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This is the archived version of the Milk Street website and is no longer up to date.

Please visit 177milkstreet.com to see the current website with all of the latest recipes!

Korean Rice Balls with Seasoned Beef (Jumuk Bap)

16 pieces

45 minutes

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Jumuk, roughly, translates to fist, and bap to rice. Put them together and you have the popular Korean snack food, jumuk bap, or rice balls—small amounts of savory ingredients rolled up into a compact rice ball that's great for whether you need food-to-go or a neat-looking package to serve as an appetizer or side. Our version uses bits of toasted seaweed for extra crunch, sold in small packages in the international aisle of most supermarkets. If you like, you can make slightly larger rice balls using a ½-cup measuring cup; the yield in that case is nine or 10. Serve with our sweet-and-spicy sauce.

16

pieces

Tip

Don't forget to rinse the rice before cooking. Though some stickiness is desirable to help the balls hold together, excess starch will make the grains too gluey. And don't cook the beef until it becomes crisp, as this toughens the meat and makes it difficult to crumble after cooking.

45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 12

    ounces 90 percent lean ground beef

  • 2

    tablespoons sake

Directions

Reviews
Jan W.
December 17, 2023
Delicious
I couldn’t get mine to stick together in balls. No worries. I piled it all on a plate, sprinkled with the sesame seeds and also some minced scallion and served. My guests drizzled their portions with the sauce and loved it.
Ji Young K.

This was my favorite snack food growing up. My grandma frequently made them with ground beef but sometimes with stir-fried dried mini anchovies. Thanks for the recipe--it takes me right back to my childhood!


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