Mixed Up Rice

Article by "hannaone" © 2017 - 2023
비빔밥
Bibimbap is one of the most popular Korean dishes from our restaurant. The variety of flavors from the assorted prepared vegetables and meat in one bowl make this a simply awesome dish.

Bibimbap can be all vegetable, meat and vegetable, seafood and vegetable, or a meat/seafood combination.
The vegetables can be garden fresh, pickled/preserved, par-boiled, stir fried, steamed, or cooked by any method. The meat can be raw, stir fried, grilled, chopped, shredded, or ground. Topped with seaweed, egg, fried noodles, chopped chestnuts, or fish roe. It can be done with rice in the dish or served on the side. Dished up chilled, room temperature, or in a piping hot stoneware bowl.

Bibimbap is a "constructed" dish, there is no real "recipe", rather it is a compilation of "mini-recipes" for each ingredient that is included. There are many versions of Bibimbap and almost anything can be a candidate for inclusion, as long the flavors of each item compliment the others used to make the dish.

History
Some form of mixed vegetable dish has been present in Korean cuisine for thousands of years. When rice made it's way to the peninsula, it was incorporated into these dishes and the more contemporary Bibimbap dishes were born.

There are several "origin" stories about bibimbap, one of which tells that bibimbap was a party dish for government officials (may be referencing the Dol Sot | Hot Pot version) in the Jenju area, and one that says bibimbap was a creation of farmers wives who often did not have time to prepare traditional meals, and so tossed different foods, including those being harvested, into a bowl with rice.