Korean Bibimbap with Vegetables and Beef
Bibimbap is a Korean rice bowl with each vegetable seasoned separately, soy-marinated minced beef, a runny-yolk fried egg, and sweet-hot gochujang sauce. The point is that every component is seasoned on its own and only mixed together at the table.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 60 min
- Calories
- 560
Photo: Chloe Lim — CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Bibimbap literally means 'mixed rice', and the whole appeal is that each element keeps its own flavour until you stir it all together in the bowl. Balanced, healthy, and it sells itself on looks alone.
Method
-
1
Season the beef
Mix the minced beef with two spoons of soy, a spoon of sesame oil and half the garlic, and fry it until dry.
⏱ 10 min -
2
Vegetables, one at a time
Fry each vegetable separately over high heat for two minutes with a pinch of salt and a few drops of sesame oil. Blanch the spinach for a minute, squeeze it out, and dress it with garlic and oil. Keeping them separate is the whole point of the dish.
⏱ 15 min -
3
The sauce
Mix the gochujang with the honey, rice vinegar, a spoon of sesame oil and two spoons of water until it's pourable.
⏱ 3 min -
4
The egg
Fry the eggs so the yolk stays runny — two minutes over medium heat, without flipping.
⏱ 4 min -
5
Building the bowl
In each bowl: rice at the bottom, the vegetables and beef arranged in sections around it, the egg in the middle, and a scatter of sesame. Serve the sauce alongside and mix at the table.
⏱ 5 min
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Tips that actually matter
- Cook each vegetable on its own — mixed together they steam and the flavours blur.
- No gochujang? Mix tomato paste with chilli, honey and soy as a rough substitute.
- A hot stone bowl (dolsot) gives you a crisp rice crust at the bottom; a small cast-iron pan does the same.
People also ask
Can it be vegetarian?
Yes — drop the beef and add fried tofu or more mushrooms. The dish is vegetable-led anyway.
Can I prep it in advance?
The vegetables, beef and sauce all keep two days in the fridge. Cook the rice and egg at serving time.
Which rice?
Short-grain (sushi) rice, because it clings slightly — which is what the dish wants.
Cook mode
Korean Bibimbap with Vegetables and Beef
-
1
Season the beef
Mix the minced beef with two spoons of soy, a spoon of sesame oil and half the garlic, and fry it until dry.
-
2
Vegetables, one at a time
Fry each vegetable separately over high heat for two minutes with a pinch of salt and a few drops of sesame oil. Blanch the spinach for a minute, squeeze it out, and dress it with garlic and oil. Keeping them separate is the whole point of the dish.
-
3
The sauce
Mix the gochujang with the honey, rice vinegar, a spoon of sesame oil and two spoons of water until it's pourable.
-
4
The egg
Fry the eggs so the yolk stays runny — two minutes over medium heat, without flipping.
-
5
Building the bowl
In each bowl: rice at the bottom, the vegetables and beef arranged in sections around it, the egg in the middle, and a scatter of sesame. Serve the sauce alongside and mix at the table.
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