It's taken us a while to follow the lead of our neighbors and develop a sincere craving for gochujang and Korean cooking, but we're hooked now, thanks to this month's Incredible Edible.
Here's a word of caution. Don't be put off by the lengthy list of ingredients and the multiple steps and the many bowl involved in preparation. Several steps in creating this tasty dish can be prepared well in advance and then brought together at the last moment for a filling and satisfying meal.
Although the original recipe specifies shiitake mushrooms, we believe that a combination of recently collected fall mushrooms (boletes, pigs ears and cauliflower) were an amazing substitution for the shiitake, adding not only a variation in flavors but also in texture.
We made a couple of other changes: (1) Given our concern for foodborne illness, we replaced the bean sprouts (which are not thoroughly cooked in this dish) with small slices of red pepper which brought a nice touch of color to the pickles and (2) To please the seafood lover in our family, we incorporated chunks of cooked, large shrimp when stirring together the rice, vegetables and eggs.
Some of the puffballs that we processed this spring
might be interesting in this rice bowl if re-hydrated
and combined with fresh fall finds.
America's Test Kitchen's Korean Rice Bowl (Dolsot Bibimbap)
Pickles
1 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, seeded, and sliced thin on bias
4 ounces (2 cups) bean sprouts
Chile Sauce
1/4 cup gochujang
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
Rice
2 1/2 cups short-grain white rice
2 1/2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt
Vegetables
1/2 cup water
3 scallions, minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 carrots, peeled and shredded (2 cups)
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps sliced thin
10-ounce bag curly-leaf spinach, stemmed and chopped coarse
Bibimbap
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
4 large eggs
For the pickles: Whisk vinegar, sugar and salt together in medium bowl. Add cucumber and bean sprouts and toss to combine. Gently press on vegetables to submerge. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
For the chile sauce: Whisk gochujang, water, oil, and sugar together in small bowl. Cover and set aside.
For the rice: Bring rice, water, and salt to boil in medium saucepan over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 7 minutes. Remove rice from heat and let sit, covered, until tender, about 15 minutes.
For the vegetables: While the rice cooks, stir together water, scallions, soy sauce, garlic and sugar. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add carrots and stir until coated. Add 1/3 cup scallion mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until carrots are slightly softened and moisture has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer carrots to small bowl.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in now-empty pot until shimmering. Add mushrooms and stir until coated with oil. Add 1/3 cup scallion mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are tender and moisture has evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to second small bowl.
Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in now-empty pot until shimmering. Add spinach and remaining 1/3 cup scallion mixture and stir to coat spinach. Cook, stirring frequently, until spinach is completely wilted but still bright green, 1 to 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer spinach to third small bowl. Discard any remaining liquid and wipe out pot with paper towel.
For the bibimbap: Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and sesame oil in now-empty pot over high heat until shimmering. Carefully add cooked rice and gently press into even layer. Cook, without stirring, until rice begins to form crust on bottom of pot, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer carrots, spinach, and mushrooms to pot and arrange in piles that cover surface of rice. Reduce heat to low.
While crust forms, heat remaining 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in 10" nonstick skillet over low heat for 5 minutes. Crack eggs into small bowl. Pour eggs into skillet; cover and cook (about 2 minutes for runny yolks, 2 1/2 minutes for soft but set yolks, and 3 minutes for firmly set yolks). Slide eggs onto vegetables in pot.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons chile sauce over eggs. Without disturbing crust, use wooden spoon to stir rice, vegetables, and eggs until combined. Just before serving, scrape large pieces of crust from bottom of pot and stir into rice. Serve in individual bowls, passing pickles and extra chile sauce separately.