Vegetarian Korean Bibimbap

Vegetarian Korean bibimbap is classic Korean delicacy but  with a twist, we use Quinoa instead of rice. With goodness of an array of sauteed vegetables over a bed of quinoa and fried egg over the top,  Korean bibimbap is one bowl is comfort and healthy food. 

Originally posted in Aug 2015. Re-posting.

The dish might look complicated at first – but it was easy and good !!!With loads of veggies and quinoa you are in for a healthy hearty treat! Packed with protein from tofu, this is a wholesome nutrient dish. I recently(2 weeks back) swore in that I would eat healthy food, and I went on cutting down on fried stuffs and included wholesome healthy and delicious recipes to my menu. I have been having oats almost everyday, but not in the boring porridge form, I been trying out interesting recipes with it. Along with oats a I’m also trying out few other healthy wholesome dishes.

This is the first time I made and tasted Korean vegetarian bibimbap! Yes that’s right. FIRST TIME. I’m so glad I tried to make a Korean Vegetarian Bibimbap at home and I tweaked it according to availability of ingredients and taste. And trust me it was deeee-licious!

What is bibimbap

Bibimbap is very popular dish among the Koreans. Bibim means “mixed” and bap means “rice”. This famous Korean dish is a one bowl dish has sauteed vegetables and/or barbecued meat like pork/chicken/beef(vegetarian option is tofu)along wit a fried egg. Essentially you can add anything you like in Bibimbap. All ingredients are mixed to gather and eaten.

It is believed that bibimbap is a best way to use up all the left over vegetables, rice and meat that is a day old. Served cold during summer and hot during winter, this dish is most comforting any time.

To add a kick and depth of flavor to the dish, a spicy, thick, red sauce is always a must with bibimbap. This sauce is called Gochujang. Gochujang is the back bone of Korean cooking. It’s a spicy Asian miso.

How to make Korean vegetarian bibimbap

A lot of prep goes in making a super attractive bowl of bibimbap. Like any other Asian recipes, Korean vegetarian bibimbap also requires good knife skills. Slicing, chopping ingredients precisely and evenly is one of the key things you need to know and follow to make a vegetarian bibimbap bowl that looks close enough to what it should look it.

Prep work for bibimbap –

Cut tofu into thin strips, marinate it in a pinch of salt and some cayenne pepper. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes saute tofu in a pan or you can roast it in oven, I roasted tofu in pan until they turned golden brown.
Soak chopped cucumber in a pinch of salt and lime juice from 1/2 lime.
In 1/4 teaspoon sesame seed oil, saute cabbage with spicy red chilli sauce for about a minute or 2.
Wash and cut mushrooms into tin strips. Saute in 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil for about 30 seconds. Keep aside. Repeat same process with spinach (saute in oil for few seconds).
Zucchini – Ok you dont normally used zuchini in Korean dish, but I wanted to use it.
To make red chili paste – soak dried red chilies in water for about 2 hours and ground into paste.

To make Gochujang sauce–
Mix all the ingredients mentioned in the list. That’s it. Gochujang sauce is ready!

To make bibimbap-

Cook quinoa as per packet instructions. I soaked for 20 minutes and cooked in open pot until they were cooked al dente. Completely drain the cooked quinoa and spread it on a plate to avoid it from sticking to each other.

Heat a teaspoon of butter in a non stick pan on very low heat. Break an egg carefully into a bowl and when all the butter is melted very gently slide the egg into the pan. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from pan once cooked.

Now to assemble the dish, in a serving bowl firs add cooked quinoa, then arrange all the sauteed vegetables next to one another. Finally place the fried egg on top and drizzle some Gochujang sauce on top.

Serve immediately. On summer you can serve this dish cold and on a gloomy day serve it hot! It’s delicious!

While I was preparing this dish, the boys at home were in their own world doing what they like and do the best. The big boy loves his guitar and always keep playing it and the little one loves to copy his hero in every single act from shaving, repairing stuff at home to playing guitar! It was hard to capture the little one as he doesn’t stay in a place for more than 5 seconds. Really wanted to share this pic, I found it too cute <3

Have you had bibimbap before? What was in your bowl? I would like to hear from you.

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Vegetarian Korean Bibimbap

Vegetarian Korean bibimbap is classic Korean delicacy but with a twist, we use Quinoa instead of rice. With goodness of an array of sauteed vegetables over a bed of quinoa and fried egg over the top, Korean bibimbap is one bowl is comfort and healthy food.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 3 serving

Calories: 450kcal

Author: Jyothi Rajesh

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup tofu
• 1 carrot cut into thin strips
• 1 cup spinach tightly packed (I used bok choy)
• 1 cup mushrooms (Best use shiitake mushrooms)
• 1 small English cucumber
• 1/4 cup cabbage thin sliced
• 1/3 cup yellow zucchini
• 3 eggs 1 per person/bowl
• 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil for sauteing veggies

For Gochujang sauce-

• 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
• 1 tablespoon raw cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon garlic minced
• 3 teaspoon red chili paste

Instructions

Prep work for bibimbap -

• Cut tofu into thin strips, marinate it in a pinch of salt and some cayenne pepper. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes saute tofu in a pan or you can roast it in oven, I roasted tofu in pan until they turned golden brown.
• Soak chopped cucumber in a pinch of salt and lime juice from 1/2 lime.
• In 1/4 teaspoon sesame seed oil, saute cabbage with spicy red chilli sauce for about a minute or 2.
• Wash and cut mushrooms into tin strips. Saute in 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil for about 30 seconds. Keep aside. Repeat same process with spinach (saute in oil for few seconds).
• Zucchini - Ok you dont normally used zuchini in Korean dish, but I wanted to use it.
• To make red chili paste - soak dried red chilies in water for about 2 hours and ground into paste.

To make Gochujang sauce-

• Mix all the ingredients mentioned in the list. That's it. Gochujang sauce is ready!

To make bibimbap-

• Cook quinoa as per packet instructions. I soaked for 20 minutes and cooked in open pot until they were cooked al dente. Completely drain the cooked quinoa and spread it on a plate to avoid it from sticking to each other.
• Heat a teaspoon of butter in a non stick pan on very low heat. Break an egg carefully into a bowl and when all the butter is melted very gently slide the egg into the pan. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from pan once cooked.
• Now to assemble the dish, in a serving bowl firs add cooked quinoa, then arrange all the sauteed vegetables next to one another. Finally place the fried egg on top and drizzle some Gochujang sauce on top.
• Serve immediately. On summer you can serve this dish cold and on a gloomy day serve it hot! It's delicious!

Nutrition

Calories: 450kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 163mg | Sodium: 103mg | Potassium: 806mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 4810IU | Vitamin C: 20.9mg | Calcium: 157mg | Iron: 4.6mg

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