Bibimbap

Bibimbap is a Korean dish which means "mixed rice." It's one of my favorite foods (especially when made in a hot stone pot) but it's also a great dish to make, because like the kimbap, you can make it according to your own preferences and using whatever you have at home.

[Serves 4]

4 cups cooked rice (3 cups dry rice)
2 chicken thighs, cut into small chunks (or you could use pieces of beef or tofu)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 zucchini cut into half moons
1/4 onion cut into little pieces
1 bunch of spinach, blanched
7 or 8 baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 cup of bean sprouts, blanched
4 eggs, 1 per person

**You can add any vegetables you think will taste good.

SAUCE:
1/2 cup Korean hot pepper paste
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons apple juice
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

SOUP:
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon dried anchovies
2 or 3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon Korea bean paste (or miso)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 package tofu
1 scallion, chopped up

I cooked the chicken in a frying pan with a bit of oil and added the soy sauce to the pan when the chicken was about halfway done.

I cooked the mushrooms in a pan with just a touch of oil.

I cooked the zucchini and onions the same way as the mushrooms.

I rinsed the bean sprouts and blanched them.

To prepare the bowls, I got the bowl I was serving in and a smaller bowl to shape the rice.

I first rinsed the smaller bowl with water (so the rice wouldn't stick), filled it with rice and flipped it over into the bigger bowl.

Tada! This makes it look fancy.

I made an egg, sunnyside up, for each person. The trick to making the perfect sunnyside up egg is to start with a teaspoon of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Crack in the egg and let it cook for about a minute until the white is set on the bottom, but not browned.

Cover the pan with a piece of foil and then pour in a teaspoon of water. This will steam the top of the egg and make sure the whites are cooked through.

See? A perfect egg.

To make the sauce, I just stirred all of the ingredients together.

We also had some julienned radish kimchi at home so I decided to use that as well. If you wanted, you could julienne some daikon radish and toss with some Korean hot pepper flakes, scallions, and a bit of vinegar (to get that pickle-y flavor).

Divide the ingredients between the bowls and top with the egg.

To make the soup, I just boiled water with the dried anchovies and garlic.

Then I added the bean paste and let it dissolve. Once it came to a boil again, I put in the tofu.

I served the soup sprinkled with the scallions.

Pour over as much sauce as you'd like and then mix.

Mixed rice!