Bibimbap 비빔밥 (With BBQ Pork Belly And Kimchi)

Bibimbap is a well known signature Korean dish. When you visit a Korean restaurant, you will surely find this dish in the menu. Bibimbap literally means 'mixed rice' or better explained as Korean mixed rice with assorted vegetables and meat. Traditionally, it is served with raw meat (usually beef) and raw egg but for cooking at home, I would prefer to have the ingredients cooked first.

You can make many variations of Bibimbap depending on your preferences as long as it has namul (marinated or sautéed vegetables), meat and gochujang (red pepper paste) for sauce. Well of course, you can omit the meat if you wanted to make vegetarian bibimbap.

If you have a stone bowl, you can make Dolsot Bibimbap (돌솥 비빔밥, dolsot means "stone pot"). The stone bowl is heated until very hot. Then the bottom of the bowl is coated with sesame oil before placing the rice in it. The stone pot is so hot that it will browned the rice and create a layer of brown crispy rice at the bottom of the bowl. It is another experience eating a dolsot bibimbap.

For my version today, I am making my Bibimbap with seasoned spinach, sautéed carrots, cucumbers, bbq pork belly, my beloved homemade tongbaechu-kimchi, half-boiled egg and some seasoned seaweed strips. I am using bbq pork belly simply because I still have a packet of frozen marinated pork belly from my mom (in-law). You may use stir-fry ground beef or any other meat you prefer.

Making Bibimbap is also a great way to used up your leftover vegetables. Here I am using up my half packet of spinach which I've bought from tesco few days ago.

This is how my mom (in law) packed the marinated pork belly for us. She would pack 2-3 strips of pork belly in a ziplock bag, and handed 2 bags to us at one time. When we are almost 'out of stock', we just need to inform my mom and she would replenish a new batch for us. What a convenient way to have the BEST BBQ Pork Belly aka Char Siew at home! Thanks to my mom (in law)!

HOW TO EAT BIBIMBAP

To start with, add your sauce (gochujang or sesame oil) to give it more flavor. In my case, my sauce is the brine from the tongbaechu-kimchi. Then just toss and mix it thoroughly. You will get a little of everything in just a bite. Simply a yummylicious comfort food!

BIBIMBAP 비빔밥 (WITH BBQ PORK BELLY AND KIMCHI)

Prep Time : 15 mins
Cook Time : 50 mins
Total Time : 1 hour 5 mins
Serves : 2 pax

Ingredients:
2 serving cooked sushi rice
150g spinach
1/2 cup julienne carrots
1/2 cup julienne cucumbers
1/2 cup tongbaechu-kimchi (cut into bite sized)
1/2 cup sliced bbq pork belly
2 eggs (half-boiled or your preferred style)
Seasoned seaweed strips

Seasoning For Spinach
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds (crushed)

Seasoning For Carrot
Pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Start with cooking your sushi rice. For each pax, cook half a cup of rice. (Using rice cup measurement)

2. Place the julienne cucumbers in a bowl and sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt. Let it sit for 30 minutes before rinsing it thoroughly with running water. Squeeze out as much water as you can and serve.

Seasoned Spinach
3. Blanch the spinach and squeeze out any excess water. Arrange the spinach in a log and roughly chopped into three sections. This is just to shorten the length of the spinach.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the seasoning well. Add in the blanched spinach and mix well. To serve, sprinkle some toasted sesame seed on top.

Sautéed Carrots
5. In a pan, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sauté carrots with a pinch of salt for approx. 30 secs - a minute.

6. Place all your prepared dishes onto a bowl of rice. Arrange them nicely all around the bowl and lastly crack an egg in the middle of the bowl and garnish with seasoned seaweed strips.

7. Enjoy while it is hot!

#msyummyliciousrecipe
Make this recipe? Don't forget to snap a photo of it and tag #msyummyliciousrecipe on social media! I would love to see them! Enjoy my recipe!