Easy Bibimbap
I recently went to the H-Mart down in San Jose and got some stone bowls to make my own bibimbap. I’ve seen some similar ones on Amazon, like these, but recommend hitting up your local Korean supermarket if you have one. They have them for much less $$, plus you can stock up on good sauces, marinated meats, and more.
I’ve been ordering bibimbap semi-frequently at the Korean place near my house and have loved it as a satisfying but healthy meal. I realized that most of the ingredients are pretty cheap and it might be easy for me to make at home. I’m sure this isn’t 100% authentic, please let me know if you have a recipe for this that you’d like to share! I’m excited to experiment and get more use out of these bowls.
This is a really flexible recipe, you can really put whatever you want in these bowls as long as you follow a few basic guidelines. The key is a super hot stone bowl that will really make the rice crispy - that’s what sets it apart from other rice bowls.
Base ingredients for two bowls:
8oz-1 lb marinated meat (or tofu!) of choice - I chose pre marinated thinly sliced beef (the easiest option), but there are tons of easy marinade recipes for beef like this one that uses a base of garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil (all pretty accessible ingredients).
1.5-2 cups cooked rice - whatever amount of rice you want in your bowl. Jasmine rice, sushi rice, and brown rice are some of the rices I’ve tried with success.
Vegetables of choice - I chose bean sprouts, bok choy, mushroom (enokitake), and shredded carrots since they’re all so small that they didn’t require additional cooking time. If you choose larger veggies, you might throw them in to cook with your meat before constructing your bowl.
Fried or raw egg (1 per bowl) - mixing the egg in with the rice in a hot stone bowl creates a delicious mixture reminiscent of the fried rice that more of us are familiar with.
Bibimbap sauce - either homemade from one of these recipes or store bought . You’ll top your bowl with a bunch of this to add flavor and spice. If you make it once,you can store it and use the same sauce for an even easier meal the second time around.
Directions:
Cook rice according to package.
Preheat oven to 500+ - you’ll need a very hot oven to heat these bowls up! I’ve also seen recipes that recommend you heat the bowl on the stovetop over medium heat, then construct the bowl while it’s still on the hot burner. This might be a good option if you are making bibimbap for one. and don’t want to heat your oven for just one person.
While rice is cooking, chop vegetables (if necessary), cook marinated meat (should be fast as the slices should be very thin), and heat stone bowls using your preferred method. They have to be super hot to crisp the rice well!
Construct your bowl - add rice to hot bowl, then veggies, cooked meat or tofu, and fried or raw egg. Let sit for at least 5 mins to ensure the rice is crisped. Add sauce to taste and stir to combine all ingredients. Enjoy!
