Bibinba no zakkoku gohan / mixed grain rice for bibimbap

Mixing regular rice and other grains is our current favorite way to make bibimbap. Quinoa makes it less starchy than a simple combination of regular rice and barley or rice with mixed grains; buckwheat groats offer a mellow yet toasty taste and texture; and adding roasted soybeans works as dashi for the steamed rice & grain mixture, and also become crunchy as they cook in a donabe pot (mimicking dolsot stone bowl bibimbap).

1/3 of recipe:
163 calories; 6.3 g protein; 2.5 g fat; 29.4 g carbohydrate; 26.5 g net carbs; 0 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 2.9 g fiber

1/2 of recipe:
245 calories; 9.5 g protein; 3.7 g fat; 44.1 g carbohydrate; 39.7 g net carbs; 0 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 4.4 g fiber


<Ingredients>

3 tbsp regular white rice
1 tbsp 8-grain mix
3 tbsp quinoa
2 tbsp sobamai buckwheat groats
20 g (approx. 2 tbsp) kuromame black soybeans or regular soybeans
170-175 cc water

<Directions>
1.

Rinse regular rice and 8-grain mix, and drain well.

Add quinoa (rinse, if necessary) and water to rice mixture, mix, and soak for 30+ minutes.

2.

Meanwhile, roast kuromame black soybeans on low to medium low heat for 10+ minutes until skin splits and bean surface underneath becomes light brown.

Add kuromame to rice mixture, and mix well.

3.

When ready to cook, add buckwheat groats, mix well, and start cooking (press "cook" button).

4.

When done, wait 10 minutes, and gently turn.

Serve in individual bibimbap bowls (cazuela, to make nabeyaki bibinba in photo), and top with assorted namul.

<Notes>

• Each type of rice, grain and seed requires a somewhat different volume of water for cooking. Regular rice takes about 1.1 times as much water as rice; 8-grain mix 1.2 times; quinoa 1.5 times; and buckwheat groats 1.2-1.3 times -- which, when using the above proportion of ingredients, adds up to 11 tbsp (165 cc) water. When soybeans are added to the rice mixture, some additional water is helpful. If quinoa is not rinsed, a total of 170-175 cc water is recommended. If quinoa is rinsed, slightly less water works well.
• The grain mix we use is called Mogami 養生米 8-blend whole grain rice, available at Chinese and Korean grocery stores in our area.
• Some imported black beans are incorrectly labeled as black soybeans. If unsure, check nutrition labels. Those with 10-15% carbohydrate content are soybeans, and others with approx. 40% carbohydrate content are black beans (haricot noire).