Bibimbap Recipe

Have you seen those colorful rice bowls going around on social media recently? With the rise of Korean pop culture comes a surge in the popularity of Korean food. One Korean staple dish is known as bibimbap.

Bibimbap is a Korean mixed rice bowl packed full of flavors and colorful ingredients. The words “bibim” means mixed and “bap” means rice. The best way to eat bibimbap is to mix everything together well so you get each ingredient and flavor with every bite.This bowl usually encompasses rice, a protein of choice, and a variety of vegetables which makes for a hearty and comforting meal. It is served with a sunnyside egg on top of the bowl and usually topped with seaweed and kimchi. The star of the dish is the sauce which is made from gochujang paste. You can either make the bibimbap gochujang sauce at home or purchase this sauce at a store or online. Not only are these bowls aesthetically pleasing, but with the proper preparation, it is a fairly simple dish to make. This is a dish that will definitely have you coming back for seconds. 

This recipe calls for white rice, canned tuna, spinach, bean sprouts, shitake mushroom, sauteed carrots, and fried egg. However, bibimbap is a dish that is completely customizable to your liking or dietary restrictions. The base usually starts with rice, but you can choose white rice, brown rice, or a healthier option such as cauliflower rice. This can be prepared as a vegan dish if it is made with only vegetables and protein such as tofu or tempeh. Or for meat lovers, you can even double up on protein like fish, seafood, beef, chicken, and pork. There are so many ways this dish can be enjoyed and is a great meal for gatherings. 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice 

1 spicy tinned tuna 

Bibimbap sauce 

6 shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced 

½ cup bean sprouts

2 cups spinach 

½ carrot thinly sliced 

Grated garlic 

Sesame seeds

Sesame oil 

Salt 

Steps:

1. Cook rice 
2. Prepare vegetable toppings 
3. Remove stem from shiitake mushroom and thinly slice 
4. Oil pan with sesame oil and saute mushrooms for 1-2 min until done 
5. Season with pinch of salt and sesame seeds 
6. Thinly slice carrot
7. Oil pan with sesame oil and saute carrots until cooked
8. Season with salt and sesame seeds
9. Blanch spinach in boiling hot water for 30 seconds 
10. Transfer spinach to an ice bath and cool 
11. Once its chilled, squeeze water out of the spinach 
12. Cut into bite sized pieces
13. Place in a bowl and mix in dash of sesame oil, grated garlic (about 1 clove), salt, and sesame seeds
14. Blanch bean sprouts in boiling hot water for 30 seconds 
15. Transfer bean sprouts to an ice bath and cool 
16. Once its chilled, squeeze water out of the bean sprouts 
17. Place in a bowl and mix in dash of sesame oil, grated garlic (about 1 clove), salt, and sesame seeds
18. Fry sunny side up egg 

Plating

1. In a bowl place cooked rice 
2. On one side of the rice, place spicy tinned tuna
3. Followed by spinach, bean sprouts, carrots, and mushroom
4. Squeeze bibimbap sauce 
5. Top with fried egg and sesame seeds
6. Enjoy!