Bibimbap (비빔밥), translated to "mixed rice," is a delicious Korean dish made of warm white rice, namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables), and gochujang (chili pepper paste) or soy sauce. A fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are commonly added. In this recipe, for Meatless Monday (and inspired by the documentary "Forks Over Knives"), tofu takes meat's place as the protein. All these savory components get stirred together thoroughly in the sauce and cracked egg yolk just before eating.
Bibimbap (aka Bi Bim Bap) is so tasty it even made CNN Travel's World's 50 most delicious foods reader poll in 2011. This dish is the perfect combination: comfort food meets healthful ingredients. It will leave you satisfied without a lingering heaviness.
With the help of my favorite Korean colleague, CitySlim brings you an easy-to-make iteration of this traditional staple dish.
INGREDIENTS FOR 3 TO 4 SERVINGS
(Prep time: 35 mins, Cooking time: 55 mins )
Ingredients:
MAIN DISH
- 14 oz tofu
- 5 oz spinach
- 4 oz bean sprouts
- 3 oz shiitake mushroom (fresh or dried)
- 2 large carrots
- 1 tsp salt (1/4 tsp each will be used to cook shiitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, spinach, and carrots)
- 2.5 cups of steamed rice
- 2 eggs
- Canola oil (to cook the eggs and vegetables)
- 1 tsp minced garlic
SAUCE
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 2 Tbsp gochujang (or Tamari gluten-free sauce soy)
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup (for gochuchang only)
DIRECTIONS
- Boil 2.5 cups of white rice in 3.5 cups water (or use rice cooker). Once water boils, turn heat to low and let rice cook with lid on pot for 15 minutes. Then, let cool for 10 minutes.
- Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
- Spinach and bean sprouts (cook separately): Boil water with salt. Once boiling, add spinach and let cook for 30 seconds (that's all). Drain water away and set aside. Repeat with bean sprouts: add to boiling water but let cook for 1-2 minutes before draining water and setting aside, separately.
- Tofu: Drain the tofu and pat dry with paper towel. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick cubes and blot again with paper towel. Add to bowl and drizzle some of the sauce over the tofu as a marinade. Gently toss to coat. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Set aside.
- Carrots: Rinse, peel, and julienne the carrots (cut into thin slices as shown). Add some Canola oil and 1/4 tsp of fine sea salt in a wok (or pan) and cook the carrots on medium high to high heat for 2 to 3 mins. Set aside.
- Mushrooms: Clean/rinse the shiitake mushrooms and thinly slice them. Add Canola oil and 1/4 tsp of fine sea salt in a wok and cook the mushrooms on medium high to high heat until they are all cooked. (Takes 2 to 3 mins.)
- Eggs: Cook sunny-side up. (Just crack egg shell over the pot and let it drop into the pan, then fry.)
- Put the rice into a bowl and add the assorted vegetables, Bibimbap sauce, and the egg on top of the rice. Serve and Enjoy! Check out the two variations of sauces below...
With the Tamari Gluten-Free Soy Sauce
With the gochujang sauce