If you want a great way to be introduced to Korean cooking, I highly recommend trying bibimbap first. It is a hot bowl of rice topped with any number of simply sautéed toppings, a fried egg and a special spicy sauce made of gochujang. Mix it all together and you get an explosion of flavor and textures in your mouth! When I make this for friends, I usually serve the mix-in toppings on a separate dish so they can customize their own bowls to their own taste. The fried egg and the spicy sauce are pretty essential though. If you don't like spicy, I still advise using a tiny bit for flavor and add a teaspoon of sesame oil to taste. I hope you enjoy this recipe. I tried to make it as simple as possible.
If you want to eat it family style, throw the rice and all the toppings in a large mixing bowl, mix it up and dish it out or you can try Korean-style and everyone grab a spoon and eat from the same mixing bowl!
This dish really is customizable. I often make it with leftovers from the fridge. Traditionally it is made with beef but you could use anything, chicken, pork, tofu or just veggies. My bibimbap usually has the same ingredients - rice, beef, onions, mushrooms, spinach, carrots and fried egg. If I have the luxury of having some Korean sides in the fridge I'll throw those in there too! Use what you like or what you have on hand. Other delicious add ins include quick pickled cucumber or daikon, Korean perilla leaves, bean sprouts and sliced zucchini.
Bibimbap (serves 4)
Ingredients
3 cups cooked medium or short grain rice (divided into 4 bowls of 3/4 cup each)
1 bunch or 1 bag of fresh spinach, washed, blanched and excess water squeezed out
1 large carrot, shredded
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small container of sliced mushrooms
1/2 lb beef, ribeye or flank steak - very thinly sliced against the grain (helps if slightly frozen)
4 eggs
any light flavored oil like avocado or vegetable, to sauté
soy sauce, to taste
sugar or honey, to taste
sesame oil, to taste
kimchi (optional)
Sauce
1/3 cup gochujang
1 Tbs sugar (or honey)
3 Tbs sesame oil
2-3 Tbs warm water
Directions
Cook rice and set aside.
Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together to an even consistency and set aside.
Blanch spinach in salted boiling water, then run under cold water to stop cooking. Squeeze out excess water. Marinate with 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Mix well to evenly coat.
Get a large plate or container to hold all of the toppings. Heat a heavy bottomed or non-stick skillet over medium high heat add a little oil. Add shredded carrots and a little soy sauce. Sauté for about 30 seconds to a minute then remove to plate. In the same skillet add the mushrooms and a little soy and sauté for 1-2 minutes just until cooked then remove to plate. Again to the same skillet, add onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes until onions turn translucent and start getting soft. Remove to plate. Add a little more oil to the skillet and then add the beef, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon sugar and sauté until just cooked. Remove to plate.
Just before you are ready to serve, fry up the eggs. Add some oil to a non-stick or heavy bottomed skillet. When it is pretty hot, crack in the eggs, 2 or 4 at a time if large enough. Cook for a minute or two until the bottom is crispy. I like to flip mine over to cook the other side just a little as well. Remove to plate.
Assemble your bowls. Add 3/4 cup of rice to the bottom of each bowl. Add a little of each topping to your bowl, arranging it beautifully. Top with fried egg and sauce. Admire your bowl before mixing it all up and gobbling it down! I encourage you to try a little sauce, even if just a little and add a teaspoon of sesame oil also. Enjoy!
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