crispy rice patties

p.s. i have been extremely busy at work and dealing with personal stuff but i will be working on part 3 of my trip to seoul - the event and meeting of sj! ^^ look forward to it. so in the meantime, enjoy this entry i have written which has sitting as a draft for the longest time. hehe

just before you start reading , thought i might warn you that i made another dish that is inspired by bibimbap..lol. although this wasn't a winning recipe for the 'discover korean's delicious secret', i thought this is a fun take on a rice ball dish ^^

the inspiration for this dish came from a southern dish in the US called fried boudin balls which are meat-rice dressing shaped into balls, coated and deep fried. in fact, i also found some korean recipes that involved frying filled rice patties which i thought was a delicious idea :) to take more of a korean approach, i leaned towards bibimbap for the filling and panko breadcrumbs for the outer crust instead of regular breadcrumbs.

if you had leftover ingredients from bibimbap kimbap, it's perfect to use that in this dish. if you are starting from scratch, fear not.. i've got a quick short cut recipe you could use so these delicious crispy patties can get in your belly sooner.

a few notes :: there are a few short cuts to the recipe - using leftover bulgogi/pre-marinated meat from the store or even using pre-made red pepper paste sauce (so you could skip making it yourself) and you can use any leftover fresh vegetables that is in your pantry.

instagram-ed :: the making of rice patties

quite honestly, this was quite a challenge to make sure they didn't fall apart. i had to squeeze a couple of times to make sure it's compact and holds it shape.

instagram-ed :: frying of rice patties

 

verdict |  it was actually pretty good. with the flavors of bibimbap paired the salty sweetness from the gochujang sauce all encased in a crispy shell, it was a great surprising pairing. it wasn't heavy as i imagined it to be since it was rice fried with panko bread crumbs. the crispy panko breadcrumb aspect probably makes the dish but i do certainly wish i could have a better filling to rice ratio without the patty falling apart - well, that is certainly a work in progress. one great thing about this dish is the versatility since you could use whatever filling you would like - one other option that i've read is kimchi with cheese and meat - that would be an interesting flavor combination :)

if you'd like to try out something different and fun, here is the recipe:

crispy rice patties
inspired by boudin balls and fried rice patties

ingredients |

• 3 cups of cooked rice
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 medium zucchini, halved and diced
• 1/2 medium carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup of spinach
• Sesame seeds for sprinkling
• 1 cup of bulgogi (if you don't have any in hand, look below for the substitute recipe)

red pepper sauce [gochujang sauce]

• 3 tbs red pepper paste :: gochujang
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp brown rice vinegar
• 1 tsp mirin
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp sesame seeds
• 1.5 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic

panko crust

• 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup of flour

[substitute recipe for a quick and simple bulgogi filling]

Quick and simple bulgogi subsitute for filling

The list of ingredients are as such:

• 1/3 lb ground beef
• 1 medium shallot, diced
• 1 stalk green onion, chopped roughly
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1.5 tbs soy sauce
• 1/2 tbs sugar
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbs cooking wine
• A sprinkle of sesame seeds

Marinade all the ingredients together for about 30 minutes.  Add them in a pan at medium heat and saute till the meat is cooked through and the shallots and green onions are softened (about 8-10 minutes)

directions |

• firstly, saute all the diced zucchini, carrots and spinach in 2 tsp of sesame oil. add about 1/4 tsp of salt to season the vegetables - taste and adjust to personal preference. this will only take about 5 minutes. remove from pan
• using the same pan, add 1 tsp of vegetables oil. season the beaten egg with a pinch of salt and pour into pan. scramble the egg until it's cooked and set aside with the vegetables
• prepare the meat (be it the quick recipe/bulgogi) and once cooked, mince it up to smaller pieces and add it to the mixture of vegetable and egg
• mix the egg, meat and vegetable to get a consistent filling
• for the rice, add a pinch of salt as well as a sprinkle of sesame seeds (optional) and mix well
• meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a separate bowl. with that, we have all the ingredients ready to make the rice patties. 
• take a palmful of rice and flatten it on your palm. spread some sauce in the middle of the rice layer
• then add a couple of tablespoonful of filling (dependent on the amount you can fit without overfilling). be careful not to overfill it. 
• add more rice on top and gently squish it to mold it into shape (you can be creative here). make sure the parcel is compacted and holds it shape. set aside and continue making the patties until you run out of ingredients
• have 3 bowls ready - one with flour, one with beaten eggs and another with panko bread crumbs to coat these rice patties. meanwhile, heat up some oil in a frying pan on medium heat
• coat first with flour, then carefully drench in the egg and finally coat it liberally with panko breadcrumbs
• deep fry them until they are nice and golden brown all over. the rice and its filling are cooked through so this step is to just crisp up the crust
• serve it while warm and it's great as a snack on the go as well :)

disclaimer this is written based on my personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others.