Succulent, smokey, caramelised and perfectly marinated Bulgogi beef meets Bibimbap’s rice with colourful veggies served with a drizzle of spicy Gochujang sauce mix making every bite deliciously unique!
Ever heard of Bibimbap or Bulgogi? Well, unless you somehow dodged the Korean wave that swept the world, you’ve probably heard of it and maybe even had it. But for those of you who need a crash course, let me help you out.
Bibimbap, a popular Korean dish with a rich history and cultural significance, means “mixed rice” in Korean, basically, different ingredients coming together in a bowl of rice, and you eat it by mixing everything together. It usually comes loaded with colourful veggies, some meat, and either a fried or raw egg sitting in all it’s glory on the top. Then it’s finished with a generous dollop of Gochujang, that spicy red pepper paste that ties it all together. It’s the coming together of different flavours and textures, and honestly it’s Korean cuisine doing what it does best; balancing taste, nutrition, and making it look almost too good to eat. Every bite is different and you honestly can’t say that about alot of dishes.
Now let’s talk about Bulgogi. The name refers to “fire meat” in Korean. It’s usually thinly sliced beef (pork and chicken as well), marinated in a sweet and savoury mix of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic—simple ingredients, BIG flavours. You can grill it, pan-fry it, or stir-fry it—whatever works. It’s super versatile and tastes amazing whether it’s wrapped in lettuce (Ssam), added to Bibimbap, or just served straight up with rice and banchan (aka Korean side dishes).
So in this recipe, I decided to combine the best of both worlds, Bulgogi and Bibimbap. Trust me when I say it’s a total flavour explosion. That bulgogi with the spicy gochujang sauce? Insanely good. Honestly, eating this while watching my favourite series (it’s Tracker at the moment) is peak comfort, all I’m missing is my snuggly blanky. I also make this when I’m feeling blue and it has definitely taken the crown as one of my go-to comfort food!
Bulgogi Bibimbap
Ingredients
- 2 cups Sushi Rice
- 2 cups Water
- A pinch Salt
Bulgogi
- 500 g Chuck Steak/Flank Steak cut into long 1/2 cm thin strips
- 5 stalks Spring Onion
- ½ Brown Onion
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 inch Ginger peeled
- ½ Pear peeled and cored (see notes)
- 30 ml Water for blending
- 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 2 tbsp Sesame Seed Oil
- 1 tsp Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Fine White Sugar/Castor Sugar
- 1 tsp Brown Rice Syrup see notes
- 1 tsp Brown Rice Vinegar see notes
- 2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
- Vegetable Oil (for frying) neutral tasting
Gochujang Sauce Mix
- 2 tbsp Gochujang Paste
- 1-3 tbsp Spicy Sauce of preference (I used Samyang 2x Spicy Sauce) depending on heat preference
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 tbsp Brown Rice Syrup
- 4 tsp Brown Rice Vinegar
- 2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Sesame Seed Oil
Vegetables
- 4 Carrots cut into matchsticks
- 400 Mushrooms (white buttons/brown/shiitake) thinly sliced
- 1½ tsp Garlic Powder
- 400 Spinach
- Vegetable Oil (to stir fry vegetables) neutral tasting
- Salt
Garnish (optional)
- Eggs fried: sunny side up
- Sesame Seeds toasted
Instructions
- Combine the spring onions, brown onion, garlic cloves, ginger, pear, and water in a blender and blend until smooth. Once done, add the mixture to the beef along with ground black pepper, sesame seed oil, brown sugar, fine white sugar/castor sugar, brown rice syrup, brown rice vinegar, and light soy sauce. Mix until the beef is thoroughly coated. Let it marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour (overnight is great too!).
- Wash the sushi rice with 2–3 rinses by placing the uncooked rice in a strainer and running it under water, gently rubbing the rice with your fingers. The washing is to get rid of excess starch so the rice would not be mushy when cooked. Once clean, drain the water well and transfer the rice to a rice cooker. Add water, and salt to the rice and cook it.
- In a small mixing jar, add all the ingredients for the Gochujang sauce except the sesame oil. In a pan, heat the sesame oil and then add it to the sauce ingredients. Whisk until everything’s well combined. Set it aside.
- Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the marinated beef (in batches) and fry for 5 minutes. As it cooks, the beef will release liquid, at this point, turn up the heat to medium-high and continue frying for 10–15 more minutes until the sauce thickens and you see little charred spots on the beef. Remove from heat and set it aside.
- In a clean pan, heat a little oil over medium heat. Add the carrots and a pinch of salt and flash fry for 3 minutes. Set aside. In the same pan, add a little more oil over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes, then add the garlic powder and a pinch of salt. Cook until the liquid releases and evaporates and the mushrooms are slightly charred. Set aside. Finally, add a little more oil over medium heat, add the spinach and a pinch of salt and cook until the liquid releases and evaporates. Set aside.
- Scoop some rice into a bowl and arrange the carrots, mushrooms, spinach and bulgogi neatly around it. Drizzle or dollop the gochujang sauce in the middle. Optionally, top with a sunny side up egg, and finish with a generous sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.
