Bibimbap, or 비빔밥 in the Korean, is one of my favourite foods. It translates literally as ‘mixed rice’ from 비빔 bibim = mixed and 밥 bap = rice. Traditionally, it comes in a bowl containing rice, a colourful variety of fried or blanched vegetables (which are often 반찬 banchan, Korean side dishes), plus a protein and topped off with a fried egg. You add the sesame seed oil and gochujang, the Korean red chilli paste, to taste and then mix it all up. Bibimbap is infinitely variable, seasonal and nutritious. My favourite is wild mountain greens bibimbap or 산채비빔밥 sanchae bibimbap. Particularly tasty whilst on a mountain hike, but I’ll eat it anywhere.
I don’t often have 반찬 in the fridge, so this version uses a mixture of raw and pickled vegetables. It means that I can make it quickly and the raw vegetables add a bit of crunch. I vary the vegetables and the protein depending on what’s in season, what I have in the house and what I’m craving. It’s my current lunchtime go-to in this ‘is-it- warm,-is-it-cold,-but-it’s-definitely-greyer’ season, when I want to eat something warm and colourful.
To serve this, each person needs a good sized bowl that has high sides so that food doesn’t spill out when mixing it up. I’m not fussy about the aesthetics of how it looks when it is assembled in the bowl. You’re at home, not a restaurant, so I think it’s okay to assemble as each ingredient is prepped. However, just to be clear, for anyone who is new to bibimbap, this dish is assembled and served in individual bowls, so that each person can spice it up according to taste. It isn’t mixed up in one big bowl and portioned out. Oh no no!
Ingredients for bibimbap:
- a portion of cooked rice per person
- lettuce, finely sliced. I normally use an iceberg lettuce for it’s crunch. You could substitute this for white cabbage, or use both.
- cucumber, julienned
- red lettuce, finely sliced
- carrot, julienned
- mushroom, finely sliced
- one pickled gherkin or a couple slices of beetroot, julienned per person
- one fried egg per person
- options for protein (fried tofu, bulgogi beef, tinned fish (sardines, tuna)
- gochujang* and sesame seed oil to taste. *If you have zero spice tolerance, then my family will substitute ketchup for gochujang. Recently, my sister has made and used an Asian-inspired vinagraitte so that it’s kinder to her stomach.
Method
- Cook the rice and get the serving bowls ready. Everything else can be prepped in the time that the rice is cooking.
- Prepare the vegetables. You’ll note that the vegetables are julienned. This is important so that your spoon can pick up a mixture of ingredients in each spoonful.
- Cook the protein (if using and need cooking).
- Ideally, the rice goes in first into each serving bowl, and then you add the vegetables. Traditionally, each vegetable has its own segment in the bowl to show off the colours.
- Fry the egg and place it on top of everything.
- Serve with gochugang and sesame seed oil on the table. Each person can help themselves to however much they want. I would suggest a tablespoon of sesame seed oil first and then the gochujang, so that it’s easier for the gochujang to come off the spoon. Then mix mix mix it up so that all the gochujang mixes in. 맛있게 드세요. Bon appetit.
It’s not just me who loves this dish. I make it regularly for the family I live with. The 8 year old surprised the adults when she asked for bibimbap as her birthday meal next week. Her parents will make it and this recipe was written up primarily so that they have a point of reference. It’ll probably have some more cooked elements in it, liked fried mushrooms and carrots and I’ll marinate some beef as the protein.
Let me know how you get on with it. I say this with both enthusiasm and a bit of ‘oooooh – but please keep the essence of it’. It may challenge my ideas on bibimbap and make me consider what bibimbap really is. And that it isn’t just rice mixed up in a bowl.
