The Ultimate Korean Comfort Food! Bibimbap Recipe

Food trends are a definite thing.

Somehow food and fashion have almost become inseparable with certain dishes promising a certain life style.

Think of where pulled pork was two years ago, still in the states and not a commonly known term in Britain.

In the last year or so ‘pulled pork’ as a term has popped up everywhere, making this rather delicious dish so popular that you can now get a ready meal pulled pork in major supermarkets.

Other than normal fashion trends or the like, I actually encourage and am happy about food trends, it means that some dishes, which I know and have read about or tried in a different country are readily available to me.

I have been hoping for a while now that this food trend will shine its bright spotlight onto Korean food. Being many miles away from Korea and my mum’s cooking, having a Korean meal is a rarity. I completely exploited the many Korean restaurants when I lived in Australia and I miss being able to just decide to have Bulgogi or Japchae for dinner.

With not many restaurants in sight, I had to learn how cook Korean dishes if I ever wanted to eat it again and through lots of research I have perfected some of my favourite dishes and would like to share one here with you.

I am happy to announce though that Bristol currently has two Korean restaurants, one on Park Row called Surakhan and a little more takeaway type place called Bento Box on Cheltenham Rd.

If you still however want to have a go yourself, this is my ultimate comfort Korean food, the best thing about it is, it’s pretty healthy as well as delicious. Bibimbap! Which translates to “mixed rice”

It can be as spicy or as mild as you like!

Ingredients:

• Sticky Rice for two
• 2 tbs Gochujang (available in most Asian supermarkets)
• A bag of spinach
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 a large onion
• 3 large garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 courgette
• 200g beef or pork mince (optional)
• 2 cups of beansprouts
• 2 stalks of spring onion
• sesame oil
• soy sauce
• rice wine (optional)
• 2 eggs

Steam the rice as per instruction.

Blanche the spinach in boiling water until wilted, then drain and rinse in cold water. Gently squeeze excess water out. You will be left with hardly any spinach! Finely slice the spring onions, add to the spinach with 1/4 tsp of the minced garlic, add a tsp of sesame oil and lots of salt and pepper. It has to taste salty and half pickled. Set aside.

For the sauce:

Add 2 tbsp Gochujang to a bowl, add a tsp of sesame oil, a tbs of sugar and a tsp of rice wine. Mix and add some water so the sauce has the consistency of thick cream. Taste it, it should be spicy and sweet.

Chop the carrots into very fine matchsticks, same for the courgette and slice the onion length wise.

Now fry each component in a frying pan with a tiny bit of garlic and a tiny bit of sesame oil and a drizzle of soy sauce. Set each ingredient aside on a plate.

Lastly, fry the eggs, sunny side up, make sure you don’t break the yolk!

Assemble your masterpiece, add rice to a bowl, add each component neatly next to each other and top with a fried egg. Add as much sauce as you like, then mix it all up! Eat and enjoy.

Mix it up yo!

Lia Schopmeyer