Bokeum Bap is a filling meal you can whip up even when your cupboards look barren. Basically a hodgepodge of leftover vegetables, mixed with rice and soy sauce, it’s a cheap, easy way to feed multiple hungry mouths in an instant. The best part of bokeum bap is its ability to taste good, regardless of what you throw in it, so there’s no need to strictly adhere to its recipe — just use what you’ve got. Go ahead, those freezer burn peas and limp celery and carrots are waiting to be transformed into a hearty concoction.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box Uncle Ben’s long grain Boil-in-Bag rice (4 packages in a box)
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 1/3 pound beef, coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 medium carrot, peeled, diced in 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/3 pound fresh button mushrooms, diced
• 3 cabbage leaves, diced
• 6 imitation crabsticks, diced
• 1/3 pound tiny cooked salad shrimp, excess water removed
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 3 eggs, scrambled
• 3 spring onions, chopped
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1-1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

DIRECTIONS

Cook all 4 packages of rice in boiling water according to the package instructions. In a heavy skillet, heat 1/2 cup of cooking oil and stir-fry rice until sizzling, about 2 minutes. In another skillet, heat 3 tablespoons cooking oil, brown beef and stir-fry the carrot. Add the cabbage, onion and mushrooms, and then add the shrimp and crabsticks. Add the peas, eggs and spring onion while stirring continuously. Season with soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds, and stir-fry one more minute.

Notes: Chicken, pork, ham or sausage may be substituted for the beef. To adjust saltiness, use salt rather than soy sauce, which can make rice soggy.

Reprinted from Vignette of Korean Cooking II by Jae-Ok Chang, published by Maeilwonsaek Press. The cookbook, with recipes in both English and Korean, is available for purchase through KoreAm for $23.95, including shipping and handling. Send a check to KoreAm, 17000 S. Vermont Ave., Ste. a, gardena, ca 90247. Or to pay by credit card, call (310) 769-4913.