Easy Bibimbap Recipe

Bibimbap, bibimbap, bibimbap ... could there be a more fun food word to say? Some, perhaps, may have first encountered bibimbap on the menu at a Korean restaurant and ordered it, not even knowing what it was, just for the sheer joy of feeling the word bounce out of their mouths. Once it arrived on their plates, they would no doubt have been pleasantly surprised, since bibimbap is just as much fun to eat as it is to say.

While this classic Korean dish may seem like the kind of thing you can only get in a restaurant, something well beyond the scope of the ordinary home kitchen to produce, that is actually not the truth. Food photographer and recipe developer Cecilia Ryu, herself a first-generation Korean-American, reassures us that "This dish isn't difficult but just has a lot of steps." She explains how the dish got its name, telling us "The word 'bibimbap' literally means 'mixed rice.' "Bibim" means mixed and "bap" means rice." She says she chose this dish because "bibimbap is such an iconic Korean dish. I feel bibimbap is a gateway for those who are trying Korean cuisine for the first time."

Some of the ingredients for this bibimbap may require you to make a special trip, depending on how extensive the selection at your local supermarket may be. While pork belly has become popular in recent years thanks to hipster foodie culture (and possibly low-carb diets), you still might need to find an actual butcher shop or at least a specialty grocer to buy it from. If you can't find pork belly, though, the more readily available pork shoulder makes an acceptable substitute.

Several important ingredients, however, will require a visit to an Asian grocer, or you can order online if that's not an option. You'll need both gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) and gochujang (Korean red pepper paste). Ryu cautions that "the spice level of gochujang varies depending on the brand," and says that usually when you're purchasing this condiment, the heat level is indicated right on the container. You should also pick up some mirin (a type of rice wine), sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, roasted seaweed, and roasted sesame seeds. Sure, you can always toast your own sesame seeds, but you don't need to. Many Asian groceries sell pre-roasted seeds, as these are a staple in Korean cooking. Oh, and don't forget the kimchi. If you go to a well-stocked Asian market, you may be able to find kimchi made from various types of vegetables, but Ryu insists that "cabbage kimchi would be your only choice in this recipe."

Raw bean sprouts can be quite the health hazard, as the CDC says that the warm, humid conditions in which they grow can lead to contamination with salmonella, E. coli, or listeria. They do note that the one sure-fire way of rendering sprouts relatively risk-free is to cook them, which is just what you'll be doing here. Unlike mung bean sprouts, Ryu tells us that "soy bean sprouts are always eaten cooked."

All you need to do to cook the sprouts is to boil a large pot of water, then toss them in for just one minute. This blanching technique will allow them to retain some of their crunch while eliminating any potentially nasty bacteria. Drain the sprouts, then scoop them into a bowl and let them cool. You'll be revisiting them again once the meat and kimchi have been cooked.

Add one tablespoon of canola oil to the pan and then add the sliced pork for your bibimbap. Place the pork in one layer on the pan, as Ryu says this will assure even browning. You'll probably need to cook the pork in several small batches in order to avoid crowding the pieces. Each piece of pork should be fried for about five to ten minutes on each side until nicely browned and cooked all the way through. Keep a close watch on the pan to see that it doesn't get too hot. Ryu says that the oil in the pan shouldn't be smoking, warning: "Avoid heating the pan too high or the marinade will easily burn." Once the pork is cooked, cut each slice into bite-sized pieces (Ryu suggests one-inch squares) and set it aside to cool.

And now comes the fun part! (Besides announcing the name of the dish, that is.) Divide the cooked rice among three bowls — large ones, since you'll need a lot of room for all the good things to come. Cover each rice mound with an equal amount of spicy pork, sautéed kimchi, bean sprouts, and red leaf lettuce. Carefully place a fried egg on the top of each heap, then make it look pretty with a garnish of radish sprouts or microgreens and finely-sliced dried seaweed.

Drizzle each bibimbap bowl with one teaspoon of sesame oil, then add one teaspoon or more of bibimbap sauce (depending on how hot you like it) and mix everything up. Ryu does say that "if you prefer to eat the bibimbap less spicy, do not add the sauce when mixing all together." It's okay, the rest of the flavors make the dish equally delicious sans heat.