Bibimbap is a traditional rice meal originating from Korea. It means mixed rice. “Bibim” means “mixing rice” together; rice is burned at the bottom of the dish and cooked rice above it. The “bap” stands for “rice”. The dish bibimbap comprises of white cooked rice served with a variety of vegetables, chili pepper sauce, soy sauce, or soybean paste. It is also served with a sliced meat and raw or fried eggs. The entire mixture is then stirred thoroughly before eating. Bibimbap is served in a hot stone pot known as Dolsot or yangpun bibimbap. Most people like to eat different variety of food but don’t know how to eat bibimbap properly.
HOW TO PREPARE BIBIMBAP
Ingredients needed for bibimbap includes:
Meat and sauce for meat:
- sliced or minced meat
- soy sauce
- sesame oil
- sugar
- salt
- garlic (minced)
Vegetables needed:
- seasoned spinach
- seasoned bean sprouts (optional)
- shiitake mushrooms
- julienned carrot(one small carrot should be enough)
- cucumber
Other ingredients needed are:
- cooked rice
- one egg (the number of eggs needed depends on the portions served)
- cooking oil
- Korean seaweed (shredded and seasoned)
You also need ingredients to make bibimbap sauce: minced garlic, roasted sesame seeds, some spoons of gochujang, sesame oil, sugar, water, and vinegar. You can also add other vegetables of your choice.
PROCESS
Step 1: mix the minced or sliced meat with the meat sauce and let it marinate for thirty minutes. After marinating, cook meat in hot oil for some minutes until it is thoroughly cooked.
Step 2: mix the ingredients for the bibimbap sauce in a bowl.
Step 3: your vegetables should already be washed, cut and seasoned appropriately. Heat up a pan or wok and cook the vegetables separately for a few minutes in cooking oil.
Step 4: rinse and thinly slice the shiitake mushrooms. You also have to cook them in oil for a few minutes until they are completely cooked.
Step 5: fry your egg with the sunny side up.
Step 6: put the cooked rice into a dish, add the meat, the vegetables and the seaweed into the dish as well. Place the fried egg and the bibimbap sauce on top of the rice and serve.
Step 7: stir the ingredients in the dish thoroughly and eat.
The best way to eat bibimbap is with a dolsot dish. The dolsot dish keeps the food hot, be careful when eating so you don’t get scalded.
HOW TO MAKE KOREAN BIBIMBAP SAUCE
Bibimbap sauce is put in bibimbap before it is mixed together. There are different sauces that you can use for bibimbap and the most popular one is the gochujang red sauce. It is also known as the Korean red sauce. Here’s how to make Korean bibimbap sauce
Ingredients for the gochujang sauce:
- Gochujang
- Sugar
- Water
- Toasted sesame oil
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Minced garlic
- Apple cider or rice vinegar
The process of making this sauce is quite easy. All you have to do is mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. If you have leftover sauce because you made a large quantity, you can store it. You can store the sauce by putting it in a tight container and refrigerating until you need it again.
HOW TO EAT BIBIMBAP
Wondering how to eat bibimbap so you can enjoy it? The best way to enjoy bibimbap is to use the dolsot hot-stone bowl. A dolsot is a cookware that is made from agalmatolite. It is used for serving two types of cooked rice; bibimbap or gulbap and plain white rice. Rice served in dolsot does not cool off immediately after it is removed from the stove; you’d be surprised to still see your food sizzling after you’ve served it at the table. The bottom of the dolsot usually has burned rice that has to be scraped off. This rice also adds a unique flavor to the dish. Before serving the rice, sesame oil is brushed on the bowl to help ease the scraping of the bowl.
Another way one can enjoy bibimbap is by using a spoon instead of using chopsticks. The fact is that Koreans use spoons for most of their dishes unlike the Chinese who use chopsticks for everything except soups. Using a spoon to eat bibimbap in a public place or even in private is completely acceptable. A spoon helps you enjoy the meal more because it is more comfortable.
The condiments used for the dish are also very important contributors to the excellent taste of this food.
Gochujang chili paste is a popular Korean condiment that is made up of soybeans, glutinous rice, red chili pepper, and salt. Gochujang gives the dish a little bit of heat and extra sweetness. You can substitute gochujang chili paste with sriracha. Sriracha is a red sauce that with chili and garlic; it’s spicier than the gochujang paste.
Adding sesame oil to your dish can also make it more enjoyable. Sesame oil gives your bibimbap a nutty flavor. It is however not compulsory to add it to your dish.
This final step is probably the most important one. Because of the different ingredients, bibimbap gets its name. Mixing it up is the whole point of the dish’s name. Stir the content in the plate thoroughly until everything is perfectly mixed together. This makes all the flavors blend properly together and it gives you a more satisfying taste.
IS BIBIMBAP HEALTHY?
A lot of people enjoy this Korean dish but is bibimbap healthy? Here are some health benefits of bibimbap;
- Bibimbap is a low fat meal and is very helpful when you’re trying to maintain a healthy weight. The glycemic response is lower for people who eat this dish and this prevents spikes in blood sugar.
- Bibimbap is rich in nutrients. It contains vitamins that help promote good health.
- It is a balanced diet.
CONCLUSION
Bibimbap is a Korean dish that contains essential nutrients and flavor with a colorful look. Bibimbap is widely eaten in Korea and it is already making its way into other countries. A lot of people like to try new things and bibimbap is one of them. You have to know how to eat bibimbap the right way so you can enjoy it.
