Bibimbap with Bulgogi
Ingredients
- BULGOGI: 1 lb ribeye or sirloin, sliced paper-thin against the grain (freeze 30 min first)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 tbsp grated Asian pear (the tenderizer and the sweetness)
- 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tsp black pepper
- RICE: 2 cups short-grain white rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
- VEGETABLES: 1 cup spinach, blanched and squeezed
- 1 cup soybean sprouts, blanched
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced and sauteed
- 1 small zucchini, julienned
- Toasted sesame oil, salt, and toasted sesame seeds for seasoning each vegetable
- TO FINISH: 4 eggs, fried sunny-side up
- Gochujang sauce: 3 tbsp gochujang, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp water, 1 tsp rice vinegar
- Toasted sesame seeds and sliced scallions
Instructions
- Marinate the beef: whisk soy, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, grated pear, mirin, and black pepper. Toss with the sliced beef and marinate 30 minutes (the pear enzyme tenderizes fast — do not go past an hour or it turns mealy).
- Cook the rice: bring rinsed rice and 2.25 cups water to a boil, cover, drop to low for 15 minutes, then rest 10 minutes off the heat. You want distinct, slightly sticky grains.
- Season each vegetable SEPARATELY — this is the whole point of bibimbap. Dress the blanched spinach and sprouts each with a little sesame oil, salt, and sesame seeds. Saute the carrot, zucchini, and shiitake individually so each keeps its own color and flavor.
- Whisk the gochujang sauce ingredients into a glossy, spoonable paste.
- Get a cast-iron skillet or dolsot ripping hot. Add a film of oil, then a thin layer of rice pressed flat — leave it to form a crackly golden crust (nurungji) while you cook the beef.
- Sear the bulgogi in a separate screaming-hot pan in a single layer, in batches, so it caramelizes instead of steaming — 60-90 seconds. The marinade sugar should char at the edges.
- Fry the eggs sunny-side up with lacy crisp edges and a runny yolk.
- Assemble over the crusted rice: arrange the vegetables and beef in separate wedges around the bowl, egg in the center, gochujang alongside. Finish with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve sizzling and mix everything hard at the table.
Inspired by Emma Woods’s winning bibimbap with bulgogi. This is a plausible recreation, not the chef’s original recipe.