Bibimbap – Trust the Koreans to transform the humble rice bowl into a recipe that’s revered all around the world! With a kaleidoscope of seasoned sautéed vegetables, Korean marinated beef, and the signature fried egg, the thing that really seals the deal is the bright red, spicy Bibimbap Sauce that I can’t get enough of.
Mix it all up into one big delicious mess, then dig in!
Bibimbap
I am a little obsessed with Bibimbap. I’d go as far as to say that it’s my favourite Korean food – but it always concerns me when I make grand statements like that because I’m worried I’ve said that about another Korean recipe I’ve previously shared.
No one’s ever accused me of being unenthusiastic, that’s for sure! 😂
What’s bibimbap?
Bibimbap is one of the most well known Korean dishes. A rice bowl topped with all sorts of seasoned sautéed vegetables, marinated meat (usually beef), a fried egg sunny side up, finished with a sprinkle of sesame and generous dollop of a sweet-spicy-savoury Bibimbap sauce. <- Heads up, this sauce is so awesome, you can basically use any vegetables and any meat and your Bibimbap is going to be delish!
Lengthy – but repetitive!
There’s no denying it – this recipe has more components to it than my quick ‘n easy one pot meals because all the toppings are seasoned and cooked separately.
But the simple seasonings are largely repetitive and it is a very straightforward, leisurely recipe you can start and stop as you please because it’s MEANT to be served at room temp!
I’m going to walk through each of the components here, but if you’re feeling impatient, just skip ahead to the recipe!
Bibimbap Sauce
It’s probably not “normal” to start with the Bibimbap Sauce, but I am because I think it makes this dish. You can use any vegetables and any protein (even tofu) and your bibimbap will still be SO GOOD once it’s all mixed up with the rice and this sauce!
The essential ingredient in Bibimbap Sauce is Gochujang, an intense flavoured spicy miso paste that’s key to Korean cooking. Find it at Asian grocery stores (it’s cheap, ~$2.50, and lasts for ages), at some Woolworths stores (Australia), and here it is on Amazon Australia, US, Canada and UK.
Marinated Beef
Nowadays, you’ll find Bibimbap with all sorts of meat toppings but the traditional version is made with thinly sliced beef. The beef seasoning is usually a slightly toned down version of Bulgogi (Korean Marinated Beef). We don’t need big flavour on the beef because the Bibimbap Sauce adds tons of flavour. Some recipes even use just basic soy-garlic-sesame oil combination.
But I like each component on my Bibimbap to be tasty enough to eat on its own so I use a scaled back Bulgogi marinade.
The unique ingredient in Bulgogi is grated apple – this is a signature technique used in Korean marinades to add flavour, sweetness and tenderise! Nashi pear is also commonly used.
Other meats?
Totally! Chicken, turkey or pork finally sliced or cut into thin strips, small prawns/shrimp or even fish fillets (cook whole then flake).
Bibimbap Vegetables
This is the part that some people find tedious but I don’t find to be a big deal at all – cooking each of the vegetables individually.
Here’s how it goes down:
Shiitake mushrooms – soak in boiling water, then slice and sauté with garlic, soy and sugar. Fresh also ok, but dried has more intense flavour.
Zucchini and carrot – cut into batons, optional to sprinkle with salt then leave for 20 minutes (I often skip this), then sauté until soft.
Spinach – chop then sauté, super quick!
Beansprouts – steam or boil until wilted, squeeze out excess liquid then season with garlic, sesame and fish sauce OR soy sauce.
Simple, right?? Get two pans going if you’re impatient!
Other vegetables?
So. Many. Options! Here are some suggestions to replace the vegetables I use:
Dried shiitake – sub with any fresh mushrooms
Carrot and zucchini – sub with asparagus, green beans, broccolini (halve lenthgwise), snow peas (slice, peppers/capsicum
Spinach and bean sprouts – kale, silverbeet, cabbage (sliced), leafy Asian greens
Assembling Bibimbap
My favourite part! (Aside from eating it of course… and breaking the yolk… and mixing it all up… OK fine. It’s my 4th favourite part!)
There are no rules about the order in which the vegetables and meat get placed on the rice, but try to use alternating colours just to make it look as good as it tastes. 😇
How to eat Bibimbap
Part of the whole Bibimbap experience is how the bowl comes to you looking as pretty as a picture, then you get to dollop on as much Bibimbap Sauce as you want (I use about 2 tbsp), then after all that hard work preparing the bowls, you mix it all up and turn it into a delicious mess.
That first mouthful… I try to get a bit of everything, including a bit of runny yolk.
Then after that, I don’t care – I just get stuck into it. 😂
I was going to sign off there, but I better leave you with a slightly neater photo of Bimbimbap. 😂
– Nagi x
PS If the photos haven’t convince you, the video surely will!↓↓↓
Watch how to make it
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Bibimbap
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked white rice , preferably short grain (Note 1)
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
Korean Beef & Marinade:
- 250 g/8oz beef tenderloin or thick steak , very finely sliced (subs, Note 2)
- 1/4 green apple , grated using box grater (Note 3)
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tbsp soy sauce , light or all purpose (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp honey (or brown sugar)
- 2 tsp sesame oil , toasted (Note 9)
Vegetables:
- 2 carrots , large, cut into 5 x 0.5cm/2 x 1/5″ batons
- 2 zucchini , large, cut into 5 x 0.5cm/2 x 1/5″ batons
- 1 bunch of spinach , cut into 5cm/2″ lengths
- 8 dried shiitake mushrooms , large (Note 5)
- 4 cups bean sprouts
- 2 tsp garlic , minced (3 cloves)
- 8 tsp vegetable oil , separated
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp soy sauce , light or all purpose (Note 4)
- 1/4 tsp fish sauce (sub soy)
- 1/4 tsp white sugar
- Sesame oil , toasted (Note 9)
Bibimbap Sauce:
- 4 tbsp gochujang paste (Note 6)
- 2 tbsp mirin (Note 7)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar (Note 8)
- 1.5 tsp soy sauce (Note 4)
- 3 tsp white sugar
- 1 garlic clove , finely grated
- 2.5 tsp sesame oil , toasted (Note 9)
Instructions
Bibimbap Sauce:
- Mix ingredients until sugar is dissolved.
Marinated Beef:
- Mix the marinade in a bowl, then add beef. Marinate for 30 minutes to overnight.
- Heat 2 tsp oil in a large skillet over high heat. Let excess marinade drip off then add beef. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes until cooked and there’s some caramelised bits, then remove from skillet.
- Keep warm until required or reheat to warm.
Prepare Vegetables:
- Shiitake: Soak mushrooms in a large bowl of boiling water for 30 minutes, or until rehydrated. Drain, squeeze out excess water, then slice.
- Carrot and Zucchini salting (optional, Note 10): Place carrot and zucchini in separate bowls, sprinkle each with 1/4 tsp salt, toss, leave for 20 minutes then drain excess liquid.
Cook Vegetables:
- Get 2 skillets going if you can!
- Shiitake: Heat 2 tsp oil oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook mushrooms for 2 minutes. Add 1.5 tsp soy, 1/4 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp of garlic. Stir for 1 minute, then remove.
- Carrot: Add 2 tsp oil into the skillet, cook carrot until just tender (5 to 8 minutes), then remove.
- Zucchini: Cook as with carrot for 4 minutes.
- Spinach: Heat 2 tsp veg with a splash of sesame oil. Saute until starting to wilt. Add 1/2 tsp garlic, and salt to taste, stir, then remove. When cool, squeeze to drain out excess liquid.
- Beansprouts: Simmer in water for 5 min or steam in microwave for 3 min until floppy. Drain under cold water, then cool. Squeeze out excess liquid with hands, place in bowl. Mix with 2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp garlic, 1/4 tsp fish sauce.
- Vegetables can cool, they are meant to be at room temp or slightly warm.
Assemble:
- Fry eggs in a skillet to your taste (I like mine with runny yolks).
- Place warm rice in bowls.
- Top with vegetables and beef, as pictured in post, then lastly, the egg.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds, drizzled with sesame oil. Serve with Bibimbap Sauce!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
The spicy side of life: Korean recipes
Life of Dozer
Yes Dozer. I am absolutely going to play tug of war with you, with that furry toy that’s soaked with your slobber.
(Not! 😂)
A Korean restaurant opened down the street from me and they serve these bowls. I have been going at least twice a week because it is so delicious. So I was super excited to find a recipe to make these bowls at home. Can’t wait to try it out!
Haven’t cooked it yet but would avocado be good on it? Like not cooked but fresh slice?
I tried this for the first time last night and oh my goodness, it was amazing. I just finished eating the leftovers and it’s even better the next day! I wish I could share a picture, as I’ve never had a dish turn out as pretty as the picture (until this recipe)! Thank you so much for breaking out the recipe the way you did, it made a world of difference to this newbie.
Tried it for the first time and it was a hit with family. Great tip on how to tenderise meat using baking soda. Thanks Nagi!
OMG so good. Made this last night, I subbed beef for shrimp and half the rice vinegar for lime juice since I ran out and it was… amazing. Disappeared instantly. That sauce>>
I made this for my bf for valentines day. It came out so good! I love your recipe! I love how you explained everything and laid it out too! I didn’t care for the bibimbap sauce personally but I didn’t use Mirin since it isn’t halal. Maybe that affected the flavor. Everything else was beyond amazing!
This is already a family favorite, thanks for the recipe!!!
Loving your recipes but this one was amazing and easy to adapt. I used ground beef instead of strips, different mushrooms etc. Can’t wait to make a fried rice with the leftovers too! Thank you
Ummm, amazing! Lots of little steps, but so easy to follow and as usual with your recipes- it was absolutely delicious. Every part of the dish was flavoursome. To quote my husband “this is quite possibly the best dinner you’ve ever cooked”!!
Oh em gee this was amazing!!!!! Just made for my son’s birthday lunch and we both absolutely loved it. Hoping it freezes well (minus egg) for when he v wants a quick reheat meal. Will be making this regularly and showing it off to the rest of the extended family ❤
Turned out wonderfully. Thanks, Nagi!
Fantastic recipe!!! I used different veg based on what I had but I pretty much followed the recipe as written, unusual for me!! Everything, from the marinade to the finishing sauce is spot on! Lots of steps but well worth the time…don’t leave off the egg, it’s crucial!! I think the more I make this, the less time it will take to prepare. It’s definitely going into the dinner rotation!!
We recently moved and aren’t fully unpacked so I made so many substitutions I’m not even sure it was the same recipe 😂 but that just goes to show how great your recipes really are; they are so well laid out and easy to use! So yummy
Wow! What an improvement on Maangchi’s recipe – and hers is really good.
Nagi your delicious sauce and protein marinade makes all the difference. I cooked up whatever vegies I had at the time and had enough for 2 hearty week night bowls of deliciousness for me and hubby.
Thank you again for another perfected recipe. x
I was so excited to see a Korean dish posted, can’t wait to try it!. Any chance you could post how to make the Korean seafood pancakes – they are so yummy and seem just a little different to the Chinese ones.
Oh I love these Julie!!! Pop a request on my recipe request page and I’ll add it to the list 🙂 N x
How would this be if you subbed in ground beef?
Hi Liz, yes you could! Cook the same as written in the recipe. N x
Thank you for this recipe! I made one at home and my family LOVED IT SO MUCH! AWESOME recipe!! KUDOS and more power! <3
I’ve made bibimbap so many times, but I never followed a recipe and just winged it based off what I thought it tasted like from my fave Korean restaurant. I didn’t know how much I was missing until I made your gochujang sauce and marinade for the steak. Out of this world flavor! I don’t normally cook any of the veggies, we put them in raw but that’s a personal preference lol. Thank you so much!
do you know how long the veg components can last in the fridge as in all the Korean drama I watched, they cook a huge batch then leave in the fridge and just casually take out, mix up and eat anytime later 😆.
I would like to make this for my lunch box, few time a weeks if the veg could stay for that long.. wonder if you know, great if you do!!
Thank you
was ist das? bibimbapen? das ist sehr gut, danke!
Thanks for the recipe Nagi! I had some scotch fillet, didn’t know what to do with them, so I marinated them last night with your recipe. The beef was so tasty!! Stir fried whatever veggies I had, put it all together and was such a delicious dinner!!!! Thanks again!! Xx
This was my first time making bibimbap, and it could NOT have turned out better! The recipe was easy to follow, and the sauce was one of the best I’ve ever made. I fully intend to make a full jar of it, just to keep around. Thank you so much!