Dinner Tonight: Bibimbap
I'm not sure whether I love the flavors of bibimbap or just twirling around the ingredients in the big bowl. It's such a thrill, and the results are always delicious. But I figured it was something to be indulged in only at restaurants. I worried I'd miss some crucially important Korean ingredient that would throw the whole dish off.
It was a cartoon that changed my mind. It chronicles each step and makes the whole process seem positive and easygoing. "Apart from the rice and the chili paste, everything is optional." Which may or may not be true but was rather liberating. I easily found the red chili paste at my local Korean market, and so the game was on.
Everything else was up to my fridge. Of the things I tossed in mine, I should have left out the romaine, which just became soggy. And while the bean sprouts were interesting, they weren't completely necessary. All the rest of the ingredients were spot on. When I mixed all the ingredients like a great big salad, the egg yolk erupted and spilled out, coating all the ingredients.
It may look like a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps, but you can cut out what you don't want. And, much like a salad, once all the parts are prepped it's easy to combine everything.
What do you toss in your bibimbap?
Bibimbap
- serves 2 -
Ingredients
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ginger, grated
1/2 pound thinly sliced rib-eye
1 cup short grain rice
2 eggs
1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
Handful bean sprouts
1/2 cup carrots, julienned
1/4 cup red pepper paste
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
Procedure
1. Combine the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil, sugar, garlic, and ginger in a large bowl. Add the beef and stir until coated. Set aside for 30 minutes. Also, cook the short grain rice according to the instructions on the package. It should take about 20 minutes or so.
2. Meanwhile, pour 1/2 tablespoon of the sesame oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Toss in the mushrooms and cook until they are tender and soft. Set aside. Then another 1/2 tablespoon of the sesame oil to the skillet and add the sliced zucchini. Cook it until it is tender, about 5 minutes or so.
3. Bring a few cups of water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add the bean sprouts and cook for about a minute. Then drain in a colander.
4. Set a large skillet over high heat. When very hot add the beef. Cook, stirring often until browned on all sides. Then set aside.
5. Pour the rest of the sesame oil into a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Crack the two eggs in and cook until the whites have set, but the yolk is still very runny.
6. Time to construct. First, lay out the beef, mushrooms, zucchini, bean sprouts, and raw carrots. Add a handful of rice to a large bowl, then add a little bit of each of the ingredients around the edges of the bowl. Top with a fried egg. Repeat with the another bowl. Serve with the red pepper paste and rice wine vinegar to taste. When ready, break the yolk and twirl around the contents until well mixed.
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18 Comments:
I *love* bibimbop, but I think my favorite part of the dish is the extra-crusty rice at the bottom of the hot, metal pot that gets blended into the dish as a texture and toasty flavor element.
Doesn't that get lost in this version? It doesn't seem like there's a crisping step. Or is that just an aspect that's best left to the professionals?
missginsu at 5:22PM on 03/02/09
Yeah, I'm definitely not a professional.
Nick Kindelsperger at 5:23PM on 03/02/09
Hey, I've never done this for bibimbop, but I have inadvertently scorched the bottom of my rice pot in the past. I guess you could deliberately crank up the heat towards the end so that a crust forms? This would only work if you make rice on the stove rather than in a rice cooker.
Michele Humes at 5:27PM on 03/02/09
Oh, yeah. I, too, love that crisp part. When they bring it to the table and it's still sizzling and then you mix it all up and dig up the crisp bits of rice and mix in the hot sauce. Yum. I'd almost buy one of those special bowls just to make this. And on a crazy snowy day like the one that's hit the northeast today, this would be an especially welcome dish. Thx, Nick!
Adam Kuban at 5:28PM on 03/02/09
The crusty rice version is dolsot bibimbap which features the earthenware/metal bowl that you can get here: http://www.koamart.com
It's kinda expensive but I bet you can get one at H Mart in Queens. And you can use it for Chigae. Old school people chuck the egg in raw because it coagulates in the heat but I know some people are skittish about raw eggs. I guess you could sorta coddle them like you do for Caesar's salad dressing if you didn't feel like frying them. And I've also never added rice wine vinegar... Oh, and traditionally you use spinach too.
ChoitotheWorld at 6:14PM on 03/02/09
Dolsot bibimpap is when it is served in a hot stone bowl and gets crisp on the bottom. Regular bibimpap is served in a conventional bowl such as the one pictured. I love to use the beansprouts like the one in the picture - the bean on the end has a nutty flavor and texture and is the kind Koreans use the most. As for veggies (julienne), I use any combination of carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, daikon radish, cooked spinach, mushrooms, and sprouts. It's also pretty tasty with a little kimchi, but the best is just with gochujang (hot bean paste) mixed with the egg yolk.
yankeesgal at 6:30PM on 03/02/09
NYTimes had a rice cooker bibimap recipe that creates a pretty good crust on the bottom: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/dining/01rice.html?scp=1&sq=rice%20cooker&st=cse
You can definitely adapt this recipe for the rice cooker, just do the last bit of assembly and egg cooking in the cooker. When I cooked it, I had to push the "cook" button down a couple of times as it would pop back up, but definitely not something you need to be holding the button down for.
engill at 7:04PM on 03/02/09
i like to add spinach..mmmmm
machellebelle at 7:51PM on 03/02/09
Bibimbop translated means mixed rice. Anything goes into it. At home, you throw all your "ban-chan" (the traditional Korean veggie side dishes) over rice, add a splash of sesame oil and red pepper paste.
It's the best left-over dinner. =)
Next time, add spinach (blanch it like you did the sprouts). Then mix with a little sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, chopped scallion, minced garlic, and s&p. Do the same for the sprouts, and you're bibimbap will taste loads better!
mednerd at 9:55PM on 03/02/09
I can't wait to try this at home. Agreeing about the crispy rice bits, though. Could you just throw a little of the cooked rice in the skillet after the beef is done?
Snackwell at 10:11AM on 03/03/09
mmm... the crunchy rice at the bottom of the stone pot is the best. Unfortunately I'm more likely to get bibimbap to go, and I've never found a place that will do dolsot version to go because it gets too hot for the takeout container.
I recently tried a tofu version at a Japanese-Korean place near home & work and vow to go back for more. The tofu was breaded and crispy with excellent flavour. Thinking about it makes me want some.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 11:43AM on 03/03/09
The crunch part is actually called NooroongG..
There's actually a soup dedicated to this awesome crunchy rice-soft yet a bit crunchy, and warm....
I also add canned tuna to Bibimbop and its great
fuzzyummy at 12:04PM on 03/03/09
Funky. I ate this for dinner last night. I opted for the hot stone pot version versus the cold. It was great. I'll be making this since I've always felt somewhat ripped off paying $10-14 for a pot/bowl of it.
The kim bap, on the other hand, was worth it. $5.95 for 2 rolls (16 pieces). I LOOOVE Korean nori.
When we make it, we'll probably use stuff that's in our fridge daily, like menma (marinated bamboo shoots), fernheads + other Japanese mountain vegetables, zucchini, bean sprouts, spinach, kim chi, and Spam. Marinated beef really adds to it, so I'll have to buy that...
Cassaendra at 12:34PM on 03/03/09
A little tradition we started in the ZenKimchi household a few years ago is what we call "Korean Sloppy Joe's." And they make a great bibimbap ingredient. I like mine with lots of sesame oil and with barley cooked in the rice.
http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal/?p=116
ZenKimchi at 12:18AM on 03/04/09
i cheat and buy the ready-marinated veggies in a container at my korean market. then i just cook my own meat and fry my egg and we're good to go!
chon76 at 11:44AM on 03/04/09
This can take surprisingly long, as you have to prepare all the ingredients separately. My favorite part is the runny egg yolk mixed in. Don't forget to eat this wish a side of Miso soup or Dwenjang jjigae!
Ambitous at 4:24PM on 03/04/09
I'm definitely tracking down a rice cooker so I can try this out next week. Thanks for the additional low-down on crunchy rice, everyone!
missginsu at 3:34PM on 03/06/09
i like to make my bibimbop with spicy marinated pork, julienned carrot, onion, iceberg lettuce, cucumber and egg. and for the sauce mix red pepper paste with sesame oil and either sprite or 7-up according to your taste (sounds strange but taste great).
pixie77 at 2:10PM on 04/03/09