Bibimbap 비빔밥
Lately, all I want to eat is Korean food. Every single time I set out to cook a meal, I end up with a feast of various spicy and savoury Korean mains, soups, side dishes, rice and noodles. Most Korean meals are made up of one main item, paired with a series of small vegetable, fish or meat side dishes (called banchan) and almost always accompanied by rice.
I like side dishes, I like rice, but Korean meals, while easy to prepare, result in millions of dishes that need to be washed and, you know, sometimes you just want to eat your dinner, watch 4 episodes of The X-Files and not worry about the dishes. That's where this recipe comes in.
Bibimbap, which translates to "mixed rice," is a korean dish of rice, vegetables, sauce, meat or tofu and egg. It brings together everything I love about Korean food in one, easy to manage bowl. Though the ingredient list is long, bibimbap is easy to prepare and really delicious.
This recipe makes enough everything for two heaping rice bowls. I used chicken because I had some leftover in the fridge but you can use beef or tofu in its place.
Ingredients
2 cups cooked sticky rice - recipe, here
1 cup of sliced chicken, beef or tofu
2 carrots - julienned (cut into thin strips)
1/2 zucchini - julienned
5 shitake mushrooms - sliced
1 cup soy bean sprouts - rinsed
handful of spinach, bok choy or any Asian leafy green - washed
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey or sugar
3 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp sesame seeds
large egg (1 per serving)
salt
Method
1. prepare the sticky rice
2. place meat of your choice in a small bowl and add soy sauce, honey or sugar, 1 minced garlic clove and 1 tsp of sesame oil. set aside.
3. bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small pot and add leafy greens. blanch for 30-45 seconds. remove to a colander and rinse under cold water. squeeze out excess water. place in a bowl and add 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 minced garlic clove and 1 tsp sesame oil. toss and remove to a large plate.
4. in the same pot, add soy bean sprouts and blanch for 30 seconds to 1 minute. remove to a colander and rise under cold water. place in the same bowl as above and add 1 minced garlic clove, 1 tsp sesame oil and a pinch of salt. remove to the large plate.
4. in a medium skillet, heat 2 tsp of canola oil. add the marinated meat and cook until fully cooked through. remove to the plate.
5. in the same skillet, add 1 tsp of canola oil and sauté carrots until slightly tender but still crisp. add a pinch of salt and remove to the plate.
6. in the same skillet, add 1 tsp of canola oil and sauté zucchini until slightly tender but still crisp. add a pinch of salt and a few drops of sesame oil. remove to the plate.
7. in the same skillet, add 1 tsp of canola oil and sauté mushrooms until cooked. add a pinch of salt and remove to the plate.
8. in the same skillet, heat 1 tsp of canola oil and fry egg until white is set but the yolk is still runny.
to serve, place rice in the middle of a large bowl. surround the rice with meat, mushrooms, greens, carrots, zucchini and sprouts. place the egg on top of the rice in the middle of the bowl. sprinkle the egg yolk with sesame seeds and a touch of salt. This dish is usually served with Korean hot pepper paste called Gojujang. if you can't find this, use any asian hot sauce you like.
mix it up, eat it and enjoy.