Bibimbap (Korean Mixed Rice Bowl)
My secret to this traditional Korean rice bowl: the most delicious spicy gochujang sauce.
Serves4 to 6
Prep20 minutes
Cook45 minutes
Bibimbap is one of the most traditional dishes in Korean cuisine. Bibim means “mixed” and bap means “rice.” When eating a bibimbap, the rice and veggies are meant to be mixed together. The process of making bibimbap can be long, but it’s totally worth it. And not only is it beautiful to look at, but all the different veggies also add a different flavor and texture to make each bite absolutely perfect. Plus, you can easily assemble the dish again for leftovers.
When I was growing up in Korea, I used to eat so many different types of bibimbap, from one filled with a heavy load of seafood to one topped with seasonal mountain vegetables. And I didn’t think much of it or appreciate the dish as much as I should have until I left the country. But when I ordered and tasted my first bibimbap in America, it took me right back to my childhood. The taste of different vegetables, topped with sizzling rice, immediately cured my homesickness. Now I often make this bibimbap whenever I miss home. There are so many different kinds of Korean dishes to enjoy (like kimbap, japchae, and Jjajangmyeon) but there’s nothing quite like bibimbap that takes me back to Korea.
Why You’ll Love It
- My mom’s secret ingredient takes it to a whole new level. She always adds sauteéd radish, which adds another layer of savory, umami flavor.
- My upgraded gochujang sauce is unreal. It’s tangy, spicy, and slightly sweet and brings everything together in a beautiful, harmonious way.
- Every vegetable tastes amazing. It takes a bit of extra effort, but this bibimbap really focuses on the texture and flavor of each individual vegetable to really make sure they shine.
Key Ingredients in Bibimbap
- Rice. “Bap” means rice in Korean, and it’s one of the essential components of assembling bibimbap. If you use a stone pot, like this, you’ll get a delightful crispy texture on the bottom.
- Carrots. It’s important to think of a variety of colors when picking up vegetables for bibimbap. Shredded carrots stir-fried with a little bit of oil keep their bright and vibrant color while getting perfectly crisp-tender.
- Spinach. Spinach is one of the most approachable and beloved vegetables that always ends up being in the mix for bibimbap. It’s simply blanched and lightly seasoned with toasted sesame oil.
- Soybean sprouts. Crunchy soybean sprouts add a lot of texture to bibimbap. Unlike other vegetables, they take a while to cook. I like to make them spicy by adding a little bit of gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes). You can also serve the cooking broth as a side!
- Mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms are preferred for their meaty texture. You can use any type of mushrooms, or skip them all together, but I think that they create a delicious balance with other root vegetables, like carrots.
- Korean radish (Mu). This is my mom’s secret ingredient that makes bibimbap extra delicious.
- Gochujang. Bibimbap isn’t complete without the spicy gochujang sauce. Traditionally, you just add a dollop of gochujang to mix with all the vegetables and rice, but you can take it up a notch by mixing the gochujang with soy sauce, mirin, honey, and toasted sesame oil.
How to Make Bibimbap
- Prepare the vegetables. Prepare all the vegetables — carrots, spinach, zucchini, radish, soybean sprouts, and mushrooms — separately. Each vegetable gets prepared slightly differently, and should be set aside one by one. (If you combine them before serving, the colors will get all mixed up.)
- Make the gochujang sauce. Mix together the gochujang, soy sauce, mirin, honey, and toasted sesame oil. It should be pourable and not too thick.
- Assemble all the components. Heat a stone bowl (a cast iron skillet works too!) with some toasted sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add rice and spread it apart so that it gets crispy. Arrange all the seasoned vegetables on top, letting the colors and textures of each vegetables stand out. Top it off with fried eggs and a generous serving of gochujang sauce.
Helpful Swaps
- You can easily swap any of the vegetables in my recipe with other types of vegetables you like. Other traditional Korean vegetables that will work well are cucumber, fernbrake (gosari), bellflower roots (doraji), baby spinach, and mung bean sprouts.
- You can also add meat to make the bibimbap more flavorful and hearty. Make either savory bulgogi or Duruchigi for your meat toppings. Once you arrange your vegetables, add your meat as one of the toppings to serve.
- If you want to keep it vegetarian but still want to bulk it up, you can use tofu as well.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- All the vegetables can be prepared up to 3 days ahead. When ready to serve, you don’t need to heat up the veggies as long as the rice is warm.
- Store all the vegetables separately so that the colors and textures don’t get mixed up.
- Gochujang sauce can also be made up to 3 days ahead.
What to Serve with Bibimbap
Bibimbap Recipe
My secret to this traditional Korean rice bowl: the most delicious spicy gochujang sauce.
Prep time 20 minutes
Cook time 45 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1 pound
fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 3
medium carrots (about 9 ounces total)
- 2 to 3
Korean grey or small zucchini squash (about 14 ounces total)
- 1 pound
Korean or daikon radish
- 4 1/2 teaspoons
kosher salt, divided
- 1 pound
spinach (not baby spinach)
- 3
cloves garlic, divided
- 5 tablespoons
plus 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, divided
- 12 ounces
soybean or mung bean sprouts (about 4 cups)
- 5 tablespoons
neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable, divided
- 1/3 cup
water, plus more for blanching the spinach and cooking the sprouts
- 1 tablespoon
soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons
gochujang
- 2 tablespoons
mirin
- 1 tablespoon
honey
- 4 to 6
large eggs (1 egg per serving)
- 4 to 6 cups
hot cooked white rice (1 cup per serving)
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
Prepare the following, placing each ingredient into a separate pile on a baking sheet as you complete it: Trim the stems from 1 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 6 cups); peel and cut 3 medium carrots into matchsticks (about 2 cups); cut 3 Korean or zucchini squash into matchsticks (about 3 cups); peel and cut 1 pound Korean or daikon radish crosswise into thin rounds, then stack them together and cut into matchsticks (about 4 cups).
Bring a large saucepan filled three-quarters full with water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt and 1 pound spinach in 2 batches. Cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 2 minutes.
Drain the spinach. When cool enough to handle, grab handfuls of the spinach, squeeze out as much water as possible, and place in a small bowl. Finely grate 1 of the garlic cloves on a Microplane onto the spinach. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the toasted sesame oil. Mix with your hands until combined.
Fill the now-empty saucepan three-quarters full with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt and 12 ounces soybean sprouts. Cover and simmer, reducing the heat as needed, for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the remaining vegetables.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the neutral oil in a large nonstick frying pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the carrots and 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Stir-fry until brighter in color and crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Return to the baking sheet. Wipe out the pan with paper towels.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the neutral oil in the same pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the squash and 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Stir-fry until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Return to the baking sheet. Wipe out the pan with paper towels.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the neutral oil in the same pan over high heat until shimmering. Add the mushrooms, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of the toasted sesame oil. Finely grate 1 of the garlic cloves over the mushrooms. Stir-fry until the mushrooms are charred in spots, 4 to 5 minutes. Return to the baking sheet. Wipe out the pan with paper towels.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the neutral oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the radish, 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt, and 1/3 cup water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the radish is translucent and tender but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. When the radish is almost ready, add 1 tablespoon of the toasted sesame oil and stir-fry for 1 minute more. Return to the baking sheet and reserve the frying pan.
When the soybean sprouts are ready, drain and transfer to a medium bowl. (See recipe note for usages for cooking liquid). Finely grate the remaining garlic clove over the sprouts. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the toasted sesame oil. Mix with your hands until combined.
Place 3 tablespoons of gochujang, the remaining 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil, 2 tablespoons mirin, and 1 tablespoon honey in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Wipe out the reserved frying pan with a paper towel. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon neutral oil in the pan over medium heat until shimmering. Swirl the pan to coat the bottom with the oil. Crack 4 to 6 large eggs into the pan, spacing them evenly apart. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook undisturbed until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 minutes.
While the eggs are cooking, start to assemble the bibimbap. For each serving, place 1 cup hot cooked rice in a bowl. Divide and arrange the spinach, mushrooms, carrots, squash, sprouts, and radish in separate piles on the rice.
Top each bowl with a fried egg and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Drizzle each bowl with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the gochujang sauce and serve any remaining sauce on the side.
Recipe Notes
You can turn the soybean sprout cooking liquid into a soup. Simply season it with a little bit of kosher salt and a dash of toasted sesame oil to serve as a sipping broth with the bibimbap.
Make ahead: The vegetables can be cooked and the gochujang sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead. When ready to serve, heat up the rice and fry the eggs before assembling; the vegetables can be served cold.
Storage: The leftover vegetables can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.