Recipe: Noryangjin-inspired Poktanbap (폭탄밥) aka 'Bomb Rice'

Seoul-Suburban, one of my co-conspirators on Nanoomi.net, posted this comment about a new dish they discovered while exploring the neighborhood around the famous Noryangjin Fish Market:

I passed carts offering bibimbap, bulgogi hot dogs, deopbap, omurice, hamburgers, bokkeumbap, and something that one cart called poktanbap (폭탄밥), or ‘bomb rice.’

This last one was something new to me, so I definitely had to give it a try, especially as the sucker for anything that screams ‘spicy!’ that I am.

What I got was a decent-sized bowl of rice with ground beef, sesame oil, a slice of ‘cheese,’ a fried egg, two different kinds of dried seaweed, some fish roe, two generous dollops of gochujang, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Total cost: 2,000 won, less than a plate of tteokbokki will cost you at most stalls. A large serving is just an extra 500.

And how was it? Pretty much as you might imagine all those ingredients thrown together tasting – which is to say it falls squarely under the rubric of comfort food.

With a name and description like that, it's a dish I just had to try to recreate in my kitchen.

Two kinds of seaweed and flying-fish roe certainly bring the ocean to your bowl. (Tammy Quackenbush photo)

The fish roe is indispensable for the recipe. The snap of each egg as you chew creates a popping sound like that of firecrackers or crispy rice. I think Pokjukbap (폭죽밥), or "Firecracker Rice," may be a more accurate name for this fun, uncommon Korean comfort food.

Noryangjin-inspired Poktanbap (폭탄밥) aka "bomb rice"

(Makes 2 servings)

Ingredients

1.5 to 2 cups cooked rice
4 ounces ground beef
1 to 2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
2 slices American cheese*
3 sheets 김 kim, cut into thin strips
1 to 2 tablespoons wakamame seaweed
2 eggs, fried 
1 to 2 tablespoons fish roe (I used flying fish roe, which are very tiny.)
2 tablespoons gochujang

Directions

1. Cook 1 cup of rice according to the directions on your rice cooker, which will make 2 cups of rice once cooked.(Leftover rice is perfect for kimchi bokkeumbap)
2. Cook the ground beef in a skillet, seasoned with salt and pepper until it's completely cooked, about five to six minutes. Set aside.
3. Put ¹/₂ to ³/₄ cup of cooked rice in each bowl.
4. Place the cheese and cooked egg on top of the rice. 
5. Surround the egg and cheese with ground beef, kim, fish roe and gochujang.

*The processed stuff that comes wrapped individually in plastic. It's not very healthful, but it's "authentic." If you have access — and the money — to buy the good stuff, use it. I'd advise using a mild, subtle-flavored cheese though. This is not the recipe for trying out that sharp cheddar.

Please read more about the Noryangjin neighborhood on Seoul-Suburban and snoop around a little bit to discover other underexposed and under-appreciated areas of Seoul to visit vicariously.

Editor's note, Sept. 16, 2011: Joe McPherson of ZenKimchi Food Journal discovered  the beauty of Noryangjin's poktanbap booth for himself and reached an epiphany about the future of  street food. He also exposes the true incubator of Korean food trends.