekihan'' () in Japanese, and ''hóngdòu fàn'' () in Chinese, is an East Asian rice dish consisting of rice cooked with red beans. East Asian varieties China Hóngdòu fàn (红豆饭) is ...

'' (red bean rice). Rice cooked with beans other than soybeans, such as

French bean Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean (''Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis ...

s (''gangnangkong'' in Korean) or

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

s (''wandu'' in Korean), are usually named using the specific bean name, as in ''gangnang-kong-bap'' (French bean rice) or ''wandu-kong-bap'' (pea rice).

''Kongbap'' in culture

Although it is generally acknowledged as a healthful and nutritious food, ''kongbap'' was not universally enjoyed as it was associated with

imprisonment Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is " false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessar ...

. ''Kongbap'' had long been a staple of Korean prison food. The

phrase ''kongbap meokda'' (콩밥 먹다; literally "to eat ''kongbap''") translates colloquially as "to be imprisoned." This is similar to a phrase in England with the same meaning: "to do

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...

." However, with a recent health food trend in South Korea, the popularity of beans has risen and ''kongbap'' is more commonly eaten in Korean households than before.Black beans
Joongang Ilbo, 2010-06-04. Retrieved 2010-06-27.

Similar dishes

* ''Japgok-bap'' (mixed-grain rice) is a

bap BAP or bap may refer to: Food * Bap (bread), a type of bread roll * Bap (rice dish), a Korean food Music * BAP (Basque band), a hardcore punk group (formed 1984) * BAP (German band), a Colognian rock group (formed 1976) * B.A.P (South Korean ban ...

including short-grain white and brown rice, green

s, black

s, yulmu (''Coix lacryma-jobi'' var. ''ma-yuen''), black

glutinous rice Glutinous rice ('' Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amyl ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

, and

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many other ...

. The dried mixture is generally soaked in water for several hours or overnight before cooking, in order to ease the softening process of the beans while cooking. * ''

Patbap Red bean rice, called ''patbap'' () in Korean, ''sekihan'' () in Japanese, and ''hóngdòu fàn'' () in Chinese, is an East Asian rice dish consisting of rice cooked with red beans. East Asian varieties China Hóngdòu fàn (红豆饭) is ...

'' (red bean rice) is made from red

Gallery

File:Namul and kongbap.png, ''

Namul Namul ( ko, 나물) refers to either a variety of edible grass or leaves or seasoned herbal dishes made of them. Wild greens are called ''san-namul'' (, "mountain namul"), and spring vegetables are called ''bom-namul'' (, "spring namul"). On t ...

'' (vegetable side dishes) and ''kongbap'' (lower right)

References

{{Legume dishes Bap Korean rice dishes Legume dishes Prison food

''Kongbap'' in culture

Similar dishes

Gallery

See also

References