When oysters are cooked with rice, they infuse it with a sweet flavor reminiscent of the sea, and radish adds crispness and an earthy sweetness. Koreans call oysters the “milk of the sea,” since they consider milk and oysters to be the most nutritious foods of the land and the sea. Fresh oysters are always best, but you can use frozen, available at Korean markets and many supermarkets, if fresh are not available. You don’t need to soak the rice for this dish.
SERVES: 2
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup short-grain white rice
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 8 ounces Korean radish (mu) or daikon, peeled and cut into matchsticks (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 dozen fresh oysters, shucked, rinsed, and patted dry with paper towels, or ½ pound frozen oysters, thawed and drained
- Spicy Soy Seasoning Sauce
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Put the rice in a bowl, cover it with cold water, and stir it with your hand, then drain by tilting the bowl as far as you can over the sink without pouring out any rice. Stir the rice with your hand to release excess starch. Continue to rinse and drain the rice until the water runs clear.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Turn the heat down to medium, add the sesame oil and rice, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 2 minutes until lightly toasted and fragrant. Add the radish matchsticks and cook, stirring to warm through, 1 minute.
- Add the 1 cup water and salt to the skillet and mix well with the wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the skillet to prevent the rice from sticking. Cover and cook for 7 minutes. Add the oysters, mixing them in gently, cover, turn the heat down to low, and simmer until the rice is cooked, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the rice from the heat, fluff with the wooden spoon, and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve with the seasoning sauce
