Bibimbap

Bibimbap

Served in a steaming hot stone bowl, the presentation of this guilt-free dish is just as exciting as the punchy chilli and sesame flavours inside. The fried (or sometimes raw) egg nestled amongst the other ingredients makes it sing. Good-quality ingredients make a world of difference for a truly authentic Korean taste, and gochujang, which is a slightly sweet but fiery chilli paste, is well worth seeking out from Asian food stores.
Serves
Serves 4
Difficulty
Easy
Total Time
20 Minutes
Ingredients
400g of pork belly, chopped into thin 2.5 cm pieces
400g of short-grain brown rice (or brown sushi rice)
Vegetable (or sunflower or rapeseed) oil, for frying
2 carrots, cut into thin strips
½ tsp of toasted sesame oil
½ tsp of dark soy sauce
½ tsp of agave syrup
150g of oyster (or shiitake) mushrooms
150g of beansprouts
3 onions, sliced
200g of spinach
4 eggs
2 spring onions, finely chopped
Sea salt and black pepper, to season
Black sesame seeds, to serve
Gochujang sauce
4 tbsp of gochujang paste
4 tbsp of toasted sesame oil
4 tbsp of dark soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp of agave syrup
Method
Step 1

To make the gochujang sauce, mix together all the ingredients. Pour half the sauce over the pork belly in a bowl, cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Cook the rice according to the packet instructions and keep warm.

Step 2

While the rice is cooking, heat a tbsp of oil in a frying pan or wok and stir-fry the carrots until they begin to soften. Add the sesame oil, soy sauce and agave syrup. Cook for 1 minute over a high heat, then set aside on a plate. Cook the mushrooms, beansprouts, onions and spinach (which will wilt down) separately in the same pan, and in the same way, seasoning with salt and pepper at the end. It is normal for the vegetables to be served at room temperature, as long as the rice, meat and eggs are hot, so don't worry about keeping them warm.

Step 3

Next, stir-fry the marinated pork (with the sauce it was sitting in) until cooked through. The sauce should reduce down a little with the heat, intensifying all the flavours.

Step 4

In a separate frying pan, fry the eggs however you like them – it's nice to have the yolk a little soft for this dish.

Step 5

Dish the hot rice into bowls and top with individual piles of vegetables and meat, finishing off with the egg in the middle and a sprinkling of spring onions and sesame seeds.

Step 6

Serve with the gochujang sauce, adding as much or as little as you like. The Korean way of eating this is to mix the whole thing together like crazy until all the ingredients are combined. If it is not punchy enough, add more sauce.

Recipe courtesy of Eggs All Day published by Ryland Peters & Small (£16.99) Photography © Ryland Peters & Small

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