Byron Bibimbap
Bibimbap has been one of my “family” meals for years, but it’s not one that we ever cooked ourselves. I grew up in a suburb known as “Korea Town” and as a weekly treat, mum and dad would take my sister and I out for Korean food. Despite the amazing selection of dishes, my go-to has always been dolsot bibimbap with a side of kim chi.
To get my bibimbap fix in Byron I had to learn how to make it myself and have tricked it up a little with everything from locally grown sprouts to tempeh, which is a delicious and nutrient-rich protein. Dolsot bibimbap is traditionally eaten in a very hot bowl which crisps up the rice and cooks the raw egg yolk when you stir it through, but in the absence of a “dolsot” bowl at home, I make it with fried egg and it tastes just as authentic.
This bibimbap can be made vegetarian by using tempeh instead of beef, and vegan if you omit the egg.
INGREDIENTS:
Meat or tempeh:
400g beef or 200g tempeh, cut into thin strips
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs sesame oil
pinch of brown or rapadura sugar
pinch of sea salt
pinch freshly ground black pepper
400g (2 cups) brown rice (dry)
Sides:
1 Tbs oil or ghee
1 spring onion, finely sliced
1 bunch (250g) spinach, roughly chopped
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
2 small carrots, sliced into matchsticks
100g mushrooms, sliced
4 eggs
1 cup bean sprouts
kim chi, to serve
For the sauce:
2 Tbs gochujang chilli paste*
1 Tbs sesame oil
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1/2 garlic clove, crushed
1 Tbs toasted sesame seeds
METHOD:
Transfer the beef or tempeh into a bowl and mix in the garlic, soy, sesame oil, sugar, sea salt and pepper so it’s evenly coated. It will smell divine. Pop it in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, place the brown rice with about 3 1/2 cups of water in a saucepan, bring it to the boil and then simmer, covered, on low heat for about 20-25 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow it to steam for another 10 minutes with the lid still on.
When your beef/tempeh is ready to cook, heat 1 tablespoon of oil or ghee in a medium non-stick pan and cook for about 5 minutes (2-3 minutes for tempeh) until all of the sides are browned and then set aside and cover so it stays warm.
Now fry your mushrooms in those juices for a couple of minutes until soft and fragrant, then set aside.
Pop your spring onions in the same pan, and fry in those juices until soft and just starting to brown. Add the spinach and cook for about 1 minute until wilted. Stir through the teaspoon of sesame seeds and set aside.
If there is still juice left in the pan, pour most of it out onto the beef and fry the carrot for 1-2 minutes until it begins to soften, then set aside. The reason for pouring out the juice is so that it doesn’t colour the carrot too much.
You’re almost at the finish line! If you’re rice is a little cool by now, place it on the stove on medium heat for a few minutes to warm up while you fry the eggs. You can cook them two at a time until the egg whites are just set and the yolk is still runny, then set aside.
Now it’s time to assemble. Divide the brown rice into four bowls and arrange your meet/tempeh, carrot, mushrooms, spinach and bean sprouts in little mounds around the edge of the bowl, leaving some space in the middle for the egg. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and either pour a tablespoon over each bowl or divide it into 4 small sauce dishes so everyone can adjust according to their own taste. Stir the sauce and all the ingredients together so the egg breaks up and they’re well combined. It should look a bit like “fried rice.” Enjoy with a side of kim chi.
Notes:
The vegetable sides are just a guide too so feel free to use your favourites or whatever you have in the fridge like zuchinni or even kale.
You can find gochujang in Korean or Asian grocers, otherwise a hot chilli paste will also do.
You can use sesame oil to fry all of your vegetable sides but it’s quite expensive so I mainly use it for sauces and marinating, and then coconut oil or ghee for frying.
Traditional bibimbap has fried bean sprouts but I keep mine fresh to add some crunch (and save time!)