How to make Korean Rice on Stovetop

How to make Korean Rice on stovetop! Cooking rice without a rice cooker can be a little overwhelming but it does make the most delicious rice. So follow my instructions and you will have the most fluffy and perfectly cooked Bap (rice) whether you are using a regular pot, stone pot or even rice cookers.

About Korean Rice

Korean Rice (Bap 밥) is a staple in Korean cuisine and so just like many obsess about good bread, Koreans obsess about making the perfect delicious bowl of rice. So when I was growing up, Koreans pretty much ate rice 3 meals a day. So a full Korean meal could not be had without rice unless you are eating noodles of course.

To read more on what a typical Korean meal is like, check out my Korean Cooking Guide where I have a Korean Food Explained section.

What kind of rice do Koreans eat?

Koreans eat short or medium-grain rice as the main staple and we call it Bap 밥. A Korean white rice is called Baekmi Bap 백미밥. In recent years, due to its high starch content, Koreans try to eat more multi-grain rice (japgokbap) or rice with beans added rather than pure white rice.

BTW, when I think of Baekmi Bap, I can’t help but remember my younger days in Korea in the 70’s. Would you believe that there were days when we were told NOT to eat 100% white rice because it was a luxury that the country could not afford? When so many Koreans were starving or not able to have rice…

History about Honsik 혼식

In the early 70s until 1976, the Korean government had a policy where everyone was asked to not eat 100% white rice but eat mixed multi-grain rice (Honsik) of 70% rice and 30% other grains such as barley, red azuki beans, sorghum and more. Check out my Japgokbap post for a recipe.

As one of the ways to enforce this policy, teachers would inspect students’ lunchboxes to make sure they brought a mixed rice lunch to school. If someone brought an all-white rice to school, oh boy.. they would get into trouble, their parents would be called in, etc..

You probably think this is way too much government control and I agree but just to put things into perspective, you have to understand what state the country was in at that time. Because Korea was still struggling after the war, there was not enough white rice to feed everyone. And so they came up with this so the demand for white rice would be less.

But still, I hated having to deal with the inspections, watching other kids get into trouble and seeing the teacher get mad at the whole class..etc.. because I am one of those that get stressed just watching other kids getting reprimanded by the teacher…

I just hate getting into trouble and be embarrassed.. so I loved living in Korea but my school memories are always dotted with these traumatic episodes of teachers punishing and yelling at students. Of course, all of that has changed and now some students actually abuse teachers instead.

The Honsik policy ended in 1977 with the improving of Korean economy and now, of course, the younger generations eat lot more breads and noodles than rice and Korea is now dealing with overabundance of rice. And the government is now trying to encourage products using rice as they now have an excess of rice.. who would have ever thought!? How the world changes with time..

What’s perfectly cooked white rice?

Just like some people like light coffee vs dark, some Koreans love a more moist, soft and sticky rice while some love a more dry and flaky rice.

JinBap 진밥 vs DoenBap 된밥

JinBap 진밥 refers to rice that’s quite moist when cooked and they are pretty sticky and very soft. Jilda 질다 is the adjective to describe anything that’s wet or liquidy. Koreans say ‘밥이 질다 Bap yi jilda’ to say that rice is too wet when there was too much water in cooking the rice. If you spoon the rice, it kind of mushes together into a blob.

DoenBap된밥 refers to rice that’s drier and the grains come out not as sticky and more easily separate into individual grains. We say ‘밥이 되다 Bap yi deoda’ in this case.

Each family or person tends to like different kinds of rice and sometimes it can even be a cause of conflict when 2 people get married and have different preferences. I’m lucky that my husband and I both like Deonbap. 💕

The perfect Bap I think is between the Doenbap and Jinbap but to me a little more to the Deonbap side – haha. Anyway, most people probably will like this kind of rice and I’m going to show you how to make this one. You can adjust the amount of water to your liking as you try it a few times.

Before we go on, I have one other quick bap related phrase to share.

Three Story Rice (Sam-cheung-bap 삼층밥) 😂🤣

Before the age of automatic rice cookers, Koreans made rice on the stove in a pot and before that it was made in Gamasot 가마솥 which is a huge iron cauldron with lids that hung inside a clay stove with a direct wooden fire burning underneath. The picture below has 2 Gamasot.

Anyway, Sam-cheung-bap refers to cooked rice with 3 different layers! 😝The bottom layer being burnt, the middle layer is barely cooked and the top layer of rice is partly uncooked. It happens when the rice is not cooked properly.

And once this happens, you can’t fix it.

It can also happen, if you are cooking rice in higher altitudes or if using thin lower-quality pots. Koreans who go camping in the mountains often end up with this 3 layer rice.. and whoever cooked it of course gets a lot of grief for it.. 😝 Anyway, when this happens, it’s bad.. because you kind of have wasted 2/3 of the rice.

Why should I make rice on stovetop when I have a rice cooker?

Here are some reasons why –

1. you can save money by not buying fancy rice cookers
2. making rice on stovetop (especially stone pot) results in yummier rice than rice cookers – according to a group of 400 Koreans randomly surveyed by after tasting rice cooked using different methods.
3. making smaller amounts of rice is possible
4. while some fancy rice cookers have functions to make Nurungji (burnt rice), stovetop rice naturally makes nurungji and you can easily make some by just cooking it a few minutes longer.
5. it’s always good to know how to do this in case you have to travel, your electricity is down or in whatever situation where you can’t have a rice cooker.

How to cook Korean rice on Stovetop

do THIS with rice for all stovetop cooking

1. Rinse rice at least 3 times. Add rice to a mixing bowl, add water and swirl the rice around for few seconds. Then drain away the liquid. Add clear water and repeat. We want to rinse the rice 3 times at least to remove as much dirt and arsenic from the rice. But note, rinsing it too harshly and too many times will also strip away good nutrients so it’s a balance.
2. Let rice soak in water for 30 min (or longer is ok too). Add enough water so it’s at least 1/2 inch above the rice.
3. Drain.

How to make Korean Rice on stove top in regular Pot

Freshly made rice on the stovetop is preferred by some over electric rice cookers in terms of taste and texture. My mother-in-law stopped using the electric rice cooker altogether few years ago because she said Naembi Bap 냄비밥 (pot rice) tasted much better.

But I know.. you can’t really beat the convenience of rice cookers. And I think perhaps it was partly due to the fact that she had an old rice cooker that was losing the rubber seal..

Anyway, if you have a thick-bottomed heavy pot, you can make delicious rice on the stove top. I used my all-clad 2 QT pot below and it works perfectly for 1 cup of rice.

1. Add soaked and drained rice in pot. For 1 cup rice (measured when dry), add 1 cup + 1 ~ 2 Tbs water to a stainless pot. Be sure to choose a pot that is deep enough so your water doesn’t boil over easily.
2. Cover with the lid, turn on heat to medium-high and cook for 3 1/2 min to 4 min. It should not boil over if you stop here. If it boils over, immediately lower the heat to Low.
3. Simmer for 15 – 17 min on Low heat. Depending on how soon you lowered the heat.
4. Turn off heat and let it sit for 5 min. This will make a perfectly cooked rice with no burnt rice on the bottom.

1. Put soaked and drained rice (from above) in your stone pot.
2. Add water. For 1 cup of rice, add 1 cup + 2 Tbs water which is around 1:1.1 (rice:water) ratio. Level and smooth out rice with your hands..
3. Measuring water with your hands – Traditionally, Koreans measured rice water with their hands instead of cups. Most will say that the water level should come up close to your knuckles but in my experience, I find it’s about 1/2 way up from your fingertips up to your knuckles – as in the picture. Probably because again, we like more dry rice. NOTE – Water level will end up a little lower for short-grain rice because short-grain increases in volume more than medium grain.
4. Cover with the lid and turn on heat to medium-high. Cook for 7 min. DO NOT OPEN the lid until it’s all cooked. If you really need to look, just take a quick peek but close it immediately.
5. Lower heat to Low and simmer for 15 min.
6. Turn off heat and let it sit for 5 min or longer. This is called 뜸 들인다 – Tteum deulinda. This part is important to cook the rice completely so do not open the lid sooner than 5 min.

How to cook Korean Rice in Pressure Rice Cooker

When using a pressure rice cooker like Cuckoo (I recommend this) or the Instant Pot, don’t soak the rice but just rinse. Soaking the rice for pressure cooking is not only NOT necessary but actually results in rice that’s too soft and mushy in my opinion. So please don’t do it.

Then follow the instructions that come with your Korean rice cooker. Baekmi 백미 means white rice and you want to choose that function. Use the 180 ml rice cup that comes with the rice cooker to measure rice, rinse 3 times and then add water to the level of the number of cups of rice you washed. This is basically following 1:1 rice to water ratio if you want to know.

Instant Pot will work similar but honestly, instant pot doesn’t do as good of a job in cooking Korean rice like the Korean rice cooker does but it works. Just use 1:1 rice to water ratio with no pre-soaking.

Our family likes Doenbap 된밥 so I usually add water up to just a little below the line. Try adding a little more or less from the cup line and see what your preference is.

Once cooked, I would recommend to not keep it in warm function more than a day.

Well, that’s it! Now, you know how to cook Korean white rice on the stovetop in pots and dolsot, also in the rice cooker!!

Don’t throw away rice water, use it!

Do you feel you are wasting water because you are washing it so many times? Well, you can save the rinsed water and use it for other things including watering plants. Read My 7 Uses of Rice Water for more info.

Where can I buy Stone Pot?

You can buy the Dolsot at the Korean grocery store which carry Korean kitchenware – I bought a new one recently and they were around $35. Unfortunately, amazon doesn’t have any with lids. I did find one in this online store and price seems good but I never bought from them so I don’t know..

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FAQ on Korean Rice