Bibimbap

One of my favorite aspects of this recipe is its adaptability.  Any of the vegetables can be substituted with any other mild flavored vegetable.  The common ingredient in all bibimbap recipes is gochujang sauce, which can be purchased at Asian food stores or made from ingredients you have on hand. Also the marinated beef can be easily switched out for chicken, seafood, or tofu.

When Chef Choi gave the recipe, he used the words "spoon" and "bowl" as his measurements. The instruments he used were a typical Korean rice spoon (round like an American soup spoon but bigger) and a rice bowl (the size of an American berry bowl).  I took the liberty of translating these measurements in to common American recipe amounts. 

This recipe will yield two large main dish servings.

I. Have on hand:

4 cups cooked short grain rice
1-2 cups kimchi
2 heads thinly sliced romaine lettuce
2 eggs
sesame oil
sea salt


II.  Have on hand or prepare 3-4 tablespoons gochujang sauce:

2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste)
1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoons sugar

Combine all ingredients and cook briefly at a low temperature until well combined. Careful:  this will go from hot to burnt in a matter of seconds.

III. Have on hand 1/2 pound bulgogi or prepared 1/2 pound marinated beef as follows:

1/2 pound thinly sliced flank or skirt steak
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic

IV.  Prepare boiling water and blanch 1 cup, loosely packed, of each of the following vegetables:

mung bean sprouts - 30 seconds
shredded carrots - 5-10 seconds
shredded Korean radish - 5-10 seconds
shredded zucchini - 5 seconds

V.  Assemble the above ingredients in the serving dish or dolsot (Korean hotpot):

If using a dolsot, preheat it stovetop on a gas burner or in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

First fill the bottom of each bowl or dolsot with one cup of cooked rice.  Then top the rice with the meat, kimchi and vegetables, in neat little piles (see the photo for assembling suggestion, but it doesn't really matter that much).

VI.  Fry the eggs, separately, sunny-side up and place one on top in the middle of each bowl. Sprinkle with a  tiny pinch of sea salt.  Drizzle the veggies with a little sesame oil.

VII.  Add gochunjang sauce to your own taste (careful, it is spicy!)

VIII.  Pick up your spoon or chopsticks (or fork if you must) and mix it.  Mix it like crazy!!!

I eat it with chopsticks, always happy for an opportunity to practice this newly-learned skill.  But Choi says it is technically a rice dish and so should be eaten with a spoon.