Rice Mixed with Beef and Vegetables

When I think of Korean food, bibimbap 비빔밥 always comes to mind. This popular dish, a mixture of rice, vegetables, meat and red pepper paste, makes it the perfect, healthy, balanced meal everyone can enjoy. 

Bibim 비빔 translates to mixed and bap 밥 means rice. Before eating, we mixed all the ingredients together with Korean red pepper paste.

Working from home a few days a week last month, due to the coronavirus outbreak, gave me so much free time. Cooking became the momentous event of the day. Plus I needed to take my time to prepare and cook this meal. Those few hours were worth it.

If you’re in a rush, you can use these essential ingredients: soybean sprouts, cucumbers or zucchinis, spinach, carrots, with Korean red pepper paste, toasted sesame oil and an egg. It’s a simple yet tasty bibimbap.

This recipe has 8 carefully chosen ingredients, including thinly sliced beef. Vegetarians can omit the beef. Each ingredient is seasoned and sautéed to bring out their unique flavors.

Ingredients (4 servings)

• salt
• sugar (honey)
• toasted sesame seeds
• minced garlic
• 3 -4 chopped green onions/ scallions
• 1 carrot
• 4 ounces of soaked fern brake (gosari)
• 12 ounces of soybean sprout
• 12 ounces of spinach
• 1 ounce of bellflower root (doraji)
• 1 cucumber
• 1 zucchini
• soy sauce
• Korean hot pepper paste
• extra virgin olive oil (cooking oil)
• toasted sesame oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 pound of thinly sliced beef
• 3-4 cups of short grain rice

It helps to have a large platter or small plates to set each ingredient after they’re cooked. When it’s time create your bibimbap in your bowl, the laid out ingredients will look pretty and delicious.

Let’s start cooking!

Make rice. Before you spend most of the time preparing your individual ingredients, make rice. I cooked mine using a rice cooker. Place three or four cups of rice with three or four cups of water (~ 1 cup rice: 1 cup water) and a teaspoon of sesame oil in your rice cooker. Cook for 15 minutes or until the water is completely absorbed then steam for 10 – 15 minutes.

How to prepare and cook the ingredients:

1. Soybean sprout – This is the easiest. Wash and remove dead beans. Add 2 – 3 teaspoon of salt in 4 cups of water then set the soybean sprout to boil in a pot for 20 minutes over medium heat. When it’s cooked, drain the water. In a bowl, add the soybean sprouts with 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of garlic and 2 teaspoons of sesame oil. Mix with your hands. Then set it aside on a platter or plate. Cover using plastic wrap to preserve its flavor.

2. Spinach (sigumchi-namul) – Wash briefly with cold water. Then blanch in a pot of boiling hot water for 30 seconds or a minute. You can use a spoon to dip the spinach even further in the hot water. Then cool off the spinach with cold water. Using your hands, clean the spinach some more. Then bring the batch of spinach together, form a ball to gently wring out excess water. Then chop it a few times. In a bowl, add the spinach with 1 teaspoon of sesame seed oil, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds and a 1/2 a teaspoon of salt. Mix with your hands. Set it aside on a platter or plate. Cover using plastic wrap to preserve its flavor.

3. Carrot – Wash, chop into matchsticks size. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt and set aside for 5 – 10 minutes. Drain excess water. Heat up your pan. Add a few drops of cooking oil. Sauté the carrot over high medium heat for 2 minutes. *Don’t forget to wipe the pan with a wet tissue or wash after cooking each ingredient and set it aside on a platter or individual plate.

4. Cucumber – Wash, slice in half and place side by side to chop ½ inch pieces. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt, then set aside for 5 – 10 minutes. Heat up your pan. Add a few drops of cooking oil. Drain excess water. Sauté the cucumber with 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic and a few drops of toasted sesame oil over high medium heat for 1 minute. Wipe the pan with a wet tissue or wash then set aside on a platter or individual plate.

5. Zucchini – Wash, slice in half and place side by side to chop slanted ½ inch pieces. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt, then set aside for 5 – 10 minutes. Heat up your pan. Add a few drops of cooking oil. Drain excess water. Sauté the zucchini with 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of green onions, and a drop of toasted sesame oil over medium high heat for 1 minute. Wipe the pan with a wet tissue or wash then set aside on a platter or individual plate.

6. Fern brake (gosari) – Wash, chop into 2 inches pieces, sprinkle a few pinches of salt, then set aside for 5 – 10 minutes. Heat up your pan. Add a few drops of cooking oil. Sauté the fern brake with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic, 2 teaspoons sugar over medium heat for 2 minutes. Wipe the pan with a wet tissue or wash then set aside on a platter or individual plate.

7. Bellflower Root (doraji)– Before setting aside to cook, wash and rub with salt to remove bitterness. Rinse with water a couple times, sprinkle a few pinches of salt, and set aside for 5 – 10 minutes. Heat up your pan. Add a few drops of cooking oil. Sauté the bellflower root with 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and a drop of sesame oil for 2 – 3 minutes over medium heat. Don’t let them turn brown. Wipe the pan with a wet tissue or wash then set aside on a platter or individual plate.

8. Beef – Bibimbap is typically eaten with seasoned raw beef (yukhoe). Slice into thick matchsticks size. Whether you prefer your beef raw or cooked, marinate the beef until you’re ready to eat it. In a bowl, add the beef with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of honey, 2 teaspoon of toasted sesame seed oil, 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds. Keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to use it. This recipe uses cooked beef. Add a few drops of cooking oil. Pan fry the beef until the it looks tender or thoroughly cooked for 3 minutes. Garnish with green onions.

Lastly, fry an egg: make a sunny side up. Heat up your pan, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. When the pan hot enough, crack an egg then break a yoke. I cook the yoke completely. Some people prefer a raw, unbroken yoke (no egg whites) to set on top of their bibimbap.

Let’s plate!

Time for the best part. You’ve cooked all these delicious ingredients, let’s plate it! Use a wide shallow bowl and start placing each ingredient. Rice first. Place 1 cup of rice evenly at the bottom of your bowl. Using tongs, take 1 or 2 scoops of each vegetable and place on top of the rice.

Take 1 tablespoon of Korean red pepper paste, place it beside one of the vegetables, or in the corner of your bowl. Set the sunny side up in the middle, on top of your vegetables. Drizzle a little toasted sesame oil across the top and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Let’s eat!

Now that you have your colorful bowl of bibimbap, mix everything together with a spoon. Evenly spread the red pepper paste all over your ingredients then eat using your spoon. Enjoy your meal!