Bibimbap

Recipe by Tara Deshpande

This is an extremely popular dish worldwide. The term "bibim" means a mix various ingredients, while "bap" is rice. Most places I´ve eaten it outside South Korea it is a short grained white rice, somewhat sticky but not as sticky as Thai or Japanese sushi rice. In South Korea however it was always served with a mix of barley, black rice and some white rice. In supermarkets you can buy the mix by simply asking for Bibimbap. Bibimbap is a bowl of warm rice mixed with namul (saut&eacuteed vegetables)  soy sauce and doenjang (a fermented soybean paste) and wherever I ate it it was always accompanied by Korea´s most famous red chilli sauce Gochu-Jang. It is served smoking hot in a bowl with a whole raw or fried egg or bulgogi (sliced meat). If served in a hot stone pot where the rice gets crispy at the bottom it is called Dolsot Bibimbap. This dish is often adapted in Western countries and a variety of mushrooms, green onions, bean sprouts are also added especially if you plan to serve it to a vegetarian.

Ingredients
2 cups sticky rice, steamed
2 or 1.25 cups Korean Bibimbap barley and black rice mix
3/4 cup sticky white rice, steamed
2 crispy fried eggs regular sesame oil
1/4 carrot
1/4 zucchini
50 g spinach, washed and cleaned
4-5 pieces oyster or enoki mushrooms
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp garlic, minced
salt to taste

Method
Julienne the carrots and zucchini into matchstick sized pieces.
Stir-fry lightly on medium heat in sesame oil with minced garlic.
Vegetables must be edible but crispy and they must retain their colours so don´t overcook them.
Remove from skillet and reserve.
Add the spinach to the same skillet and allow it to wilt but don´t overcook.
Make fried eggs or keep raw eggs ready.
Fried eggs are recommended because the rice may not be as hot as it needs to be when the raw egg is cracked over it.
Put the steamed rice in a bowl.
Arrange vegetables on top or mix the vegetables into the rice.
It is recommended to stir the spinach in and put the remaining vegetables on top.
Top with an egg and serve the sauce with it or on the side.
Serve hot with chopsticks or a fork and spoon.