Bibimbap, which literally means “mixed rice” in Korean, is one dish that Koreans eat often. The simple concept behind this dish is to mix leftover rice and vegetables/meat with some Korean seasonings. When their banchan dishes (Korean side dishes) are getting old, the Koreans often clear them by putting these assorted vegetables together with rice and some seasonings to make up a simple meal.
Nowadays, Korean restaurants serve a few variants of Bibimbap, depending on the ingredients used. The most popular version would be the Dolsot Bibimbap, which is bibimbap served in a hot stone bowl.
Follow our easy recipe to make your own bowl of bibimbap today! It may seem like a long recipe with many steps as there are many ingredients to care of, but the instructions are simple and each one takes only a few minutes to complete.
Photo credit: Jakub Kapusnak
Ingredients (serves 2):
– 1 and 1/2 cups of uncooked rice
– 1 small carrot
– 1/2 a cucumber
– 100g of brown mushrooms
– 100g of beansprouts
– 150g of beef
Seasonings
– salt
– pepper
– sesame oil
– sugar
– soy sauce
– minced garlic
Toppings
– Korean seasoned seaweed
– Kimchi
-2 eggs
Sauce
– 2 tbsps of gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
– 1 tbsp of sesame oil
– 1 tbsp of sugar
– 1 tbsp of water
– 1 tbsp of roasted white sesame seeds
– 1 tsp of rice vinegar
– 1 tsp of minced garlic
– 2 tsps of soy sauce
Step 1
Wash and prepare your rice in a rice cooker. Meanwhile, you can prepare the rest of the ingredients for the bibimbap.
Step 2
We will be handling each vegetable and the meat separately to avoid confusion.
Carrot
1. Peel and slice into thin strip. Head some oil in a pan.
2. Add the carrots and a pinch of salt. Sauté on medium heat until tender. Set aside.
Cucumber
1. Wash and peel (optional), slice into thin strips. Set aside
Mushrooms
1. Remove the stalks and wash thoroughly. Slice thinly.
2. Heat oil in a pan. Add one clove of minced garlic and the mushrooms. Season with a touch of soy sauce and sauté till they turn soft. Set aside.
Spinach
1. Wash and chop spinach into 1-inch pieces. Boil water and blanch the spinach for about 30 seconds.
2. Drain and rinse under cold water. Squeeze out the excess water.
3. Add 1 clove of minced garlic, a pinch of salt, a drizzle of sesame oil and a pinch of sesame seeds to the spinach. Mix well and set aside.
Beansprouts
1. Rinse the beansprouts and pick out any bad ones. Boil water and cook the beansprouts for a couple of minutes.
2. Drain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze out the excess water.
3. Add 1 clove of minced garlic, a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Mix well and set aside.
Meat
1. Slice the beef into thin slices. Add 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar/honey, 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to the beef and mix well. Marinade for 10 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Stir fry the beef until cooked.
Eggs
1. Fry 2 sunny side up eggs. Keep the yolk runny.
Step 3
To assemble a bowl of bibimbap, put your rice in a shallow bowl, and then arrange the carrot, cucumber, spinach, mushroom, kimchi and beef side by side. Top with the sunny side up in the middle. Add the bibimbap sauce and some Korean seaweed. Right before serving, (take a photo of your colourful work!) mix everything up evenly with a spoon. Enjoy your homemade Korean cuisine!
Apart from being delicious, bibimbap also makes a balanced and nutritious meal as it consists of rice, meat and different types of vegetables. Customize your bowl to your preferences; you can choose to add your favourite vegetables and use minced meat instead of sliced meat. You can also replace beef with chicken or pork, or keep it vegetarian. You can even use white rice instead of multi-grain rice to make a healthier version!
