Vegetarian Bibimbap with Crispy Brown Rice
A traditional Korean rice dish, bibimbap means “mixed rice” and typically includes sautéed vegetables and often a fried egg or meat, plus gochujang, or chili pepper paste. Here, we omit the meat and use brown rice instead of white. Our ginger-garlic stir-fry sauce amps up the flavor of the mushrooms. In place of the stir-fry sauce, you can sprinkle the mushrooms with 1 Tbs. sugar when you first add them to the wok; cook for 5 minutes, then pour in 2 Tbs. soy sauce and simmer until evaporated.
Ingredients
- 7 tsp. canola oil
- 8 oz. (250 g) bean sprouts
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 3 Tbs. sesame oil
- 3 zucchini, trimmed and julienned
- 2 large carrots, peeled and julienned
- 1 Tbs. sesame seeds
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 10 oz. (315 g) baby spinach
- 12 oz. (375 g) shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup ginger-garlic stir-fry sauce
- 4 cups (1 1/4 lb./620 g) steamed brown rice
- 4 fried eggs
- Thinly sliced green onions for garnish
- Kimchi for serving
- Gochujang (Korean chili pepper paste) for serving
Directions
Preheat an oven to 250ºF (120°C).
Preheat an electric wok on high heat and warm 1 tsp. of the canola oil. Add the bean sprouts and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt. Transfer the bean sprouts to the baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
Warm 1 Tbs. of the sesame oil in the wok. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring, until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Season lightly with salt. Add the zucchini to the baking sheet.
Warm 1 Tbs. of the sesame oil in the wok. Add the carrots and sesame seeds and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Season lightly with salt. Add the carrots to the baking sheet.
Warm 2 tsp. of the canola oil in the wok. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. Add the spinach and cook, tossing, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt. Add the spinach to the baking sheet.
Warm the remaining 1 Tbs. sesame oil in the wok. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the stir-fry sauce and cook until evaporated, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms to the baking sheet.
Warm 1 tsp. canola oil in the wok. Add 1 cup (5 oz./155 g) of the rice and gently press with a spatula. Cook, without stirring, until the rice is crispy underneath, about 2 minutes. Slide into an individual bowl. Repeat to cook the remaining rice in 3 more batches, using 1 tsp. canola oil per batch.
Top each portion with one-fourth of the vegetables and a fried egg. Sprinkle with green onions and serve immediately with kimchi and gochujang alongside. Serves 4.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen