Name: Bibimbap (home recipe)
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 400g cooked short-grain rice, warm; 100g bean sprouts, blanched and dressed with sesame oil and salt; 100g spinach, blanched and dressed with garlic, sesame oil and soy; 1 small zucchini, julienned and stir-fried; 1 medium carrot, julienned and stir-fried briefly; 50g shiitake mushrooms, sliced and stir-fried in soy; 2 eggs, fried sunny-side up or kept raw; 2 tablespoons gochujang; 1 teaspoon sesame oil; 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

History

Bibimbap is documented in Korean records as early as the Joseon dynasty (1392-1897), when it was served to the royal court as a way of combining leftover banchan with rice. Jeonju in North Jeolla Province developed the most celebrated regional version, using Jeonju-style gochujang and rice cooked in beef bone broth, topped with raw beef yukhoe and gingko nuts. The dolsot (stone pot) version, which creates a crisped rice crust at the base, became popular in the 20th century. Today, bibimbap is served from the simplest counter restaurants to Michelin-starred rooms, each interpreting the same structure of rice, protein, vegetables and paste.

Common allergens: Egg, Sesame, Soy in gochujang

Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 30 minTotal 50 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

400g cooked short-grain rice, warm
100g bean sprouts, blanched and dressed with sesame oil and salt
100g spinach, blanched and dressed with garlic, sesame oil and soy
1 small zucchini, julienned and stir-fried
1 medium carrot, julienned and stir-fried briefly
50g shiitake mushrooms, sliced and stir-fried in soy
2 eggs, fried sunny-side up or kept raw
2 tablespoons gochujang
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Method

Cook the rice and keep warm. Prepare each vegetable separately: blanch or stir-fry, then dress individually with small amounts of sesame oil, garlic and salt.
Divide the rice between two wide bowls. Arrange the vegetables in sections around the rice, placing the egg in the centre on top.
Add a spoonful of gochujang, a drizzle of sesame oil and a pinch of sesame seeds.
For dolsot (stone pot) version: heat a stone bowl until very hot, add a thin layer of sesame oil, add the rice and press against the sides, then add the toppings. The rice crust will form as it sizzles.
Mix everything together at the table before eating.

Tip from the editors. The key to good bibimbap is treating each vegetable as a separate dish first. Every component should be seasoned and flavoured independently before assembly.

Where to eat bibimbap

Bibimbap in Seoul

Insa Dodam ★ 4.2

Korean₩₩InsadongDaily 11:00-15:00 and 17:30-21:00 (bibimbap until 15:00, kitchen break 15:30-17:30)

Insa Dodam is a renovated hanok off Insadong-gil that runs a lunch-only bibimbap programme, capping bowls per day to lock in same-morning vegetable delivery.

Signature: Dodam bibimbap, Vegan bibimbap

Order: Dodam warm-steamed bibimbap: farm-direct vegetables on rice in the house build.

Tip: Bibimbap is lunch-only; arrive before 14:00 to be sure of a dolsot order, and ask for the vegan build if you want the no-egg version.

5-1 Insadong 16-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Insadong Geu Jib ★ 4.1

Korean₩₩InsadongDaily 11:00-21:00

Insadong Geu Jib is a hanok-style Korean restaurant set in a narrow Insa-dong alley, serving dolsot bibimbap, beef-tartare bibimbap and bulgogi-and-vegetable.

Signature: Dolsot bibimbap, Bulgogi yachaemari

Order: Dolsot bibimbap in the stone pot with the rice crackling at the rim.

Tip: The bulgogi yachaemari rolls (pick beef, pork or chicken) are the house specialty: thin meat with vegetables, hand-rolled at the table.

3 Insadong 12-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03146