Vegetarian Bibimbap (Vegetarian Korean Rice Bowl)

I’m not a K-pop fan, but this Korean rice bowl surely catches my heart. A very simple yet fulfilling vegetarian bibimbap with carrots, mushrooms, green beans, bean sprouts, and ribboned omelet.

There is something about how Dolsot Bibimbap is served, that makes me happy and end up eating too much. Maybe because it is served in a sizzling clay pot bowl that makes this bibimbap so enjoyable. Or the fact that this dish is consist of many kinds of vegetables that makes me less guilty devouring it

Related article: Cheesy Gochujang Noodles with Meatballs

If you’ve never heard of Bibimbap, it’s a Korean rice bowl topped with an array of seasoned vegetables, meat, eggs, and spicy gochujang sauce. In Korean bibim means mixing and bap means cooked rice. So bibimbap literally means mixed rice.

There are many variations of bibimbap. The classic bibimbap served in a large bowl at the room with regional topping variations. While dolsot bibimbap served in a heated stone bowl. This one is my favorite bibimbap, because the hot stone bowl gives the nice crispy layer of rice on the bottom.

Vegetarian Bibimbap

Ingredients

• 4 cups cooked rice
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Vegetable

• 4-6 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom
• 1 red chili or paprika, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch matchstick strips
• 1 cup sliced green beans
• 1 Chinese cabbage, chopped
• 2 cups bean sprout
• soy sauce
• sesame oil

Gochujang sauce

• 4 tbsp gochujang paste
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp honey or white sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce

Direction

1. Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a mixing bowl, mix until the sugar dissolved.

Vegetables

1. Heat about 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 tsp garlic and 1 tsp soy sauce. Stir for 1 minute, then remove.
2. Add about 2 tsp oil to the skillet, add carrot and 1 tsp garlic. Cook until carrot tender, season with 1/2 tsp soy sauce and sesame oil.
3. Cook green beans and Chinese cabbage as with carrots. Set aside
4. Beat the eggs in a bowl, season with salt and pepper. Heat about 1 tsp oil in a skillet. Pour egg mixture to the skillet, cook for about 1 minute on each side.

Assemble

1. Take a stone pot or clay pot and coat the bottom of the pot with sesame oil.
2. Put 1-2 cups cooked rice on each pot, spread the rice evenly. Top rice with vegetables and omelet.
3. Heat bowl over low heat for about 7-10 minutes, until the rice sizzle and the rice on the bottom of the pot, is nicely browned.
4. Remove from the heat and serve with gochujang sauce, extra sesame oil and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.