One of the many reasons I love Asian food is how ingredients are treated with utmost respect. Most of the flavour comes from the ingredients themselves and they haven’t been “messed” with too much. It’s almost like the least cooking of the raw ingredients the better! This makes for absolutely easy cooking. There might be a lot of initial preparation, like chopping etc. but putting the dish together is a breeze. One of these dishes is Bibimbap, which is a Korean dish of rish, vegetables and a spicy sauce. A protein like mince is added as well as a fried or raw egg. Everything is assembled in a bowl and mixed through before eating.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup of cooked white rice, preferably jasmine.
- shredded or julienne carrot
- shredded or julienne cucumber
- 250g mince, cooked with ginger, garlic and soy sauce
- shimeji, brown, white button or any other mushroom, sautéed.
- spring onion, chopped
- bean sprouts, blanched
- 1 fried egg per person
Sauce ingredients:
I did not have Gochujang (red pepper paste), so I made my own hot sauce with the following
- tomato sauce
- soy sauce
- sesame seeds
- sesame oil
- sriracha sauce
- red chilli powder
The ratio of ingredients can be made to taste. The tomato sauce forms the base of the sauce, then the soya and sriracha which are used in smaller amounts. Sesame oil should not be overpowering. Mix everything together and spoon over bowl before eating.
METHOD:
- Assemble your bowls as follows; start with the rice at the bottom then top with all ingredients and the fried egg in the middle. Spoon sauce over just before eating.
Tips:
Use whatever ingredients you have, as long as you keep each item separate when you are blanching or sautéing. If you have leftover, combine everything together (except the cucumber because it makes it soggy) and use it for fried rice the next day. This is a very filling meal and one serving should be enough per person.
