I believe there are three types of travelers: one, those who eat American food no matter where they are; two, those that foray into new cuisines but still deep down cannot wait till they bite into a Big Mac; and three, those that immerse themselves into the food around them. Okay, somewhat of a biased description but I am undoubtedly in the third category.
I went to Korea this past summer as part of a State Department Youth Cultural Exchange. Most of the meals were planned for us, but for some, we were given free rein to eat whatever our little “Seoul’s” desired. Every time we were allowed to choose, I continued to just want Korean food, and more specifically, my favorite dish of bibimbap.
Bibimbap means “mixed meal” and can really include anything you want. In general, it consists of a bowl of rice topped with an aesthetic assortment of sautéed vegetables. All food in Korea is traditionally placed in neat concentric circles or columns with an eye for complementing color and texture. Bibimbap is no exception to this plating.
In addition to vegetables, the dish may include some sort of beef (I made mine with pork), and it is always topped with a fried egg. As a side note, I enjoy this blog not only for the excuse to try different cuisines but also for the excuse to learn basic cooking techniques that I realize I definitely lack. In this meal, I may or may not have asked my roommates about the best techniques for frying an egg, hey, better late than never.
I am fortunate enough to have the best little grocery store located near me with South Korean owners who have a wide variety of products in stock. So lucky me, I was able to easily attain the very important gochujang, or hot pepper paste. This paste combines all flavors—hot, salty, sweet, savory, and sour, and offers a nice kick to each bite of food. I like spice because it makes me know that I am alive, and this paste surely does the trick.
This was definitely my number one dish I wanted to recreate on this foodstaycation and it was surprisingly simple. The majority of the work just depended on preparing the mise en place—julienning the vegetables, sautéing the ingredients, cooking the rice, frying the egg and assembling all together. The primary ingredient to make sure to employ is sesame oil which allows for an overall pungent and flavorful dish. While bibimbap starts off looking pretty, it is meant to be stirred and mixed right away upon serving, so break out the chopsticks and enjoy.
Recipe (taken from Maangchi’s great blog, check out the youtube video!)
Ingredients:
- Cooked rice
- a package of bean sprouts
- a bunch of spinach
- 2 small size of zucchinis
- 5-7 Shiitake mushrooms
- fern brakes (kosari)
- 200 grams of ground beef (about half a pound)
- 1 small carrot, eggs
- soy sauce, hot pepper paste, garlic, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and vegetable oil
Recipe:
Arrange everything on a platter.
- Cook rice. You can use a rice cooker or a stainless pot.
- Next, you need to prepare a large platter to put all your ingredients on. Rinse your bean sprouts 3 times and put them in a pot with a cup of water. Add 1 ts of salt and cook for 20 minutes. Drain water and mix it with 1 clove of minced garlic, sesame oil and a pinch of salt.
Put it on the platter. - Put your spinach in a pot of boiling water and stir it for a minute. Then rinse it in cold water a few times and squeeze it lightly. Mix it with a pinch of salt, 1 ts of soy sauce, 1 clove of minced garlic and sesame oil. Put it on the platter
- Cut 2 small size zucchinis into thin strips, sprinkle them with a pinch of salt, and then mix them together. A few minutes later, sauté them in a pan over high heat. When it’s cooked, it will look a little translucent. Put it on the platter.
- You can buy soaked and cooked “kosari” at a Korean grocery store. Prepare about 2 or 3 cups of kosari for this 4 servings of bibimbap. Cut it into pieces 5-7 cm long and sauté in a heated pan with 1 ts of vegetable oil. Stir and add 1 tbs of soy sauce, 1/2 tbs of sugar, and cook them for 1-2 minutes. Add sesame oil. Put it on the platter.
- Slice shitake mushrooms thinly and sauté with 1 ts of vegetable oil. Add 2 ts of soy sauce and 1 or 2 ts of sugar and stir it for 2 minutes. Add some sesame oil, and put it on the platter.
- On a heated pan, put some oil and 200 grams of ground beef and stir it. Add 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tbs of soy sauce, 1/2 tbs of sugar, a little grounded black pepper, and sesame oil.
Put it on the platter. - Cut a carrot into strips, sauté it for 30 seconds and put it on the platter.
- prepare eggs with sunny side up.
- Put your rice In a big bowl, and attractively display all your vegetables and meat t. Place the sunny side up egg on the center.
- Serve it with sesame oil and hot pepper paste.
- Lastly, mix it up and eat!
Food Staycation 