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Traditional Korean Bibimbap Recipe

Rachel Rhee
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main
Cuisine Korean
Servings 2

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups uncooked white rice you will have leftover but it's easier to cook rice in a larger amount. You can also substitute with brown rice or quinoa
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1 medium size white onion sliced
  • 2/3 cup zucchini either shredded or cut into half moons
  • 2/3 cup soy bean sprouts or bean sprouts
  • 2/3 cup carrots shredded
  • 2/3 cup cucumber cut into half moons
  • 2/3 cup dried bellflower root thinly sliced; also called "doraji" in Korean*
  • 2/3 cup dried fernbrake also called "gosari" in Korean* you may substitute for eggplant if you can't find this
  • 1 cup shiitake sliced
  • 2 eggs optional
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds crushed
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • Hot sauce to taste
  • Sesame oil
  • Cooking oil unflavored - I use grapeseed oil
  • 1 tsp Soy sauce
  • Salt
  • *For any Korean specific ingredients you may find this at any Asian supermarket or on Amazon!

Instructions
 

  • (Start this overnight) Prepare the dried fernbrake by boiling it in water for 30 minutes. Let cool down. Once it cools, rinse with water and soak overnight. This will allow for the flavor to loosen up a bit and not be as strong. When you don't soak it, the flavor can be bitter. The next day when you are preparing your meal, drain the water and remove all excess water. Over medium-high heat, cook the fernbrake in oil. Add in half of the minced garlic and add in soy sauce. Optionally, you can add a pinch of sugar to offset the saltiness from the soy sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes until it's cooked through.
  • Soak dried bellflower root in cold water for two hours. Remove from water and sprinkle with salt. Squeeze out the excess water and then rinse with cold water. This removes the salt and leftover bitterness from this root. With that soaked bellflower root, you can now sautee this on the stove. Drizzle the pan with an unflavored cooking oil, add in half of your minced garlic. Cook through all together and leave a bit of al dente firmness to it.
  • Next to cook the rice, I have a rice cooker but if you don't you can rinse rice in cold water, drain out the excess water and keep rinsing and draining until the water that the rice soaks in is a bit clear. The general rule for cooking white rice on a stove is to have a 1:1.5 ratio - one cup of rice to 1.5 cups of water. Let the rice soak in the water for 20-30 minutes. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes until the water is boiled through and the consistency is what you're looking for. Turn the rice over in the pot a few times to make it "fluffy" and remove from heat and let sit.
  • With the washed soy bean sprouts, put these in a pot and add water with a pinch of salt. Cover the pot and boil on medium heat. Once the sprouts are boiling, turn off the heat and remove the sprouts from the water.
  • Blanch the spinach on the stove, sprinkle with crushed sesame seeds, and mix in a pinch of sesame oil. Mix all of these together and let sit.
  • Cook the carrots in unflavored oil, lightly salt. Remove from heat and let sit.
  • Using the same pan, cook and salt the rest of the veggies individually. Use a wet paper towel to wipe down the pan between veggies, so that the flavors and colors don't combine just yet.
  • Next up is plating. Start with the cooked rice in the center of a bowl and use 1/3 of each veggie for each serving. Try to even out the colors so that two green vegetables aren't next to each other, just for presentation purposes :)
  • To taste and for additional flavor, you can add in your favorite hot sauce and then just mix up the whole bowl and enjoy!