Bibimbap

The flavor combinations of Korean cuisine are unique.  It's savory, sweet yet salty and SPICY. Korean food really feeds any craving.

What is bibimbap?  It's basically a rice dish with different veggies, egg, tofu and/or meat served on top.  The whole deal is topped with soy sauce, chili paste-- gochujang, or soybean paste-- doenjang.

The chili paste is an important part of this dish. It is made of  fermented soybeans, We opt for the store-bought versions.  I like this version by Annie Chun's because it's not packed with too many fillers.

A popular way to serve this dish is to heat everything in a stone pot so it sizzles when mixed before eating. We recently bought these stone pots from a local Korean market and I couldn't wait to test them out.

There are so many different flavors and textures in this dish.  The savory vegetables paired with a sweet and spicy chili sauce a top a bed of warm, almost-crunchy rice is a complete and satisfying meal.  Everything is pretty much cooked in one pot so clean-up is easy. My favorite thing about this dish is that it's highly customizable. You can use almost whatever you have on-hand to make it.

Here's a version I made this week with some produce I had on hand.  You don't need to use a stone pot for this recipe if you don't have one.

Ingredients: 
-15-20 shitake mushroom heads, stems removed, sliced
-1 cup shredded carrots
-1 package (5oz) fresh spinach
-1 cucumber, grated/shredded
-6 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
-1-2 cups steamed white rice
-oil for sauteing
-gochujang (Korean chili paste)
-sesame oil
-salt to taste

Directions:
-Heat about 2 tsbp oil over medium-high heat in a large pan.
-Add mushrooms to pan and saute for about 2-3 minutes until mushrooms start to release liquid and get glossy.

-Add 3 cloves of the minced garlic to the pan and saute for another 1-2 minutes until moisture from the mushrooms evaporates.
-Remove mushrooms from heat and salt to taste. (I used about 1/4 teaspoon of salt.)


-Heat the same pan with another 2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat. (The pan may look messy from the mushrooms but DON'T RINSE it off....the left over flavors really start to build up an interesting taste!)

Stuck-on bits just make each layer taste even better! Don't clean the pan between sautes!

-Add spinach to the pan and saute.

-When the leaves begin to wilt and release their liquid (about 2 minutes), add 3 cloves of minced garlic. Saute until most of the moisture evaporates (about 1-2 minutes).

Not the prettiest picture of sauteed spinach but the left over bits from the mushrooms gives it a deeper flavor!

-Remove from heat and add salt to taste.


-Heat the pan again with 2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat.
-Add shredded carrots.
-Saute for 2 minutes just until shreds become tender.

-Remove from heat and salt to taste.


If using stone pot:
-Brush the insides of the pot with oil to prevent the rice from sticking.
-First, add rice to the dish. Then add your different veggies on top of the rice.
-Place pot on medium heat on stove-top.

-Heat for about 5 minutes (until you hear some sizzling).
-Remove pot from heat. Be very careful....the pot gets VERY HOT and you must use good pot holders to remove it from the heat.
-Serve the pot on a protective mat or anything that will absorb heat and protect your table tops. (We used plates.)
-Drizzle with sesame oil and gochujang and add shredded cucumber on top before mixing everything up in the bowl. Enjoy!

Serves 2