There are some general rules of thumb that you can follow when making your mixed rice mixes.
Usually Medium Grain White Rice 백미 (baeng-mi) is the base of most rice mixes and other ingredients are than added to this rice.
Your base is medium-grain white rice. To that, you can add:
- 2-3 types of grains (ex. brown rice, barley, millet, oats)
- 1-2 types of beans (green pea, red bean, black bean, chickpea)
- 1-2 types of nuts/seeds (almonds, chestnuts, pumpkin seeds)
Short Grain White Rice:
Short grain white rice is the typical base for mixed rice. So, to your white rice, 2-3 types of multigrain is recommended to be added at one time. Again, you could go off and add all kinds of grains at once and completely disregard this rule of thumb but the benefits of following this rule relate to being able to absorb all the nutrients from the rice and grains and digesting your food easier. More does not always mean better.
Beans:
Adding beans to your rice can reduce costs and positively affect your health. When you add beans to your rice it becomes a complete protein. When adding beans to your rice and grain mixes, the rule of thumb is to add 1-2 types of beans to your mix at a time.
Remember that before adding dried beans to the prepped rice, soak and prepare them according to the chart earlier in the chapter.
Sometimes adding beans can make your rice mix have a strong aroma. If you want to remove that smell, then add some cold seaweed broth or add some pieces of dried seaweed (다시마) to the rice mix as it cooks. This will help to remove some of the smell. You can also add a little mirin (미림) or cooking wine to the rice before cooking it to remove smell.
Nuts & Seeds:
You can add as many varieties of nuts and seeds as you prefer but for the best texture, my recommendation is to add 1-2 types of nuts to your mix. Adding nuts can prevent skin troubles especially in the winter, provide healthy fats, and can contribute additional flavors that vary from sweet to savory. Nuts will change the texture and add delicious flavors to your rice mix.
Creating rice mixes is your chance to have fun and experiment with which varieties of these ingredients taste the best and work best for you and your family.
