My dad used to grow rows and rows of swiss chard in his garden every summer. And every fall, my mom took that bountiful harvest and readied it for the freezer. We had a separate freezer in the basement that was packed with pouches of parboiled swiss chard. She used it in soups, seasoned it as a side dish, and often included it in a main dish my siblings and I called swiss chard bap or swiss chard rice. It was a simple dish – rice, a little beef, and swiss chard – all made in a rice cooker. She served it with a sauce called yang nyum jang that just tied everything together. Yang nyum jang is basically seasoned soy sauce.
Swiss chard bap is perfect for a weeknight meal. It can be made ahead of time thanks to the nifty rice cooker. To make the meal more complete, you can accompany this rice dish with a light brothy soup like kongnamul guk (soybean sprout soup) or miso soup.
Swiss Chard Bap (Rice)
Ingredients
- Cooking oil
- 3/4 pound beef sirloin or boneless short rib (my fave), chopped
- 12 ounces swiss chard trimmed of the tougher ribs, chiffonade in 1/2-inch strips
- 2 cups medium grain rice rinsed
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 stalks green onions thinly sliced crosswise
- 1 Tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon kochugaru red pepper powder, OPTIONAL
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook until browned.
- Add the cooked beef and the juices into the rice cooker pot. Add rice and 3 cups of water. Give it a stir. Add the swiss chard. There is no need to mix in the chard. Click the rice cooker "on" as you would if you're cooking a pot of plain rice.
- While you wait, prepare the yang nyum jang. In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, green onions, and sesame seeds. When you add the sesame seeds, crush fingerfuls of the seeds between your fingers as you add it to the bowl. And if you want a little heat, add the kochugaru. Mix thoroughly and set aside. This sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until you're ready to eat.
- Once the rice is done, toss the rice, beef, and chard with a rice paddle until thoroughly combined.
- Serve in individual bowls. Add a spoonful (more if you'd like) of yang nyum jang to the rice and mix.
