We like to eat rice bowls. No, scratch that, *I* love rice bowls. Especially if it involves messy applications of runny egg yolks.
So, naturally I would be in love with the bibimbap. The only reason as to why I don't make it at home (often) is that I'm not a Korean umma and I don't keep a stash of banchan (Korean little dishes) in my fridge all the time. No banchan = no bibimbap.
You can always pick up a bibimbap kit at your nearby Korean market. It'll contain your standard bean sprouts, spinach, and sweet-and-sour carrots... But there are super easy ones that you can make in a jiffy if the spicy-gooey-pickled mess urge hits you suddenly. The whole fun in making a bibimbap at home is that you can mix and match the banchans!
All you really need is some vegetables and sesame oil. Read on to make it your own.
Sukju Namul (bean sprout salad). A bibimbap without bean sprouts is a sad bibimbap. Especially because it's super easy to make. Take half a pound of mung bean sprouts (they come in 79-cent bags) and quickly boil them, almost like blanching - about 4 minutes. Drain well and toss with 1 crushed garlic, 1 stalk chopped scallions, 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, 1 tsp sesame oil and 1 tsp sea salt. It'll keep in a tightly lidded tupper for a week.
Paprika Namul. We make this at home all the time. Essentially, roast some bell peppers until the skins charred, dunk it in ice water and peel the skin off. Toss with crushed garlic, sesame oil, mirin, some instant dashi powder (gasp! I know) and serve. Will keep for a few days in a tightly lidded tupper.
Do Chua (Vietnamese carrots and daikon pickles). Yea, I know, it's not very Korean... But this adds a nice tartness to the dish! I use Chi (big sister) Wandering Chopstick's guidelines: julienne some carrots and daikon, toss with sugar until coated, add a pinch of sea salt and submerge in rice vinegar. It'll be ready in 15 minutes. My mom usually makes it with jicama instead of daikon because it gives a steadier kronsche.
Gochujang Cucumbers. Okay, I'm not sure if this is a real Korean dish. What I do is, I massage some cucumbers with salt until some of the water leaves, and then I slice them and toss them with a bit of gochujang (Korean spicy bean paste), katsuobushi (Japanese bonito flakes), and some minced scallions.
To assemble a proper bibimbap, prepare a bowl of piping hot white rice. Top with some banchan, some bulgogi strips (if you're carnivorous like us), a fried egg, and a dollop of gochujang. Upon nommage, break the egg and toss into one gooey delicious mess.
Related posts:
- clashed then jacked. Sometimes, I wish humans were as simple as food. Life...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice – didn’t realise that the namuls would keep in the fridge for a while. Perfect for bibimbap over a few days!
An egg on top is a great addition to any meal.
Looks like a yummy bibimbap
. I just had some last week, but sadly there was no meat!
bibimbap, love mine with LOTS of kimchi
Aww, so cute that you call me “chi.”
su-lin, they do, they do! i usually make a bunch and just eat it with rice for breakfast (followed by vigorous teeth brushing)
dave, i agree.
e.t.E!, awww, but meatless is sometimes good
rita, i love mine with kimchi too, but mine turned sour :[ might think of getting those extra cold kimchi fridges…
W.C., tee hee!