Easy Authentic Bibimbap at Home

Ingredients

• 2 cup medium- or short-grain rice (Uncooked; preferably short-grain Tamaki Gold)
• 2 cup water for rice (Equal parts water to rice)
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar (For bibimbap sauce)
• 2.5 tbsp mirin (For bibimbap sauce)
• 2 tsp dark soy sauce (For bibimbap sauce)
• 1 tbsp honey (For bibimbap sauce)
• 5 tbsp gochujang (For bibimbap sauce)
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil (For bibimbap sauce)
• 2 cloves garlic (Grated; for bibimbap sauce)
• 2 tsp ginger (Grated; for bibimbap sauce)
• 1 lb ribeye steak (Cut into 1/4-inch slices or as thinly as possible)
• 0.5 lb boneless beef short rib (Slice thinly)
• 4 cloves garlic (Finely chopped; for beef marinade)
• 0.25 cup sweet soy sauce (For beef marinade)
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (For beef marinade)
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar (For beef marinade)
• 2 tsp sesame oil (For beef marinade)
• 1 tbsp honey (For beef marinade)
• 0.5 cup white distilled vinegar (For mushroom marinade)
• 0.5 cup mirin (For mushroom marinade)
• 0.5 cup soy sauce (For mushroom marinade)
• 2 bay leaves (For mushroom marinade)
• 5 cloves garlic (Lightly crushed and left whole; for mushroom marinade)
• 1 shallot (Halved or quartered; for mushroom marinade)
• 1 lb baby king oyster mushrooms (Cut into 1/4-inch planks)
• oil for frying mushrooms (Use enough for frying at about 350°F)
• 1 English cucumber (Seedless; cut into 1/2-inch coins)
• salt (For curing cucumber, to taste)
• 2 tbsp spicy chili crisp (For cucumber)
• lemon juice (To taste; for cucumber)
• 2 cloves garlic (Freshly grated; for cucumber)
• 1 tbsp ginger (Grated; for carrot component)
• 1 tbsp garlic (Grated; for carrot component)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (For carrot component)
• 1 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes; for carrot component)
• 1.5 lb carrots (Peeled and julienned)
• 1 bunch fresh spinach (Quantity by bunch; cook until wilted)
• toasted sesame oil (A light drizzle for cooking spinach)
• salt (For spinach, to taste)
• 3 cloves garlic (Very finely chopped; added after cooking spinach)
• 2 cup bean sprouts (Blanch in batches)
• water for blanching (Enough to boil the bean sprouts)
• ice water (For chilling blanched bean sprouts)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil (For toasted garlic and bean sprouts)
• 3 cloves garlic (Thinly sliced; fry until golden brown)
• 2 tsp fish sauce (For bean sprouts)
• 6 eggs (Fried individually or as needed; keep yolks runny if desired)
• salt (For fried eggs, to taste)

Steps

1. 1

   Wash the rice in a sieve by placing it in a bowl of water, agitating it, pouring off the water, and repeating once more. Transfer it to a rice cooker with 2 cups water and cook according to the cooker’s directions.

2. 2

   Make the bibimbap sauce: whisk together the rice vinegar, mirin, dark soy sauce, honey, gochujang, toasted sesame oil, grated garlic, and grated ginger until completely combined and glossy.

3. 3

   Slice the ribeye and boneless short rib into 1/4-inch slices, or as thinly as possible.

4. 4

   Place the sliced beef in a bowl. Add the chopped garlic, sweet soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and honey. Toss until evenly coated, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, ideally overnight.

5. 5

   For the mushroom marinade, combine the white vinegar, mirin, soy sauce, bay leaves, crushed garlic, and shallot in a saucepan. Heat until just steamy hot, taking care not to boil it.

6. 6

   Slice the king oyster mushrooms into 1/4-inch planks. Fry them in oil at approximately 350°F until deeply golden brown, stirring occasionally. The mushrooms should dry out somewhat.

7. 7

   Transfer the fried mushrooms directly into the hot marinade. Pour everything into a container and let it cool completely. Refrigerate; the mushrooms improve as they sit.

8. 8

   Cut the cucumber into 1/2-inch coins. If desired, score both sides of each coin in a crosshatch pattern without cutting through. Season lightly with salt and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

9. 9

   Drain the water released by the cucumber and give the pieces a light rinse. Add the chili crisp, lemon juice to taste, and grated garlic, then stir until thoroughly coated.

10. 10

    Make the carrot component by mixing the grated ginger, grated garlic, fish sauce, and gochugaru into a paste. Peel and julienne the carrots, then toss them thoroughly with the paste.

11. 11

    For the spinach, heat a light drizzle of toasted sesame oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the spinach, season with salt, and cook, stirring often, until completely wilted but still vibrant green.

12. 12

    Turn off the heat. Stir the finely chopped garlic into the hot spinach, then transfer the spinach to a bowl.

13. 13

    Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the bean sprouts in batches and boil each batch for 30 seconds.

14. 14

    Immediately transfer the blanched bean sprouts to ice water to chill and stop the cooking. Drain them on paper towels, then repeat with the remaining sprouts.

15. 15

    In a small saucepan, combine the vegetable oil and thinly sliced garlic. Heat over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the garlic bubbles, fries, and becomes golden brown.

16. 16

    Turn off the heat. Add the blanched bean sprouts to the toasted garlic oil and toss to coat. Season with the fish sauce and toss again.

17. 17

    Heat a grill until extremely hot. Grill the marinated beef in batches over very high heat for about 30 seconds to 1 minute per batch, just long enough to develop color without drying it out.

18. 18

    Fry the eggs in a hot pan and season with salt. Once the bottoms are set, baste the tops with hot oil to cook the whites while keeping the yolks runny, if desired.

19. 19

    To assemble each serving, place a generous, even layer of steamed rice in a shallow bowl.

20. 20

    Arrange the marinated mushrooms over the rice and drizzle on some of their marinade.

21. 21

    Add the cooked spinach, seasoned bean sprouts, carrot component, and cucumber.

22. 22

    Top with the smoky grilled beef and place a fried egg in the center. Mix everything together before eating so the egg yolk combines with the sauce and other components.

Notes

The transcript does not specify the exact amount of frying oil for the mushrooms, the amount of sesame oil for spinach, or the amount of lemon juice and salt. The creator recommends preparing large batches of the individual components and storing them in the refrigerator for later bowls. Tofu may be substituted for the meat. Mushroom storage duration is not specified beyond saying they keep for quite a while.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• Korean-inspired
• bibimbap
• rice bowl
• grilled
• high-protein
• spicy
• meal prep