Bibimbop

Have you ever had Bibimbop? 

Bibimop (mixed rice bowl) is a signature Korean dish that I had never tried until I came across this recipe from GOOP. I made it, fell in love, and have subsequently never had another version that was as good. The concept of bibimbop is to prepare a series of ingredients including rice, vegetables and some sort of protein, and then allow everybody to make their own unique bowl.  Warning:  while this recipe is easy, it does require quite a bit of prep work.  Tackle this when you are in the mood to spend 1.5 hours in the kitchen.  When you do, I think you will deem your time well spent. This recipe creates a fun, festive meal that can be doubled for a casual dinner party.

Bibimbop

4 c cooked short grain rice {I used millet, a healthier whole grain option}

spicy miso sauce {recipe below}

burdock (*) and carrot kinpira {recipe below}

1 zucchini, sliced and sauteed in garlic and fresh ginger

1 c sliced Chinese mushrooms. sauteed in garlic, fresh ginger and sesame oil

1 small head of broccolini, cut into bite size pieces and blanched

3 bok choy, cut into bite size pieces and blanched

1 block of firm tofu, drained and cubed, sauteed in 1 T canola oil until golden

4 scallions thinly sliced

2 T toasted sesame seeds

1 large nori seaweed, shredded

1 c prepared kimchi (*)

Sriracha chili sauce



spicy miso sauce

1 T canola oil

1 large garlic clove, minved

1/2 t chinese spice powder

1/2 c red miso

1/2 c vermont maple syrup

hot pepper sesame oil {or a few dashes of sesame oil and a few dashes of hot chili oil}

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and five spice powder and cook for 30 seconds. Whisk in the remaining ingredients stirring consistently for 3 or 4 minutes or until slightly thickened. Season to taste with the hot pepper oil. Let the sauce cool before using. 

burdock and carrot kinpira

2 T avocado oil

1 burdock root, peeled, thinly sliced on the bias and then cut into skinny pieces

2 large carrots, peeled and cut like the burdock

2/3 c prepared mushroom dashi (*)

1+1/2 T soy sauce

1+1/2T mirin

1 T agave nectar {or sugar or stevia}

one 1" knob of ginger, peeled and grated

1 t toasted sesame seeds

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the burdock and cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. If the burdock begins to scorch during the cooking process, reduce the heat. Add the carrot and enough dashi to to come half way up the vegetables. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the soy sauce, mirin and agave.  Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes.  If enough liquid remains, turn the heat to high for 2 minutes to allow the vegetables to glaze. Place the kinpara in a serving bowl and squeeze the grated ginger on top, seasoning with the ginger juice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

To serve, divide rice evenly between 4 bowls. Place each of the remaining 11 items listed above in the bibimbop recipe in individual serving bowls. Allow everybody to build their own bowl before giving it a good mix.  Add a  little heat and extra garlic (optional) by drizzling Sriracha sauce on top.

(*) Burdock root is a root vegetable that looks like a very long parsnip, most likely found in Asian markets; kimchi is a spicy pickled cabbage now commonly found at grocery stores or farmer's markets; dashi is a broth mix found in Asian markets.

Source:  adapted from GOOP