Bibimbap: Korean Rice Bowl
Bibimbap (비빔밥) or “mixed rice” is probably one of the most nutritious dishes. It contains almost every ingredient needed for a healthy diet – rice for carbohydrates, vegetables for vitamins, meat and egg for protein.
This is why it’s also one of the most loved Korean foods not only in South Korea, but also around the world. In fact in 2011, bibimbap was included in CNN Travel’s “Most Delicious Foods” readers’ poll.
The word “bibim” is translated to “mixing rice”, and “bap” refers to the rice itself. It describes how this meal is going to be eaten, as you will need to stir all of its contents together thoroughly before eating.
It is not clear which era did bibimbap started. Some believe that people started mixing the rice with left over side dishes after performing ancestral rites, but did not have many cooking pots so they used bowl instead.
Some also believe that people started eating bibimbap during the eve of lunar new year, as they believed that all excess food must be gone before the holiday. Meanwhile, records say farmers ate bibimbap because it is the most convenient way of making food for many people.
Despite this many theories however, the first time bibimbap was mentioned is in a 19th century cookbook called “Siujeonseo”.
Over the years, bibimbap has also developed different variations.
The most common one is the Jeonju bibimbap, since the province is the go to place if you want to taste the dish. In this version, Jeonju soy bean sprouts are used along with hwangpo-muk (yellow mung bean jelly), gocuhang, jeopjang (fermented soy sauce) and seasoned raw beef.
What make’s Jeonju bibimbap special is that the rice is cooked in beef shank broth so it adds more flavour, and is finished with shiteme oil for additional nutrients.
Another famous version is the dolsot bibimbap, which is served in a hot stone pot. Instead of a sunny side egg, raw egg is used that will be cooked against the sides of the bowl. The bottom of the dolsot (stone pot) is also coated with sesame oil, so that the rice making contact with the vowl with be cooked into a crisp.
The city of Jecheon also have their own version called the Yakcho-bibimbap. Since medicinal herbs thrive in their place, they combine it with the dish. For seafood lovers, Heodopbap is the variety to try since it can contain salmon, tuna and sometimes octopus.
To make bibimbap, you need to prepare its various ingredients first. For the meat, you can use pork, chicken or beef (depending on your preference) and marinate it in soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar and minced garlic.
Many vegetables are needed to create this meal. There’s the seasoned spinach, season bean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, cucumber and even toasted seaweeds! Of course, you can mix and match according to your taste.
For the sauce, you will just simply mix gochujang, sesame oil, sugar, water, roasted sesame seeds, vinger and mixed garlic.
It’s now time to cook! After marinating the meat for 30 minutes, you can sautee it in a pan for 3 to 5 minutes. Then, you can start cooking the vegetables, and frying an egg for the toppings.
Once all of the ingredients are cooked, you can put the rice in a bowl. Add the meat, assorted vegetables, seaweed, egg and sauce on top of it, and you’re good to go!
Image credit: Paik’s Bibim
Understandably, making your own bibimbap can be time consuming since it involves a lot of preparation. If you prefer eating out, you can head to Paik’s Bibim instead!
They have four locations in Singapore – In Bedok Mall, Vivo City, Citylink Mall and Mapletree Business City. The restaurant is owned by the Baek Jong-won, one of the South Korea’s most respected chefs.
For as low as $7.50, you can already enjoy their bibimbap of different varities from beef bulgogi, teriyaki chicken, pork, woosangyeop, seafood and spicy pork.
Paik’s Bibim also have vegetarian options like marinated tofu bibimbap and veggie bulgogi bibimbap.
Check out their full menu here.
Watch how to cook bibimbap below:
