Korean food is becoming more popular and bibimbap is one of the country’s most well-known dishes. It’s similar to a Buddha bowl, as it combines lots of different vegetables into one dish. It’s all coated in a delicious, spicy sauce and served with rice. Traditionally, it would be topped with a fried egg, but here we use marinated soy eggs for variety. This is a good choice for a barbecue too, as you can make the tofu and cauliflower into ‘steaks’ and cook them over an open flame.
Ingredients
For the Bibimbap Sauce
- 2 tbsp Gochujan paste
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp white caster sugar
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
For the Barbecue Marinade
- 4 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 apple grated
For the Bibimbap
- 200g cauliflower cut into florets or small ‘steaks’
- 200g tofu drained off and cut into large cubes or small ‘steaks’
- 2 medium carrots spiralised
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 150g beansprouts
- 80g spinach leaves
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 300g sushi rice
- ½ cucumber
- ½ tsp salt
- 150g vegetarian kimchi
For the soy eggs
- 4 medium free-range eggs
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp mirin
- 300ml water
To garnish
- Black and white sesame seeds
Method
- To make the bibimbap sauce: In a bowl, mix together all the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- To make the barbecued accompaniments: In a large bowl, mix together all the marinade ingredients. Add the cauliflower and tofu. Mix them together thoroughly.
- Grill or barbecue the cauliflower and tofu for approximately 15 minutes until lightly browned, turning several times while cooking.
- In a large pan of boiling salted water, blanch the carrots for 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Fry the beansprouts and spinach in the sesame oil over a high heat until just cooked. Add the lemon juice and set aside.
- Cook the rice following the instructions on the packet. Set aside.
- Lightly salt the cucumber and grill or barbecue until lightly charred. Cut into pieces and set aside.
- To make the soy eggs: In a large saucepan, half fill with water and bring to the boil. Place the eggs in and boil for 6 minutes. Take them out and refresh under running cold water, until fully cooled. Crack the eggs and peel off the shells.
- In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, mirin and water together. Submerge the eggs in it and leave for 1 hour. These can be done the day before for best results. Cut the soy eggs in half when ready to serve.
- Assemble the bibimbap by placing the rice in the centre of a large bowl and surround it with the cauliflower, tofu, carrot, beansprouts, spinach, cucumber and kimchi. Top with the soy eggs. Drizzle over plenty of the bibimbap sauce. Garnish the carrot with black sesame seeds and the spinach with white sesame seeds, then serve.
