Bibimbap (Korean Rice Bowl)

Bibimbap is a Korean Rice Bowl with lots of assorted vegetables, marinated beef, a fried egg and an incredible spicy Bibimbap sauce. I put my spin on this recipe, to make it easier and quicker to make, so that it’s perfect for any night of the week.

Super Easy Bibimbap

Along with ordering Sticky Toffee Pudding, bibimbap was the number 1 dish I would order at a favorite restaurant I used to frequent, until they removed it from the menu because the bowls were too hot and people would burn themselves. Ever since then I’ve been dying to make my own bibimbap at home.

While there are many bibimbap recipes out there, the one thing they have in common is that bibimbap usually comes with everything, lots of different veggies, beef, rice and the best part it comes complete with a fried egg on top. At this restaurant, they would actually just crack an egg right in your bowl and because the bowl was so hot, the egg would cook as you would mix it with the rest of the ingredients. Truly a great experience.

What Is Bibimbap

Bibimbap really means rice with mixed veggies and meat. It’s usually served with assorted vegetables that are all cooked separately, marinated beef that sometimes is actually served raw, a fried or raw egg or just a raw egg yolk on top and a delicious bibimbap sauce.

While this dish can take quite a bit of time to make, mostly prep work, because as I said, all veggies are cooked separately, I tried to put my own spin on this and simplify it a bit by cooking most of the vegetables together.

Bibimbap Sauce

This sauce is so good and it’s a must in this dish because in my opinion, it’s what makes this bibimbap.

• Gochujang – This is a spicy Korean paste made from red chili peppers, fermented soybeans, rice and salt. It’s used a lot in Korean cooking, so if you like spicy then buy a big tub of this gochujang and use it in everything. It’s that good.
• Sesame Oil – I actually love using toasted sesame oil in this sauce, but regular sesame oil will work as well.
• Honey – A little bit of sweetness to balance out the spiciness of this sauce.
• Garlic – You know we need some garlic in a sauce like this. I prefer to mince my own fresh garlic, but if you have the jarred kind that will work too.
• Soy Sauce – I always just buy the low sodium soy sauce because dishes such as this tend to have quite a bit of sodium, so I like to cut the salt wherever I can.
• Rice Vinegar – You’ll need a bit of rice vinegar to balance out all the flavors. Regular vinegar can be used as well or you can also sub it with apple cider or white wine vinegar.

Beef

• Beef – You can use beef tenderloin, or steak like rib eye. You’ll want to make sure you cut this into really thin strips.
• Soy Sauce – Low sodium soy sauce.
• Honey – A little bit of honey to balance out the saltiness.
• Garlic – No marinade is complete without some fresh garlic.
• Sesame Oil – As I said, I prefer some toasted sesame oil, but use whatever you have.
• Sesame seeds – A few toasted sesame seeds for a bit of nutty flavor and crunchy texture.

Vegetables

• Carrots – You’ll need a large carrot which I cut into thin 2-inch strips. You can also use shredded carrots.
• Bell Peppers – I chose red bell peppers to have a rainbow of colors in the veggies, but you can really use any bell peppers you have. You also want these cut into 2-inch thin strips.
• Zucchini – You’ll need a large zucchini cut into thin strips as well.
• Bean Sprouts – Lots of bean sprouts, which is a must in this dish.
• Shiitake Mushrooms – Sliced thinly. Can be subbed with cremini mushrooms.
• Spinach – You’ll want to use fresh spinach, I don’t recommend using frozen.
• Other – You’ll need some garlic, sesame oil and salt to season all the veggies.

How To Make Bibimbap

Prep Work

1. Prep oven and baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Make the bibimbap sauce. Combine all the bibimbap sauce ingredients together in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
3. Marinate beef. Add all the beef ingredients to a bowl and toss everything until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

Vegetables

1. Cook vegetables. This is where I speed up this dish by cooking everything in a baking sheet in the oven, versus cooking each vegetable separately in a skillet. To do so, add the zucchini, carrots, bell pepper and mushrooms to the prepared baking sheet, season with 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons minced garlic and 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Toss everything together then transfer the baking sheet to the oven and roast for 15 minutes until vegetables are tender.
2. Cook the spinach. Heat 1 teaspoon of sesame oil in a clean skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach to the skillet and sauté for about 1 minute until spinach starts to wilt. Add ¼ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon minced garlic. Stir everything together, then transfer to a large platter.
3. Cook the bean sprouts. Blanche the bean sprouts in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain under cold water. Place them in a bowl and toss together with a teaspoon of sesame oil ¼ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon minced garlic. Transfer to the large platter.

Cook Meat

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of sesame oil to a large skillet over high heat. Add the beef to the skillet and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the beef start to char a bit. Don’t over-cook the meat.

Assemble Bowls

1. Fry eggs in a skillet to your liking, preferably with runny yolks.
2. Place hot rice in bowls then top with vegetables, meat and finally egg. Bibimbap is usually served in stone bowls which you can place on a burner over medium-high heat and cook until you hear crackling sound from the rice. This is why when you serve this the bowls are really hot. If you do have these stone bowls, do not add the egg until after cooking on the burner.
3. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle some extra sesame oil. Serve with Bibimbap sauce.

Leftovers

I recommend storing leftover ingredients individually in airtight containers, rather than assembling bowls, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

More Korean Recipes To Try

• Korean Style Pork Chops
• Korean Fried Chicken
• Sweet and Spicy Korean Meatballs
• Korean Beef Bulgogi
• Korean Beef Stir Fry
• BBQ Ribs
• Korean BBQ Chicken
• Korean Beef Rice Bowls