Bibimbap

Bibimbap- Rice and mixed vegetables and beef dish
(serves 4; recipe by Maangchi)

Ingredients:

• 5 cups cooked short grain rice
  
• 12 ounces soy bean sprouts, washed and drained
  
• 8 ounces of spinach blanched and washed with the excess water squeezed out by hand
  
• 1 large carrot
  
• 1 large red bell pepper
  
• 1 large zucchini
  
• 3 to 4 green onions,
  
• 1 pound ground beef, seasoned with 1 tsp salt, 2 tablespoons kochujang, and 2 tbsp sugar
  
• 4 eggs
  
• salt
  
• vegetable oil
  
• sesame oil
  
• sesame seeds
  
• garlic
  
• soy sauce
  
• honey (or sugar)
  
• Korean hot pepper paste (gochujang)
  

Prepare and cook the ingredients for bibimbap

Soybean or mung bean sprouts:

1. Put the soy bean sprouts in a pot and add 4 cups water and 2 or 3 teaspoons salt. Cover and cook for 20 minutes over medium high heat. Take out the sprouts with tongs and put them into a bowl, leaving about ½ cup of sprouts in the pot with the water you used to boil them. This is the soup to serve with bibimbap later.
   
2. In a bowl, mix the sprouts by hand with ½ teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, and 2 teaspoons sesame oil. Put them on the large platter.
   

Spinach:

1. Cut up the blanched spinach a few times and put it in a bowl. Mix by hand with 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. Cover and put it next to the soy bean sprouts on the platter.
   

Other fresh vegetables:

1. Cut the carrot into matchsticks, put them in a bowl, and mix with a pinch of salt. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes until sweating.
   
2. Cut the red bell pepper into halves, deseed, and slice into strips. Put them in a bowl.
   
3. Cut the zucchini into matchsticks and mix with ½ teaspoon salt.
   
4. Cut the cucumber into halves lengthwise and slice thinly crosswise. Mix with ¼ teaspoon salt.
   

Marinate the ground beef for an hour (optional) and cook the seasoned ground beef until done.

Let’s cook!

1. Heat up a pan over medium high heat. Squeeze out excess water from the carrot. Add a few drops of cooking oil to the pan and sauté the carrot for 1 minute. Put it on the platter next to the soy bean sprouts and spinach. Clean the pan with wet paper towel or wash it.
   
2. Heat a few drops of cooking oil in the pan and squeeze out the excess water from the cucumber. Sauté with ½ teaspoon minced garlic and a few drops of sesame oil for 30 seconds. Put it on the platter. Clean the pan.
   
3. Heat up the pan with a few drops of cooking oil. Add the red bell pepper and sprinkle a pinch of salt over top. Sauté for 30 seconds. Put it on the platter. Clean the pan.
   
4. Heat up the pan and squeeze out excess water from the zucchini. Add a few drops of cooking oil and sauté with 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon chopped green onion, a drop of sesame oil for 1 minute until slightly softened. Put it on the platter. Clean the pan.
   

Serve

In a regular, shallow bowls, divide the cooked rice into 4 portions. Each portion will be a little more than 1 cup of rice. Put the rice in each of 4 bowls and arrange the vegetables and beef on the rice. Put the fried egg and the gochujang on top. Sprinkle the bibimbap with the sesame seeds and drizzle with sesame oil to taste. Serve right away with more hot pepper paste on the side