Bibimbap, a celebration of vegetables
There are some dishes so heart-warming, so wonderfully delightful to eat, they become an instant all-year favorite. Bibimbap, at its very core, is a mixed rice bowl. In its most traditional form, its composed of white fully rice, a wonderfully colorful mixture of vegetables (the more, the better), meat or fish, and a dollop of gochujang (the famous Korean chili paste), dwenjang (fermented soybease paste), or soy sauce. An egg can be added as well, though isn’t necessarily required. Neither is it required to use the infamous dolsot (Korean stone) bowls, though they look beautiful and provide added heat to the dish.
Bibimbap is a dish I prepare with some frequency. It’s a delight for all seasons primarily because the dish is perfectly adaptable to whatever you have in your kitchen, giving the chef creative license. Though it can contain meat or seafood, it’s often more a celebration of vegetables and produce, colorful and enticing, another reason why I find it to be such a welcoming and delightful dish.
Like many infamous cultural dishes however, bibimbap can oftentimes look ‘too complicated’ or overly involved to make. I can assure you it’s not. What’s more, the dish can be prepared any way you chose.
History of Bibimbap