Bibimbap with Gochujang Beef and Crisp Vegetables

Gerzsi had a list on the wall, and the list said bibimbap. In Korean the word means “mixed rice”: a bowl of warm rice with lots of little toppings, all stirred together right before you eat. Gerzsi counted the toppings on his claws. Spinach, sprouts, cucumber, carrot, pepper, beef, egg. Seven. He ran out of claws on one paw.

Pippa took the spinach and the bean sprouts down to the sink and rinsed them. Then she rinsed them again, because Pippa is an otter and she likes water more than anyone at the inn. Truffle took charge of the vegetables. He cut the carrot into neat matchsticks and lined up every pile by color, from green to orange to red.

The beef sat in its gochujang marinade, the skillet was hot, and Gerzsi had a plan to save time. He picked up the carrots, the sprouts and the pepper and got ready to tip them all into the pan at once. Chef Tamás took the carrot bowl out of his paw, set it back on the board and pointed at the next line of the recipe. One vegetable at a time, a spoonful of fresh oil, a pinch of salt.

So the sprouts went first, then the carrot, then the pepper, two minutes each, and every pile came out bright and crunchy. The eggs fried until their edges went brown and lacy, and the beef went in last, in two batches, so it seared instead of steaming. Clyde pushed his head through the window to see what smelled so good and asked if there was a bowl for horses. There was rice, at least.

Everyone built their own bowl. Pippa took a little of everything. Truffle took a lot of vegetables and an egg on top. Gerzsi spooned on the sauce, stirred it all together the way you are supposed to, and took the first bite. Seven toppings, one bowl, and only one claw’s worth of mess.

Why this one works

Each vegetable cooks on its own in a very hot pan for a minute or two, so it keeps its color and crunch. The same gochujang mixture marinates the beef and goes to the table as the sauce. Squeezing the blanched spinach dry lets it soak up the sesame and garlic instead of watering them down.

Bibimbap with Gochujang Beef and Crisp Vegetables

• Servings: 4
• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Time: 45 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Short-grain rice bowls with sesame spinach, quick-pickled cucumber, crisp-tender vegetables, gochujang-marinated beef and fried eggs.

Ingredients

For the marinade and sauce
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
• 1 tablespoon honey or brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) rice vinegar, divided
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) toasted sesame oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, divided, plus more to serve
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated, divided
For the bowls
• 3/4 lb (340 g) boneless ribeye, short rib, London broil or flank steak, thinly sliced
• 8 oz (225 g) leaf spinach (not baby spinach), rinsed and drained
• Kosher salt
• 1 medium Kirby cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil, divided
• 8 oz (225 g) soybean sprouts, rinsed and drained
• 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 4 large eggs (optional)
• 6 cups (about 1.1 kg) cooked short-grain white rice, hot
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Marinade: In a medium bowl, whisk the soy sauce, gochujang, honey, 1 tablespoon each of the vinegar, sesame oil and sesame seeds, and half of the garlic. Spoon 3 tablespoons into a small bowl and keep it for the table.
2. Beef: Add the beef to the rest of the marinade, turn it until coated and leave it at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Prepare the vegetables while it sits.
3. Sesame dressing: In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1 tablespoon each of sesame oil and sesame seeds and the rest of the garlic.
4. Spinach: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, just until tender. Drain, cool under cold water and squeeze out as much water as you can. Chop it, toss with half of the sesame dressing and season with salt.
5. Cucumber: Toss the cucumber with the remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, the rest of the sesame dressing and a pinch of salt.
6. Vegetables, one at a time: Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the sprouts and a pinch of salt and cook for about 2 minutes, until crisp-tender. Pile them on a platter. Add another tablespoon of oil and cook the carrot the same way for 1 to 2 minutes, then the bell pepper with a fresh tablespoon of oil for 1 to 2 minutes. Add each to the platter.
7. Eggs (optional): Add 3 tablespoons oil to the skillet and keep the heat high. Crack in the eggs and fry for about 3 minutes, until the whites are set and the edges are brown and crisp. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.
8. Sear the beef: Cook the beef in 2 batches, each in 1 tablespoon oil over high heat, turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes per batch, until browned. Add it to the platter with the spinach and cucumber.
9. Serve: Divide the rice among 4 bowls and sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions. Let everyone add their own toppings and an egg, drizzle with the saved sauce, and stir it all together before eating.

Frozen chopped spinach works too. Thaw it and squeeze it dry before dressing it.
Gochujang brands vary in heat. Taste the sauce and add a little more honey if it is too hot.
The FDA advises cooking eggs until the whites and yolks are firm for anyone at higher risk, such as young children, older adults and pregnant people.

🛒 Worth buying for this recipe

• T-fal Experience Nonstick Fry Pan, 12.5 inch. The Best Buy in America’s Test Kitchen’s nonstick skillet test. Roomy enough to cook each vegetable in one layer over high heat. About $45 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon
• Zojirushi 5.5-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker. The winner of America’s Test Kitchen’s rice cooker test. Short-grain rice comes out tender and evenly cooked, and it stays warm while you cook the toppings. About $224 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon
• Toshiba 6-Cup Rice Cooker with Fuzzy Logic. America’s Test Kitchen’s budget winner among rice cookers. About $160 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon
• Wüsthof Gourmet 7″ Slotted Fish Spatula. The winner of America’s Test Kitchen’s metal spatula test. Thin enough to lift a crisp-edged egg in one piece. About $65 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon
• Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8″ Chef’s Knife. The winner of America’s Test Kitchen’s chef’s knife test. For slicing the beef thin and cutting the carrot into matchsticks. About $47 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon
• Super Benriner Mandoline. America’s Test Kitchen’s winning mandoline. Fast, even cucumber slices and carrot matchsticks. See it on Amazon
• Microplane Premium Classic Zester/Grater. America’s Test Kitchen’s best rasp-style grater. Turns the garlic into a fine paste for the marinade and dressing. About $19 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon

How Chef Tamás makes it

Bibimbap isn’t something Chef Tamás cooks regularly. When he makes it, he changes three things: he uses a different protein (chicken, ground meat or tofu) instead of the beef, he adds kimchi, and he tops the bowl with a raw egg yolk.

🧰 Tools we use

Tamás didn’t name brands for this one. The linked model is America’s Test Kitchen’s pick for the same job.

• A nonstick skillet. See the ATK pick on Amazon

💡 Chef Tamás’s tricks

• Cook every vegetable separately.
• Squeeze the spinach thoroughly.
• Slice the beef thin while it is half-frozen.
• The most common mistakes he sees: all the vegetables go into the pan at once, and the spinach stays wet.
• How he serves it: with kimchi or other pickles, with kovászos uborka (Hungarian naturally fermented cucumbers), and with sausage or smoked meat on the side.

Adapted from Bibimbap with Gochujang-Marinated Beef by Rick Martinez on Food Network. Cooked our way at the inn.

Sources

• Food Network: Bibimbap with Gochujang-Marinated Beef (Rick Martinez)
• America’s Test Kitchen: The best rice cookers
• America’s Test Kitchen: The best nonstick skillets
• America’s Test Kitchen: The best metal spatulas
• America’s Test Kitchen: The best chef’s knives
• America’s Test Kitchen: The best mandolines
• America’s Test Kitchen: The best rasp-style graters
• CNN Underscored: Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 review
• FDA: What you need to know about egg safety