I’m so late to the game. I really only started to appreciate ‘rice bowls’ within the last year or so. They are so convenient to eat and I want to share my newfound love with you!
In case you’re not familiar, Bibimbap is a Korean dish which typically consists of warm rice, sautéed vegetables, kimchi, gochujang, soy sauce, maybe meat, and fried egg… then you stir it all together before diving in. Because of the different flavors and textures in this bowl, it’s typically considered the ‘mother of all bowl meals’ – if that makes sense.
(Anyone else feeling like this bowl lately? A mix of… well, everything? Happiness. Confusion. Anxiety. Excitement. Hope. Sadness. No? Just me? OK – I will go back to my corner now).
I enjoy making this dish because it’s quick, easy, and it only requires one pan! It looks like there’s a lot of steps, but mostly because there’s a bit of chopping to do in the beginning, but not too much. I also like this because you can really customize it however you want and with what you have in your fridge e.g. substituting or adding different veggies, meats, etc. I don’t prefer kimchi, so I leave it out of my recipe. However, you can add it on if you want! I’ll list alternatives below in the ‘ingredients’ section.
Last note: this makes really good leftovers or good for meal prep (except the fried egg).
Hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do!
xo,
Donna
Bibimbap Bowl
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice (or any white rice)
- 3-4 scallions
- 2 large carrots
- 1 large zucchini
- 2 thumbs ginger (or 2 teaspoons minced ginger from a jar, which is what I use)
- 4 gloves garlic
- 5 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons gojuchang (Korean Chili Paste) or sriracha
- 1 pound grass-fed or grass-finished ground beef or ground chicken/turkey or ground pork (your choice, but I always prefer grass-finished ground beef)
- kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- olive oil, about 1-2 tablespoons total needed
- fried egg, as needed
- Options for other veggies to add/substitute: spinach, bok choy, bean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, homemade OR premade kimchi
- Optional toppings: toasted sesame seeds, gochugaru, sriracha
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cook your jasmine (or white) rice however method works for you. I use a rice cooker (it makes my life 10000x easier). Just add a large pinch of salt to your water before cooking.
- Thinly slice scallions, separating the ‘greens’ and the ‘whites’. Set aside the greens. Take the whites and put it in a small bowl with white wine vinegar and a pinch of salt. Stir and set aside – we’re going to let this marinate (we’re “pickling” this).
- Peel your carrots. If you have a peeler, shave your carrots lengthwise into ribbons (which is what I did in my photo above). If you don’t have one, no worries! Just slice it thinly into rounds or use a shredder.
- Chop your zucchini. I sliced mine into thin rounds, but you can also slice it lengthwise so it looks like zucchini fries.
- Mince your garlic and ginger. If you’re adding other vegetables, this is a good time to chop them up as well.
- In another small bowl, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, gojuchang or sriracha, and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Heat your skillet and drizzle with oil. Add carrots, season with salt & pepper, and cook for about 4-5 minutes until lightly softened. Remove the carrots from the pan and set aside in a bowl. Add zucchini to the pan, season with salt & pepper, and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes for each side. Remove the zucchini from the pan and set aside with carrots. If you’re using other veggies, you can really just cook them until they’re soft, then set aside with all the other veggies.
- Drizzle the pan with a little bit more oil. Add your ground beef to the pan (or whatever meat you chose) over medium-high heat, breaking it up into little pieces as it cooks. Add minced garlic and ginger, and mix it in with the meat. It should take about 4-6 minutes to cook. Add about half of the soy sauce mixture and cook, stirring, until the liquid has mostly evaporated, about 1-2 minutes. Season with ground black pepper.
- If you’re adding a fried egg on top, you can fry it however you prefer it. I like mine a bit runny.
- Now it’s time to assemble! Take a bowl. Add rice to the bottom of your bowl. Arrange ground beef, carrots, zucchini (and other veggies or kimchi) on top of the rice. Top with the now-pickled scallion whites (and the liquid). Drizzle with the remainder of the soy sauce mixture. Add your fried egg on top, sprinkle with the scallion greens (and if you’re using sesame seeds or gochugaru or sriracha), and serve!
Sprinkled with Pepper 