Bibimbap {Korean}

Bibimbap “mixed rice”, sometimes romanised as bi bim bap or bi bim bop, is a Korean rice dish. The term “bibim” means mixing (burned rice at the bottom of the dish and cooked rice), while the “bap” noun refers to rice.

Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) or kimchi (traditional fermented vegetables) and gochujang (chilli pepper paste), soy sauce, or doenjang (a fermented soybean paste). Raw beef and raw egg are more authentic but that’s your choice.

A raw or fried egg and sliced meat or minced meat as used here (usually beef) are common additions. The hot dish is stirred together thoroughly just before eating.

Bibimbap is an extensively customisable food that came from early rural Koreans taking leftover vegetables, sometimes having meat, with rice and mixing them in a bowl. This was cheap and did not require all of the time and space of a traditional meal.