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Korean-style serving of Barley rice

보리밥 · Barley rice

Barley rice

보리밥

What exactly is it?

Barley is cooked alone or with rice, giving the grains a firmer bite and less stickiness than white rice. It may be mixed with vegetables and gochujang or eaten beside soybean-paste stew. Texture changes with the proportion of barley.

Main ingredients

Barley, rice; vegetables, young-radish kimchi or soybean paste alongside

Ordering and serving

If vegetables and gochujang arrive separately, mix the amount you want in the larger bowl. Barley contains gluten; replacing white rice with barley does not make a meal gluten-free.

Origins and changes

Barley was an important staple when rice alone could not supply everyday meals. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture records both campaigns encouraging mixed-grain meals and the later choice to seek out barley rice. Today’s vegetable-and-barley sets carry that staple-food history.

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Dish to compare

Barley rice

보리밥

Main ingredients
Barley, rice; vegetables, young-radish kimchi or soybean paste alongside
Flavor and character
Barley is cooked alone or with rice, giving the grains a firmer bite and less stickiness than white rice. It may be mixed with vegetables and gochujang or eaten beside soybean-paste stew. Texture changes with the proportion of barley.
How to eat it
If vegetables and gochujang arrive separately, mix the amount you want in the larger bowl. Barley contains gluten; replacing white rice with barley does not make a meal gluten-free.
Read about this dish →

Ssam-bap

쌈밥

Main ingredients
Rice, lettuce, perilla or cabbage leaves, ssamjang; meat or fish accompaniments
Flavor and character
Leafy vegetables hold small bites of rice, meat or fish and ssamjang. Lettuce and perilla are often raw; cabbage or squash leaves may be steamed. A ssambap set is a complete rice-and-side-dish meal, not just a plate of greens.
How to eat it
Make small wraps that fit in one bite and use ssamjang sparingly. Ask whether more leaves are available. A generous vegetable plate does not make the set vegetarian: meat, fish or fermented seafood may be included.
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