Beef & Mixed Vegetable Rice

BI-BIM-BOP

비빔밥

Bibimbop literally means mixed rice or mixed meal in Korean. It's a popular meal consisting of a bowl of steamed white rice topped with vegetables, beef, a whole egg, and gochujang (red chili pepper paste). Gochujang is usually served separately to control its spiciness of this rice dish.

A variation of this dish, dolsot bibimbop (dolsot meaning stone pot) is served in a heated stone bowl, in which a raw egg is cooked against the sides of the bowl. Before the rice is placed in the bowl, the bottom of the bowl is coated with sesame oil; consequently, the portion of the rice touching the bowl becomes golden brown and crispy.

Vegetables commonly used in bibimbop include julienne cucumber, zucchini, carrot, white radish, mushrooms, bellflower root (gaji namul), and laver. It may also contain spinach, soybean sprouts, and bracken fern stems (gosari namul). Tofu, either plain or sautéed, may also be included in the dish as well. Within both types of bibimbops, all ingredients are typically stirred together thoroughly before eating.