Ingredients
Scale
For the vegetables:
- 5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large zucchini, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 6 ounces baby spinach
- 1 ½ cups mung bean sprouts
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For serving:
- Cooked white rice
- Korean bulgogi or Korean ground beef
- Kimchi
- Fried eggs
- Gochujang
- Toasted sesame oil
- Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cook the rice. Prepare your white rice according to package instructions. For the best texture, use short-grain or medium-grain rice. Keep it warm while you work on the toppings.
- Season the spinach. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the baby spinach for about 30 seconds until just wilted, then transfer immediately to an ice bath. Squeeze out the excess water, then toss with a small drizzle of toasted sesame oil and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
- Sauté the mushrooms. Heat 1 tablespoon of avocado oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced shiitake mushrooms and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate.
- Cook the carrots. In the same skillet, add a little more avocado oil and toss in the carrot matchsticks. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes until just softened but still with a bit of bite. Season lightly with salt and set aside.
- Sauté the zucchini. Add the remaining avocado oil to the pan. Add the zucchini slices in a single layer and cook for about 3 minutes per side over medium-high heat until lightly golden. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside.
- Blanch the bean sprouts. Quickly blanch the mung bean sprouts in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain and toss with a tiny bit of sesame oil and salt. Set aside.
- Fry the eggs. In a nonstick pan over medium heat, fry your eggs sunny-side up. You want the whites fully set but the yolk still runny, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season lightly with salt.
- Assemble the bowl. Add a generous scoop of warm white rice to each bowl. Arrange the mushrooms, spinach, carrots, zucchini, and bean sprouts in separate sections around the bowl. Add a portion of bulgogi or Korean ground beef, a spoonful of kimchi, and top the whole thing with a fried egg right in the center.
- Finish and serve. Drizzle with gochujang and a little toasted sesame oil, then scatter sesame seeds over the top. Serve immediately and mix everything together at the table before eating.
Notes
- Season each vegetable separately. This is the biggest difference between a flat-tasting bowl and one that actually sings. Every component gets its own salt, pepper, or sesame oil treatment before going into the bowl.
- Use day-old rice if you can. Freshly cooked rice can be a little too wet and clumpy. Rice that’s been in the fridge overnight has a firmer, drier texture that holds up better in the bowl.
- Don’t skip the sesame oil. It might seem like a small detail, but toasted sesame oil is what gives bibimbap that unmistakable Korean flavor. A few drops go a long way.
- Make-ahead tip. You can prep all the vegetables up to 2 days ahead and store them separately in the fridge. Assemble the bowls right before serving.
- Scaling up. This recipe scales easily for a crowd. Just multiply the vegetable quantities and keep each one in a separate container until you’re ready to build the bowls.
- Egg alternatives. If you’d rather not have a runny yolk, a soft-boiled egg or even a scrambled egg works fine here.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Korean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 3 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 65 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 16 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg