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A bowl of colorful Korean BBQ dense bean salad with kidney beans, white beans, black beans, diced vegetables, and herbs, mixed and served with wooden salad utensils on a rustic plate.

Korean BBQ Dense Bean Salad.

Joanne Molinaro
A wonderful, nutritious, and hearty salad that packs a punch!
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine American, Korean
Servings 8
Calories 263 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup cooked white rice (preferably day old)
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cup black beans
  • 1 cup shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 cup Korean BBQ sauce
  • 2 tbsp ssamjang
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts (toasted or raw are fine)
  • 1 1/2 cup kidney beans
  • 1 1/2 cup white beans
  • 1 1/2 cup cucumber (diced)
  • 1/2 cup red onion (small diced)
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper (diced)
  • 1/4 cup scallion greens (chopped)
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 450° F. In a small bowl, mix together extra virgin olive oil and rice, using your hands, until the rice kernels are evenly coated. Spread the rice on a baking sheet, declumping as much as possible. Spread the sliced shiitake mushrooms and black beans on separate baking sheets, making sure not to crowd the sheets (I ended up using 3 baking sheets, in total, but you may have bigger baking sheets than I do!). Sprinkle each of the trays with salt and black pepper.
    Bake the beans and mushrooms for about 10 minutes (until the beans start bursting and the shiitake mushrooms start browning). The rice will require a bit more time to crisp--roughly 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how well you declumped them--they will be golden brown.
  • Blend the Korean BBQ sauce, ssamjang, rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of pine nuts, sesame oil, and black pepper until smooth. Set aside until salad is assembled.
  • Add the roasted black beans, red kidney beans, white beans, roasted mushrooms, cucumbers, bell pepper, red onion, scallion greens, crispy rice, and remaining pine nuts to a large bowl. Pour the dressing (reserving a couple tablespoons) and toss the contents until well-combined and evenly coated. Taste and add additional dressing, as necessary. Season with black pepper and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Notes

  1. Make sure to check out the Key Ingredients and Substitutions section before inquiring about substitutions! :)
  2. Make sure to chop your veggies so they are roughly the same size as the beans. This will provide for a better mouthfeel for your dense bean salad.
  3. If you prefer to have crispy mushrooms over chewy ones, drizzle them with a little olive oil instead of dry roasting them.
  4. I like to "pre-dress" my salad with a portion of my dressing to make sure not to overdress my salad (a mistake I've made often). 

Nutrition

Calories: 263kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 12gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 674mgPotassium: 647mgFiber: 9gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 347IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 71mgIron: 4mg
Keyword dense bean salad
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