Posted by shinshine

For someone like me who is not a big fan of salads, bibimbap is a delicious way to eat lots of vegetables.  I can hardly eat a couple of raw spinach leaves, but I’ll take a half bunch of spinach that’s quick-blanched and seasoned lightly with sesame oil and soy sauce, a typical ingredient of bibimbap, in one sitting.  The ingredients are easily adjustable, so I make a point to pack in vegetables I haven’t had in a while.

My favorite has always been bibimbap in stone pot (돌솥비빔밥; dol sot bi bim bap).  The hot stone pot keeps the content sizzling when it arrives at the table.  A major plus for this version is that the cooking lingers on to toast the rice coated in sesame oil on the bottom.  After eating the rice and vegetables mixed with gochujang (고추장; Korean hot pepper paste), the crispy rice on the bottom is like a dessert before dessert, a highlight of my bibimbap experience that is savored to the end.

So – why not cut to the chase and get the vegetables and the crispy rice?

To make a crispy rice crust) I cooked sweet rice (찹쌀; chap ssal) to maximize the contrast of stickiness on top and crispiness on the bottom.  Regular short grain rice can be also used.  Then I coated a hot cast iron pan with sesame oil.  After reducing heat to very low, I spread a thin layer of rice on the pan.  Then I just checked for the color on the bottom and turned the rice crust once in a while to even out the golden color.  It takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on the thickness and the color desired.

One way to cut this rice crust is to do it in about 10 minutes after spreading the rice on the pan, when the round shape has been set (meaning, the rice moves as one big piece when you gently shake the pan) and the bottom starts getting some color.  Cut with a dough scraper in 6 or 8 pieces.  This is when it’s easiest to get a clean cut, after the shape has been set but before the bottom crust has become too crunchy.

When the crust is done, place your toppings of bibimbap or anything else you’d like to create.  There are plenty of bibimbap recipes on the internet these days, which involve cooking short-grain rice, cutting and cooking (sautéeing or blanching to bring out the best color and taste of) various vegetables of your choice and finishing with a sunny-side up egg and gochujang.  I thinned out gochujang with vinegar and water so that I could drizzle it, along with the essential egg yolk, over the rice.  An after-thought was quail eggs on individual pieces to make everyone equally happy, if it is served at a get-togehter.

I was so focused on putting together my favorite parts of bibimbap, I only noticed the obvious visual similiarity to a thin crust pizza afterwards – which is another food I like.  As much as bibimbap has evolved to reflect seasonality and regional specialties and represents an aspect of Korean food – well-balanced, delicious, healthy meal – this crispy version of mine is probably reflecting a certain aspect of myself.