Bibimbap!

I have a kimchi problem. As in, I can't stop eating it. I discovered Korean food earlier this year and it has quickly become one of my favorite types of cuisine. Greg and I love to go get Korean bbq. It's not cheap, but cooking the meat yourself elevates it from a meal to an experience. And don't get me started on banchan!

Replicating a true Korean bbq experience at home isn't very feasible, so on my first attempt to cook Korean I went with another favorite: bibimbap. Put simply, bibimbap is "mixed rice" - some rice with veggies and also some meat if you choose. If you order this in a restaurant it's typically served in a hot stone bowl with a raw egg. When you mix it together, the egg gets cooked and the rice gets over so slightly crispy on the bottom. I've had it in a regular non-heated bowl too and that's what we're going with here for simplicity and safety's sake.

I make no claim as to how authentic this recipe is (probably not very since I made it up on the fly), but here is the method I used. It's a lot of prep since everything needs to be chopped and cooked separately, but the end result is healthy, delicious and - most importantly - an excellent kimchi delivery system! You will need (or at least want) the following ingredients, though you can play fast and loose with the type of veggies you use. Some julienned zucchini would be an excellent addition, and bean sprouts are traditional as well.

Ingredients:

1 lb ribeye, chicken breast or a couple packs of tofu.

1 carrot

1 cucumber

spinach

garlic

mushrooms of your choice

green onions

kimchi

gochujang (preferably - it's delicious) or sriracha (since you already have it, don't you?)

white rice

eggs

Optional ingredients:

cooking sake

ginger
rice vinegar

sesame seeds
sesame oil

Step 1: Marinate meat

Ideally you are reading this the day before you plan to make it. That's good, because I really recommend marinating your meat overnight if at all possible. If not, give it at least a few solid hours. I used skirt steak and unfortunately it ended up chewier than I would have liked. I bought it before I really had plans for what to do with it, and I also forgot that last time I used skirt steak for something I sliced it through the cross-section (before also cutting across the grain) and beat the hell out of it with a tenderizer. Go ahead and spend a bit more to get ribeye. I've heard that a good trick is to partially freeze it to make it easier to slice. Alternatively, you can use chicken or tofu.

Put your meat strips (mmm...meat strips) or tofu in a large ziplock and add your marinade. I used brown sugar, sake, soy, sriracha, some olive oil, freshly chopped garlic and the white bulbs of some green onion. A little rice vinegar in there would be great too, but I didn't purchase any until the next day.

Step 2: Start your rice

I like to make my rice a little early so that it has time to sit. You'll want a few cups. Notice I'm not putting amounts, but let's say this feeds about 5 people, or 2 with leftovers to spare. Plan your rice amounts accordingly. I like to add fresh chopped ginger to my boiling water, but that's up to you.

Step 3: Do your prep

This is the time consuming part. Slice, chop and julienne all of your vegetables. Peel your cucumber and slice thinly. Peel your carrot, discard the outer skin then continue to peel it into long strips. Chop your garlic and green onions. Slice your mushrooms. Toast your sesame seeds. You get my drift. Hey, speaking of mushrooms, I used these:

Aren't they adorable?!

They are called bunapis. They're similar to enokis but thicker. Full disclosure: I bought these because they are totally precious. They are very mild though, so while they are great for presentation, feel free to go with shitakes if you want a more robust mushroom flavor.

A quick tip: as I prep, I like to put each individual ingredient in a leftover takeout tupperware container. It keeps things neat and makes it easy to grab what you need. By the way, if you have rice vinegar, add a drizzle to the container with the carrots in it and let that sit for a couple of minutes.

Step 4: Cook your veggies

This is actually several steps. I used the same pan, rinsing and wiping it out when needed (for example, after the carrots so that I wouldn't turn my mushrooms orange) then returning the items to their tupperware containers as I cooked them. This makes plating easy, and the leftovers are all ready to be packed up once you're done with your meal.

-Saute your carrot strips for a few minutes, adding a pinch of salt. You want them to be crisp but not raw. They will turn brighter in color and soften just a bit.

-Saute mushrooms and garlic together in a bit of oil. If you're using bunapis or enokis be careful not to overcook them - you want them to retain their cute shape.

-Saute spinach until wilted. Drizzle with sesame oil if you have it and add a pinch of salt.

Step 5: Cook your meat

Dump it in a super hot pan along with the marinade from the bag and cook until done. If you are using beef, let it stay a bit rare. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Step 6: Fry up an overeasy egg

I used a small pan over low/medium heat, melted a pat of butter, cracked the egg then covered it with a top the last minute or so of cooking to help it along. You want to make sure not to disturb the yolk, and to leave the yolk runny as that is a key component.  You can also poach the egg if you're fancy, just make sure not to overcook it. Technically the egg is optional but not how I make it.

Step 7: Plating

One thing I enjoy about bibimbap is the gorgeous presentation, so don't skimp here. You want to plate each component seperately on top, with complimentary colors next to each other.

-Dish a half cup of rice into the bottom of a bowl, then add each component. Going around the bowl, I did: meat, cucumbers, kimchi, mushrooms, spinach, carrots, and green onion. Now, I guess the kimchi can be considered optional, but you'll notice that I did not list it as such above. It's so delicious and a key element of Korean food, so even if you are skeptical I suggest you at least try it.

-Top with your fried egg and a generous dollop of gochujang or drizzle of sriracha then take a moment to admire how pretty it is:

No seriously, look at it!

Step 8: Mix it up and enjoy!