I like bibimbap best when someone else makes it for me (who doesn’t?), but here’s my recipe if I have to make it myself.
Note: I like the crunch & freshness of the uncooked vegetables here; even though they’re not particularly flavorful, their crispness cuts through the beef, rice, & oil. That said, chopping the cucumbers/carrots/daikon radish takes forever, and the best bits are really the rice, beef, & gooey egg. Just top the latter three with a few ribboned lettuce leaves, red radish, and scallions for an easier meal.
Beef, Vegetable, & Egg Bibimbap
Adapted from Korean Cooking Made Easy, by Soon Young Chung
Ingredients
1 red radish, cut into matchsticks
4 oz daikon radish, peeled & cut into matchsticks
1 small English cucumber, peeled & cut into matchsticks
1 carrot, peeled & cut into matchsticks
5 shiso (or 3 Napa cabbage) leaves, cut into thin ribbons
14 oz beef sirloin, sliced into thin strips
3 tbsp vegetable oil
4 eggs
4 cups cooked rice
2 scallions, sliced
Marinade:
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tsp sugar
4 tsp green onions, minced
2 tsp crushed garlic paste*
2 tsp sesame paste**
2 tsp sesame oil
Dash of fresh ground black pepper
Dressing:
2 tbsp gochujang
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp sesame paste
*I made garlic paste & sesame paste, the first by alternately crushing and mincing garlic, and the second by combining white sesame seeds and a dollop of sesame oil in a mortar & pestle. That may not be the right way, but it tasted great.
1. Wash & start the rice first. I used short grain white rice.
2. Mix the marinade ingredients in a medium-size bowl, then add the sliced beef. Stir to coat the beef well, then let it marinate for at least 10 minutes.
3. Peel & chop the vegetables. Reserve them in bowls of ice water while you prepare the beef, eggs, & dressing.
4. Add 1 tbsp oil to a thick-bottomed pan (mine was enameled cast iron), and set on high heat. When oil is hot, add beef and sauté until cooked through (about 3 minutes). Remove from pan.
5. Wipe pan clean, then add 2 tbsp vegetable oil. Turn heat to medium-low, then add eggs when oil is hot. Cook eggs sunny-side up, until the whites are hard. Putting a lid on the pan for a few minutes may help.
6. While eggs cook, mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Divide the rice, beef, and drained vegetables evenly between 4 bowls. Let everyone put dressing on according to their tastes, and top each bowl with a fried egg. Combine ingredients thoroughly before eating.
