by Irfan Redzwan
Bibim translates as “mixed,” and bap means “cooked rice,” so bibimbap literally means “mixed rice.” Before eating it you’re supposed to mix everything all together.
There are many variations on this dish, from simple to elaborate, and this recipe I’m showing you today is for one you could consider “classic” bibimbap. If you ordered bibimbap in a Korean restaurant, you would probably get something like this dish, with regional variations. I’m also going to show you bibimbap prepared and served in a heated stone or earthenware bowl called dolsot-bibimbap. “Dolsot” means “stone pot” in Korean, and this version is well-known for the way the bowl makes a layer of crispy, crackling rice on the bottom of the bibimbap.
Even though we mix up bibimbap before we eat it, each ingredient needs to be prepared with care and individuality, bringing out their unique flavors, textures and colors so they come together beautifully in the bowl and deliciously in your mouth. The different ingredients aren’t random, they’re chosen because they balance, harmonize, and offset each other.
This recipe isn’t quick and easy, it takes some time to make. But if you’re really in a rush you can make a great bibimbap with the soybean sprouts, spinach, and carrot (or red bell pepper, or both), and gochujang, sesame oil, and an egg— those items are unskippable!
Ingredients (serves 4)
5 cups cooked short-grain rice
12 ounces soy bean sprouts, washed and drained
8 ounces of spinach blanched and washed with the excess water squeezed out by hand
1 large carrot
1 large red bell pepper
1 large zucchini1 English cucumber
3 to 4 green onions, chopped
½ pound fresh lean cut of beef (fillet mignon, flank steak)
4 ounces fernbrake (gosari), fresh or soaked from ½ ounce dried gosari (details below)
1 ounce dried bellflower roots (doraji), soaked in cold water for 18 to 24 hours.
4 eggssaltvegetable oilsesame oilsesame seedsgarlicsoy saucehoney (or sugar)
Korean hot pepper paste (gochujang)
How to prepare dried fernbrake (gosari) for use
If you have presoaked or fresh fernbrake you can use it straight away, but if you have dried fernbrake you’ll need to get it ready to eat. It’s fast if you have a pressure cooker, but if you don’t it will take some time.
With a pressure cooker:
Wash ½ ounce of dried gosari and boil it with 5 cups of water in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes.Drain and rinse in cold water a couple of times.Drain. It should make 4 ounces.
In a pot on the stove:
In a large saucepan add ½ ounce of dried gosari to 7 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 30 minutes. Cover and let stand until cool, about 2 to 3 hours.Rinse the fernbrake a couple of times, drain and put in a bowl. Cover with fresh cold water and let soak for at least 8 hours or overnight in a cool place, changing the water 2 or 3 times during the soaking
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