Kongnamul Muchim

Soybean sprouts (kongnamul) are soybeans set in a vessel with drainage holes, kept out of the light and watered until long pale stems grow. Nobody knows exactly when Koreans began eating them, but the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture points out that the soybean itself is thought to have originated in Manchuria, once Goguryeo territory, which hints at a long history. The sprouts appear in writing in the Goryeo-period medical text Hyangyak gugeupbang under the name daeduhwang, and the Joseon household manual Sallim gyeongje records them as duachae along with a method for cooking them.

For generations the sprouts were grown at home. A cracked earthenware jar or a steamer pot (siru) set over a basin, draped with a dark cloth and tucked into the corner of a room, would be watered by ladle several times a day; in five or six days the sprouts were ready. When ancestral rites approached, a sprouting jar was a fixture in the corner of the room. Because the sprouts grow through the winter, they were long valued as a fresh vegetable in the coldest months.

Kongnamul goes into soups, rice, stir-fries and kimchi, but this simple dressed version is one of the most common banchan of all. Cooks have traditionally steamed or boiled the sprouts with care to avoid a raw, beany smell — hence the widespread habit of keeping the lid closed while they cook.

• Plant protein and fiber: soybean sprouts add some plant protein and fiber to a meal for very few calories.
• A winter vegetable: Korean sources note that sprouting gives soybeans vitamin C that the dry beans lack, which made the sprouts a valued fresh vegetable in winter. Measured amounts vary considerably and much is lost with longer cooking, so short cooking times are best.
• A traditional comfort food: the related sprout soup, kongnamul-guk, has long been eaten the morning after drinking for its mild, clear broth; Jeonju's kongnamul-gukbap is a well-known hangover dish. This is a cultural tradition rather than a proven remedy.

• Plain or spicy: the plain version is seasoned with salt or soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil; a spicy version adds gochugaru.
• Jeonju: the city of Jeonju in North Jeolla is famous for its soybean sprouts, credited locally to good water and to sprouts grown from small black seomoktae beans. It is known for kongnamul-gukbap (sprout and rice soup) and for sprout rice and bibimbap.
• Southern specialties: soybean sprouts are an essential ingredient in regional dishes such as Masan's spicy braised sea squirt (mideodeok-jjim) and Jinju-style bibimbap.
• Steamed, not boiled: older home cooks often steamed the sprouts over rice or water rather than boiling them, then dressed them with seasoned soy sauce.