South Korea: Bibimbap

Name: South Korea: Bibimbap
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: Gochujang: 2 Tbsp; sesame oil: 1 Tbsp; brown sugar: 1 Tbsp; water: 1 Tbsp; roasted sesame seeds: 1 Tbsp; minced garlic: 1 tsp; rice vinegar: 1 tsp; boneless short ribs: 1 lb; sesame oil: 1 Tbsp; soy sauce: 1 Tbsp; brown sugar: 1 tsp; minced garlic: 1/2 tsp; sesame oil: 2 Tbsp + more as needed; scallion: 2 tsp; minced garlic: 1 tsp; roasted sesame seeds: 2 tsp; soy sauce: 1 Tbsp + more as needed; honey: 1 tsp; baby spinach: 10 oz; shitake mushrooms: 4 oz; mung bean sprouts: 1/2 lb; carrots: 3 carrots; white rice: 3 cups, cooked; Large eggs: 4; kimchi

"Mixed Rice"

Bibimbap - translating quite literally to "mixed rice" - is perhaps one of Korea's best known dishes. There are countless varieties, and it's often made to use leftover vegetables and banchan.

Cuisine:

Korean

Ingredients

Bibimbap Sauce
2 Tbsp Gochujang
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp rice vinegar
Meat & Sauce
1 lb boneless short ribs
look for pre-sliced, thinly
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Vegetable Toppings
2 Tbsp + more as needed sesame oil
2 tsp scallion
chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp roasted sesame seeds
1 Tbsp + more as needed soy sauce
1 tsp honey
10 oz baby spinach
4 oz shitake mushrooms
1/2 lb mung bean sprouts
3 carrots carrots
For Assembly
3 cups, cooked white rice
short-grained, like sushi rice
4 Large eggs
kimchi

Directions

Bibimbap – translating quite literally to “mixed rice” – is perhaps one of Korea’s best known dishes, and something I’ve been meaning to make since my trip to South Korea. Bibimbap has become increasingly common in the U.S. in recent years, and I don’t doubt that this is in part because of it’s colorful beauty – let’s be honest, it makes for an awesome shot on Instagram every time! There are numerous accounts of its origins, and many of them involve using up leftover vegetable side dishes. And this makes sense – while it’s a lot of work to make each component from scratch (trust me!), it’s incredibly easy to assemble if you have a variety of sauteed vegetables and banchan leftover. I’ll be honest, when I saw the prepared vegetable sides for sale at H-mart for what it would cost me to make just one, I was incredibly tempted – but I kept with the spirit of this challenge, which is to make everything from scratch: even the bibimbap sauce!

The dish can be made in almost countless varieties – as you probably know if you’ve ever made the mistake of going to Rice Bar when you’re too hungry to make a decision (the good news – it all tastes awesome!) I went with boneless short ribs because I’m a big fan, but ground meat is perhaps even more common. It’s also an awesome vegetarian dish – with all the options for vegetable sides, you won’t even miss the meat. Another variety is dolsot bibimbap, which is cooked in a hot stone bowl so the rice becomes crispy. While I absolutely love bibimbap served this way and did do a quick search to see what I could get from Amazon, I did a quick calculation on the size of my kitchen and the frequency with which I make bibimbap and my better senses prevailed.

Appetizer: a variety of savory pancakes, courtesy of H-mart.

Beverage pairings: Makgeolli and persimmon wine that I brought back South Korea and have been waiting to bring out when I finally had a Korean dinner party… and of course soju! Fun fact: it is etiquette in Korea not to pour your own drinks, and on the flip side to always keep your eyes out to make sure your table mates don’t have an empty glass!

Dessert: a variety of Tteok (sweet rice cakes), courtesy of H-mart.

Recipe source: a mash up of My Korean Kitchen and La Kocinera (blogs)

Steps

1 Done 5 minutes	Bibimbap Sauce Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2 Done 10 minutes + time to marinate	Meat Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and let the meat marinate while you prepare the rest of the components. Right before you are ready to serve, cook the meat in a wok or large skillet to your desired level of doneness.
3 Done 10 minutes	Spinach Combine chopped scallion, minced garlic, sesame oil and sesame seeds in a small bowl. Bring water to a boil in a large sauce pan. Add the a large pinch of salt. Once boiling, plunge the spinach into the pot and leave it for 30 seconds. Drain the boiled water by pouring the spinach into away and run cold water on the spinach for 1-2 minutes. Squeeze the spinach to remove excess water. Cut the spinach into 2-3 pieces with a knife. Add one half of the sauce you just prepared and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.
4 Done 10 minutes	Mung bean sprouts Bring water to a boil in a large sauce pan. Add the a large pinch of salt. Once boiling, submerge the mung bean sprouts and leave it for 3-5 minutes Drain the boiled water by pouring the sprouts into away and run cold water on the spinach for 1-2 minutes. Squeeze to remove excess water. Add the other half of the sauce you prepared for the spinach and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.
5 Done 10 minutes	Shitake Mushrooms Remove the stems and slice into thin strips. Heat sesame oil in a wok. Add a splash of soy sauce. Add the mushrooms and cook covered on medium-low for 5-7 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to use.
6 Done 10 minutes	Carrots Cut carrots into thin strips, about 2" long. Add sesame oil and honey to the wok. Add the carrots and cook on medium-low for 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly so they cook evenly. Refrigerate until ready to use.
7 Done 5 minutes	Eggs You can fry the eggs as you please, but a little tip: if you break them in a shallow bowl and microwave one at a time for ~30-45 seconds they will cook evenly. Keep an eye on them to keep the center soft.
8 Done 5 minutes	Assembly Put a bed of cooked rice in the bottom of each bowl. Put a bit of each of the veggies and the cooked meat in a circle around the edge. Place the egg in the middle. Spoon on a spoonful of the bibimbap sauce. Serve with kimchi!