Korean Mixed Rice (비빔밥, Bibimbap)
Bibimbap literally means “mixed rice”. It’s very popular dish at Korean restaurants, and it is generally a “safe” choice, as it tastes good no matter where you get it from. I like to make this when I am cooking for a large group because people can choose what they want to put in it and make it as spicy as they’d like. Generally the dish is finished with a fried egg on top. I love it when you break the yolk, and the golden liquid runs into the rice! There are many variations of this dish. This one happens to be a very simple way of making it and tastes great!
Quick Notes:
⏲<1 hour
🇰🇷 Some ingredients may need to be bought at a Korean grocery or online.
🍆 Vegetarian friendly (just take out the meat and fish sauce!)
👍🏻 Very easy and great for beginners!
👨👩👧👦👨👩👧👦 Serves large groups
What You'll Need:
1 lb of beef (any beef is fine, but ground beef is just an easy choice)
Red leaf lettuce
1 lb bag of soy bean sprouts (kong-namul)
2 Kirby cucumbers
2 small zucchini
1 large carrot
½ cup red pepper paste (go-chu-jang)
Sesame oil
Soy sauce
Sugar
Salt
Red pepper flakes
Sesame seeds
Fish sauce
Eggs (1 egg per serving)
Cooked rice (This works out to about a ½ cup of uncooked rice per person depending on how many how many people you are serving.)
Instructions:
Prep the beef:
Cook the beef on a pan until browned, then drain the fat. Season with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Set aside.
Prep the vegetables:
Separate and wash about 5 leaves of red leaf lettuce. Cut into julienne sized pieces.
Wash Kirby cucumbers and use a madoline to julienne. You can also do this with a knife.
Wash and julienne zucchini into pieces. Sautee on a pan with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil for 2 min until softened. Then season with about 1 teaspoon of salt.
Wash and julienne the carrot. Sautee in a pan with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil until softened.
Wash soy bean sprouts (kong-namul). Blanche in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes and drain water. In a large bowl, mix the soybean sprouts with 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes (optional).
Make the sauce:
Mix ½ cup of red pepper paste, ¼ cup of water, ¼ cup of sugar, ¼ cup of sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds.
Now the rest:
Fry your eggs. You want your egg whites to be cooked but your yolk to be runny. You will need 1 egg per person serving.
In a large bowl, place your ingredients on top of a bed of rice. Place the egg on top. Drizzle a small amount of sesame oil and the sauce (be careful, it can be spicy!). For non-spicy version, you may omit the red pepper paste sauce, and use a splash of soy sauce and sesame oil instead. Mix well and enjoy!
Remember, this is a great "leftover meal"! Just toss the leftover ingredients in the fridge for a quick and easy meal the next day.
And when you're done, be sure to post some pictures and tag them with #ahjummarecipes. I'd love to see your results!