Comments on: The Koreans Favorite Part: Nooroongji http://dolsotbibimbap.com/the-koreans-favorite-part-nooroongji/ Learn more information about Korean Restaurants, Korean Food, and Korean dishes. Thu, 04 Nov 2010 04:25:42 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Anna Roscello http://dolsotbibimbap.com/the-koreans-favorite-part-nooroongji/comment-page-1/#comment-4 Anna Roscello Sat, 02 Aug 2008 03:27:28 +0000 http://dolsotbibimbap.com/?p=20#comment-4 Nooroongi is one of my very favorite dishes from my childhood. It's not limited to the scrapings from the bottom of dolsot bibimbap. It's basically the hard scrapings off the bottom of ANY burnt rice dish, and is most commonly made from the burnt bottoms of just plain boiled rice itself. Back in the day before rice cookers, when rice was cooked over a flame or on a stovetop, rice would often burn onto the bottom of the pan, especially if left unattended and forgotten. If you did manage to burn your rice, no biggie--in fact, it was a treat. I used to ASK my mom to burn the rice! lol Water is added to the burnt rice and the rice is re-boiled. The boiling water loosens the burnt-on rice from the bottom, and the rice is scraped up during boiling to create a sort of thick starchy soup. The resulting taste is a nutty flavor akin to chestnuts, perhaps (as long as the burns are REALLY black...that batch of rice would be no good). This is TRUE nooroongi. In fact, nowadays, instant nooroongi--translated as "scorched rice"--is now available in stores. Just like cup-a-soup bowls in which you add hot water and fold over the lid again, so it is with instant nooroongi: they provide the scorched rice, and you boil it with your hot water. FANTASTIC!!!! Nooroongi is one of my very favorite dishes from my childhood. It’s not limited to the scrapings from the bottom of dolsot bibimbap. It’s basically the hard scrapings off the bottom of ANY burnt rice dish, and is most commonly made from the burnt bottoms of just plain boiled rice itself.

Back in the day before rice cookers, when rice was cooked over a flame or on a stovetop, rice would often burn onto the bottom of the pan, especially if left unattended and forgotten. If you did manage to burn your rice, no biggie–in fact, it was a treat. I used to ASK my mom to burn the rice! lol

Water is added to the burnt rice and the rice is re-boiled. The boiling water loosens the burnt-on rice from the bottom, and the rice is scraped up during boiling to create a sort of thick starchy soup. The resulting taste is a nutty flavor akin to chestnuts, perhaps (as long as the burns are REALLY black…that batch of rice would be no good). This is TRUE nooroongi. In fact, nowadays, instant nooroongi–translated as “scorched rice”–is now available in stores. Just like cup-a-soup bowls in which you add hot water and fold over the lid again, so it is with instant nooroongi: they provide the scorched rice, and you boil it with your hot water. FANTASTIC!!!!

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