Author Notes
"It is hard not to fall in love with bibimbap. The bed of pearly white rice adorned with a ring of colorful vegetables and beef, and a bright yellow egg, the shining star in the center. It is almost hypnotic. Like a lot of Korean dishes, individual ingredients are plated up beautifully so you can fully appreciate each one, and then, with gleeful abandon, you madly mix everything together. The possibilities for toppings are endless, so feel free to use your favorite ingredients—spinach and onion also work very well." From Our Korean Kitchen by Jordan Bourke and Rejina Pyo (Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2015). —The Curious Pear
Ingredients
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For the gochujang sauce
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3 tablespoons
gochujang chilli paste
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1 tablespoon
soy sauce
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1 tablespoon
roasted sesame seed oil
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2
garlic cloves, crushed
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1 tablespoon
sugar or maple syrup
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For the marinated beef
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2 1/2 tablespoons
soy sauce
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2 teaspoons
roasted sesame seed oil
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3
garlic cloves, crushed
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3
spring onions, very finely chopped
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1/2 teaspoon
ground black pepper
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300 grams
beef sirloin, very thinly sliced
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400 grams
short-grain white rice
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For the toppings
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150 grams
carrots, cut into very thin strips
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300 grams
zucchini, quartered lengthways and thinly sliced
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150 grams
cucumber, halved lengthways, deseeded and thinly sliced
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150 grams
daikon radish, peeled and cut into thin strips
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150 grams
bean sprouts
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roasted sesame seed oil, to season
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soy sauce, to season
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200 grams
shiitake mushrooms, sliced
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300 grams
spinach
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4
eggs
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sunflower or vegetable oil, to fry
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toasted sesame seeds, to serve
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few leaves garden cress, to serve
Directions
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In a bowl, combine together all the gochujang sauce ingredients and set aside. In another bowl, mix together the ingredients for the beef marinade (soy sauce through black pepper), add the sliced beef, cover, and set aside for 30 to 60 minutes.
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Cook the rice according to the packet instructions. Keep warm. Meanwhile, fill a large pan with water and bring it to a rolling boil. One by one, blanch the carrots, zucchini, cucumber, and radish for 1 minute and the bean sprouts for 2 1/2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or sieve to remove them from the water and drain fully. Season each vegetable with 1/2 a teaspoon of roasted sesame seed oil and soy sauce, keeping the vegetables separate at all times.
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Heat 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil in a pan. Add in the mushrooms and stir-fry over a high heat for 4 to 5 minutes until softened. Remove from the pan and season with 1/2 teaspoon of roasted sesame seed oil and soy sauce.
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In the same pan, add in the spinach and sprinkle over 2 teaspoons of water. Fry over a high heat for a few minutes, stirring all the time, until the spinach has wilted. Remove the spinach, squeeze out any excess water and season as before with the 1/2 teaspoon of roasted sesame seed oil and soy sauce. In Korea, these vegetables are served at room temperature so don’t worry about keeping them warm.
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In the same pan, add the marinated beef. Stir-fry over a high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and the meat is cooked through. In a clean frying pan, fry the eggs to your liking.
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Serve the hot rice in 4 individual bowls. Place 1 egg onto the center of the rice, then arrange the vegetables and meat around it. Sprinkle over some sesame seeds and garden cress and serve with the gochujang sauce. Start with a couple of spoonfuls of the sauce and mix everything together well. Add more gochujang sauce to taste.
Best friends Issy and Meg have spent the last decade sitting across tables from each other, travelling the world knife and fork in hand. Photographing bowls of steaming noodles, exotic street food and some of the world's most exciting cooks, Issy makes up the photography side of the duo, while Meg records each bite in words. Considering their equal obsession for food and each other, it was inevitable that the two would eventually combine to become The Curious Pear, intent on bringing you reviews, food features and interviews with the culinary crowd, as well as pieces on their favourite eating spots from around the world. The Curious Pear are the contributing Food Editors at SUITCASE Magazine, bringing you a weekly food column at suitcasemag.com, as well as contributing for Time Out, Food52, Life & Thyme, Trends on Trends, Guest of a Guest and more!
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