Bibimbap
Bibimbap (also called Bibimba or Bibimbop) is a typical Korean meal that literally means "mixed rice". The meal consists of a bowl of steamed white rice topped with vegetables, beef (sometimes tofu or chicken to suit tastes), a whole egg, and gochujang (Korean chili pepper paste). Gochujang is usually served separately to control the spiciness of the dish. It is often made vegetarian by substituting tofu for beef.…
Ingredients
Carrot namul
- 2 small carrots
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp ground sesame seeds
- ¼ tsp grated garlic
- 1–2 pinches salt
Spinach namul
- 10 oz fresh spinach
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp ground sesame seeds
- ¼ tsp grated garlic
Bean sprout namul
- 8 oz bean sprouts, with beans attached
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp ground sesame seeds
- ¼ tsp grated garlic
- 1 pinch salt
Beef soboro
- 1 tbsp olive or other oil
- 1 lb steak
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp ground sesame seeds
- ¼ tsp grated garlic
Assembly
- ¾–1 ½ cup white rice, steamed
- 3 eggs, cooked over easy
- ¾ cup kimchi
- 1 cucumber, cut into strips
- Gochujang
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Steps
Carrot namul
- Cut carrots into matchsticks.
- Boil matchsticks in a covered pot of salted water a few minutes. Drain.
- Rinse with cold water until cool. Drain. Put in a bowl.
- Add sesame oil, ground sesame seeds, grated garlic and salt. Toss with fingers.
Spinach namul
- Put spinach in a large covered pot with 1 inch of water.
- Boil, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Done when dark green and reduced to a small fraction of original volume.
- Drain. Add cold water to the pot to cool, then drain again. Squeeze out water by hand.
- Slice spinach into 1-inch pieces.
- Put spinach in a bowl with sesame oil, ground sesame seeds and grated garlic. Mix with fingers.
Bean sprout namul
- Blanch bean sprouts in a pot of salted water until clear.
- Drain. Transfer to a bowl.
- Toss with sesame oil, ground sesame seeds, grated garlic and salt.
Beef soboro
- Slice steak thinly, not paper-thin.
- Heat oil in a large frying pan on high heat until hot, not smoking. Add beef. Stir-fry.
- Add sesame oil, ground sesame seeds and grated garlic. Cook until meat is well browned.
- Add soy sauce. Cook until liquid has boiled off.
Simple variation
- Place rice in each bowl.
- Arrange namuls, beef soboro, cucumbers and egg separately on the rice, egg in the middle. Serve gochujang, kimchi and any other root or leafy vegetable on the side in small individual bowls.
Dolsot bibimbap Variation
- Rub inside of dolsots with sesame oil.
- Spread cooked rice over the bottom of dolsots and part way up the sides. Place namuls and beef soboro on the rice, each in its own area.
- Cover dolsots. Cook over medium-high heat. Do not preheat dolsots. Watch near the end to avoid burning the rice; test by scraping rice from the side with a spoon. Bottom cooks more than sides, and rice keeps cooking after removal from heat.
- Add an uncooked egg to the middle of each dolsot.
- Serve dolsots on small pieces of wood to protect the table from heat.
Serving
- Scrape rice from the bottom and stir ingredients together with a metal spoon. Egg cooks as it breaks up. Keep stirring to loosen the crunchy bottom rice.
Notes from the original
- Sesame seeds expand when ground; 2 or 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds will make ¼ cup of ground sesame seeds.
- Vegetables that can be served on the side (in small individual bowls) include lettuce, shiitake mushrooms, doraji namul, kong namul, gaji namul, sukju namul, gosari namul, and hobak namul. Other ingredients like dried sesame seeds and gim (seaweed) are added to the mix at varying times, depending on personal taste.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Bibimbap” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-07-15, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo. Korean cuisine-Bibimbap-01.jpg by Jerine Lay, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.