Bibimbap Bowl

Name: Bibimbap Bowl
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice, cooked; 5 oz Spinach; 2 Carrots, julienned; 8 Shiitake mushrooms, sliced; 1 Cucumber, thinly sliced; 3 cloves Garlic, minced; 2 tbsp Sesame seeds, toasted; 2 tbsp Gochugaru; 2 tbsp Low-sodium tamari; 1 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar; 1 Medjool date, pitted; 2 Scallions, sliced

Serves 4 45 min total, 35 min hands on Korean $1.67 per serving A little salt

Bibimbap is usually finished with a fried egg and a slick of sesame oil, and its red sauce, gochujang, is built on sugar. This version keeps the discipline that makes the dish work, each vegetable cooked and seasoned on its own, and rebuilds the sauce from gochugaru and a blended date. No oil, and the toasted sesame does the aromatic work.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice, cooked
5 oz Spinach
2 Carrots, julienned
8 Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 Cucumber, thinly sliced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tbsp Sesame seeds, toasted
2 tbsp Gochugaru
2 tbsp Low-sodium tamari
1 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
1 Medjool date, pitted
2 Scallions, sliced

Method

Cook the rice and keep it warm. Bibimbap is about contrast, so the point is to season each vegetable separately, not to stir everything together.
Make the sauce: blend the gochugaru, 1 tablespoon of the tamari, the rice vinegar, the date, and 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water until smooth. The date replaces the sugar or corn syrup that usually rounds out gochujang.
Wilt the spinach in a dry pan with a splash of water, 1 minute. Squeeze it dry, then toss with a little of the garlic, a teaspoon of tamari, and some sesame seeds.
In the same pan, cook the carrots with a spoon of water until just tender, 3 minutes. Season with a pinch of the garlic. Set aside.
Cook the mushrooms dry over medium-high heat until browned and their water is gone, 6 minutes. Add the last of the garlic and a teaspoon of tamari at the end.
Toss the raw cucumber with a splash of the rice vinegar.
Build each bowl: warm rice, then the spinach, carrot, mushroom, and cucumber arranged in separate piles around the edge. Spoon the sauce into the center.
Top with scallions and the rest of the sesame. Mix it all together at the table, right before eating, so every bite has a bit of everything.

Nutrition

Estimated per serving: 200 calories, 7 g protein, 6 g fiber. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement.

Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt.