Bibimbap

My intention of course is to write up what I cook each evening or talk about what I eat if I'm out for dinner. But there are a few things that I've cooked recently, before writing this blog, that I want to share: either because they've been pretty interesting or particularly yummy, or of course, both!

Last week I tried Bibimbap (pronounced bee-beem-bahp I believe). A Korean mixed rice dish topped with an egg and some gochuchang sauce.

I found a lot of recipes which I basically mixed together and adjusted to suit my own taste and, importantly, what I had in the fridge! The ingredient quantities listed below are fairly vague as I just decided as I went along how much of each I fancied. I think it's intended to be fairly freestyle anyway so I don't feel too bad about that.

Bibimbap
Serves 1 very generously or 2 as a lighter meal

100g sushi rice, rinsed
Handful soy bean or mung beansprouts (I didn't actually have any so used sprouting alfalfa & radish seeds)
Small handful peashoots
Handful shredded chinese lettuce
1 rounded tbsp or so ya cai (I'd run out so used thai preserved cabbage instead)
3 shiitake mushrooms, finely sliced
80-100g beef mince
1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks
1-2 finely chopped spring onions
1 + 2 minced cloves garlic
1 egg
plus: soy sauce, gochuchang (hot pepper paste), black sesame seeds, sesame oil, groundnut or rapeseed oil, salt, sugar, honey, black pepper, rice vinegar

Cook rice in rice cooker & while its doing so prepare veg as above. Set all side.

Dry fry 1tsp or so of black sesame seeds and set aside.

In a small bowl mix 1 tbsp gochuchang with 1.5 tsp rice vinegar (or cider vinegar), ½ tsp honey, 1.5 tsp water & 1tsp sesame oil. Set aside.

Mix mince, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 2 tsp soy sauce, ½ tsp sugar, a lug of sesame oil, a little ground black pepper & 1tsp korean chili powder in a small bowl and set aside.

When the rice has 5 mins to go (or is done & keeping warm), heat a little groundnut or rapeseed oil in a pan and fry off the mince mixture, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon.

Meanwhile in a small frying pan, stirfry the preserved vegetable in a drop of oil - drain off the oil and set aside on a small plate.

Sauté the sliced shitake mushrooms with a little oil. Add 2 tsp of soy sauce and ¼ tsp sugar and stirfry for 2 minutes. Add a splash of sesame oil and set aside on the same small plate (keep everything separate in neat piles).

Sauté the carrot sticks for 2 mins with some sesame oil & salt.. remove & set aside on the plate.

Put a splash more sesame oil in the frying pan with the spring onion, add the sprouts & stir around briefly until slightly wilted (if you use bean sprouts, bring them to the boil with some water & ½ tsp salt in a pan, then cover & simmer 5 mins. Strain then continue as above). Set aside on the plate.

Mix the shredded chinese leaf with a pinch of salt, a dash of soy sauce, 1 clove minced garlic & a splash of sesame oil - stir fry for a minute or so. Set aside.

Add a tbsp groundnut oil to the frying pan & fry the egg.

Put the rice in a big bowl, arrange all the ingredients separately like spokes of a wheel across the top of the rice (try and alternate the different colours as far as possible) with the fried egg in the centre.

Dollop a spoon of the Gochuchang sauce on top and admire :-)

Finally, mix it all together with chopsticks (with some more sauce if needed) and tuck in!

This was absolutely delicious and really not as much work as it may seem. I think the next time I'd have a poached rather than fried egg and I'd have some kimchi which I didn't have in at the time. Oh, and I'd remember to use the black sesame seeds...