Korea – Dolsot Bibimbap

by Evelyn brutz

This dish is associated with Korean Rice dishes. It is a very delicious dish from Korean cuisine. It is a rice dish in which different ingredients are added and served with eggs. It is also known by names like MIXED RICE. Mixed rice is named because this dish has all the possible ingredients addition. Vegetables in any form can be served with this rice. Meat strips are also served in this rice. Meat can be used of any kind. Personal favorite vegetables are of your choice. China and Japan are famous for Fried Rice. This dish is fried rice from Korea. It is mixed with all the nutritional elements in the form of vegetables and meat. Some raw and crunchy vegetables are also added at the end of the cooking to make it more delectable and palatable. The presentation of this dish is also a personal choice. Either you can mix all the elements and serve. Or you can serve in a bowl of rice topped with some vegetables and meat strips with some garnish and eggs.

This dish has elements of choice and serving is also a choice. For the wide dinner table you can serve vegetables, meat and rice separately you guests can make their plate according to your taste. Some vegetarian versions are also very popular. Different and colorful vegetables are also very admirable in white rice. Rice is mostly used for long-grain rice but in some areas, short-grain rice and sticky rice are also used.

This dish is the type of Korean cuisine category: BAP

BAP

Bap is the Korean name for Rice dishes. Cooked rice in any form is named BAP in Korea. Other grains like barley, wheat, oats, short-grain rice, etc are also categorized in the BAP section of Korean cuisine. Some special ingredients like meat, vegetables are added to rice dishes to make different variations of BAP.

There are different names for Bap in the Korean Language. There are some ancient names and some are new names for BAP.

• JINJI
• Sura
• Me
• Bap
• Bibimbap

In BAP different grains and rice varieties are included like the following :

• White rice
• Black Rice
• Brown rice
• Glutinous rice
• Ogok bap (five grains rice)
• Beans
• Oats, etc.

HISTORY OF THE DISH

The origin of this dish, Bibimbap is unknown. But this is a very old traditional dish. Both bap and Bachan are Korean categories of national cuisine. There are many cultural and traditional rites in which rice dishes are served. Rites for village God and Rites for mountain God.

Jeonju Bibimbap is the old traditional dish of Bap cooked and served in the rites of God. Now some people use to have bibimbap on the eve of the lunar new year as a tradition. Farmers ate bibimbap in the season of farming and cultivating to enjoy their feasts.

Hondon-ban is the historical book of scholar Bak Dong-ryang, in which it is said that this dish is served to the Joseon king as a mid-day snack. And that dish was native Korean bubim-bap. Now that dish was evolved and is now served and cooked as Bibimbap. Bap is a rice dish and has different factors to admire the taste.

The first known recipe of Bibimbap is found in the 19th century. Siuijeonseo is the Korean traditional recipe book in which the recipe of Bibimbap is written. The author of this book is anonymous.

KOREAN CULTURE OF BIBIMBAP

There are some areas in which leftover rice is mixed with leftover curries and vegetables to make bibimbap. People used to utilize their leftover foods to make bibimbap dish. Cooking bibimbap from leftover food is less time-consuming and then mixing all elements in the bowl makes it mixed rice.

In the 20th century, due to its simplicity, delicious taste, and less time consuming, this become very popular.

HEALTHY BENEFITS

There are many healthy nutritious factors of the dish.

• It helps the body to maintain the healthy weight
• It stores the glycogen as the energy reservoir.
• It is easily digestable.
• It has high amount of carbohydrates.
• It is enrich in many minerals like zinc, folic acid, iron, etc.
• It has protien in the form of meat and beans.
• It increase the health of the skin in the form of collagen.
• It is rich in fiber and collagen
• It has 8% of naicin and 6% of thiamine.
• Eating rice is a good source of anti oxidants and anti aging.
• It maintian the blood sugar level.

NUTRITION

• 170 calories
• 26 g of Carbohydrates
• 7 g of fat
• 20 g of protein
• 19 g sugars
• 19 mg of zinc
• 3.9 g Dietary fiber
• 1 mg sodium
• 35 mg potassium

ELEMENTS OF BIBIMBAP :

RICE

As this dish is included in the Bap category of Korean cuisine, Rice is the first and foremost part of the dish. Dish of any kind in which the main ingredient is rice is included in the BAP Korean cuisine. Rice of any kind can be used in this dish. There is a huge variety of rice sold in markets nowadays. We can have rice according to the taste and nutritional aspects of the rice. Also, the texture of the rice is very important.

• The short-grain rice is taking too much time to cook and also tastes delicous.
• Brown rice is very easy to cook byt almost many people doesn’t like the taste of brown rice.
• Long rice is very delicious and take moderate time to cook but it is very rarely sold in Korea.
• Glutinous rice is very sticky and if you want to have sticky rice in the form of Bibimbap, go for it.
• Bulgur is also the form of rice but it is more towards the grains and oats side.

So the choice of rice depends on the time of cooking, the taste of rice, the color of rice, and also the nutritious amount. For the diet-conscious and health freakings, brown rice is best because it is less time-consuming and also rich in minerals and nutrients.

Following are the rice options we have for this dish :

• Short grain rice
• Japonica rice
• Yamada nishiki
• Brown rice
• Calrose rice

MEAT IN BIBIMBAP

In this dish, meat is also added. Mostly if leftover meat dishes like meat curry, dried beef, chicken sticks are left this can be used in this dish. Moreover, if you love to have meat in meals you can cook and add meat in any form.

Mostly beef strips and pork strips are seasoned and add cook on the grill pan and add into the bibimbap. Chicken pieces and chicken slices are cooked and added. If you like seafood, it is very easy to cook prawns and fish by adding any favorite seasoning and add into this dish.

There are the following meat options, we can use in bibimbap :

• Beef bulgogi
• Pork Jokbal
• Chicken Dak Galbi
• Beef kalbi
• Nakji bokkeu
• Spicy tuna
• Salted salmon

VEGETABLES VARIETIES

There are the following commonly used Korean vegetables added in Bibimbap :

• Napa cabbage
• Carrots
• Cucumber
• Zucchini
• bean sprouts
• Spinach
• Seaweed
• lotus root
• mushrooms, etc.

OTHER CONDIMENTS

• Daenjang
• ssamjang
• Kochujang
• Sesame seeds
• Daikon
• Kkochukaru
• ganjang
• Gim
• Kimchi
• saewoo jeot

DOLSOT COOKWARE

Dolsot is the cookware used in Korean Kitchen to cook bibimbap and other bap dishes. It is also kw=nown as STONE POT. It is used for cooking and also serving. It is made up of Pagodite or agalmatolite. It is used as the sizzler’s pot for serving hot dishes because it takes longer to cool down.

INGREDIENTS

MEAT MARINATION

• Beef rib eye fillet strips : 250 grams
• Sesame oil : 2 tbsp
• Red chili flakes : 1 tbsp
• kochujang : 4 tbsp
• Soya sauce : 4 tbsp

RICE

• Short grain rice : 500 grams
• Sesame oil : 2 tbsp
• Salt : 1 tsp

VEGETABLES

• Korean fernbrake : 1/2 cup
• Daikon : 1/4 cup
• Mushrooms : 1/4 cup
• Beans sprouts : 1/4 cup
• zucchini : 1/4 cup
• Cucumber : 1/4 cup
• Spinach : 1 bowl blanched
• Sesame seeds : 1 tbsp
• Butter / vegetable oil : 8 tbsp
• Salt : 1 tbsp
• Pepper chilies : 1 tbsp

CONDIMENTS

• Fried egg : 1
• Gim strips : 2
• Sesame seeds : 2 tbsp
• Nori seaweeds : 1 sheet
• Kimchi : 1 cup

COOKING METHOD

• In this dish, every element has to cook seperately.
• For beef, marinate beef with all the marination ingredients and let it set for 20 minutes.
• In meanwhile, cook the rice in which oil, salt and 4 glass of water is added in the cooking bowl.
• Let this water to boil and then add rice in the boiling water.
• Wait for the water to absorbed into the rice to make it soft, and then cover the lid.
• While covering the lid, cook rice on low flame for 20 minutes.
• On other pot add oil and sliced vegetable to fry them by adding salt and pepper.
• Make these vegetables cook on high flame to make it sauteed while maintianing the crunch and taste same of vegetables.
• Now when rice is cooked and vegetables are sauteed, its time to cook marinated beef.
• Take marinated beef into the cooking pot with sesame oil and cover the lid to cook for 20 minutes.
• Strips of beef must be thin so it will cook easily.
• When beef is cooked completely, take and egg and fry it to serve over the bibimbap.
• Now we have all the elements are ready to mix.
• We used all freshly cook elements to mix, you can have leftovers to mix with rice.
• Now take dolsot and add rice at the base of the bowl.
• Add vegetables and beef strips on the top of rice.
• Serve by adding fried egg and sesame seeds on the top of the serving bowl.