I went to a Korean restaurant with my friends Jade and Scott a while back and, not knowing much about Korean food, couldn’t bring myself to eat anything other than chicken teriyaki.  I kept eyeballing Jade’s bibimbap because if it weren’t for the meat, this seemed like a dish I would totally be all over: rice, veggies, chili paste, egg, yum!  So when I came across this vegetarian version, California-Style Bibimbap, I stared in disbelief – could it be true?  I was all over it.

Bibimbap is a signature Korean dish usually made with beef but this version takes the beef out and instead uses spinach (or kale), peppers, and avocado.  The spinach and pepper are sautéed until the spinach is wilted and the pepper is slightly soft and spooned over fluffy jasmine rice (hello…a new fave, even if it is a dreaded white rice).  Fresh avocado is added and an egg (either fried or over-easy) tops the dish.  The whole bowl is then dressed with a sesame oil-soy sauce mixture and dotted (or splattered if you so incline) with hot and spicy sriracha.  I cannot even begin to tell you how obsessed with this dish I am.  I plan on making tons of (non-traditional) variations of this using broccoli, carrots, celery, bok choy, mushrooms, asparagus or chicken in the future.  I made this on Sunday, texted Jade a picture right away, and continued to eat it all day long.  It’s no wonder that I couldn’t get Hanson’s “MMMBop” out of my head all day.

The ingredients (I forgot the avocado):

Put rice and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook rice until water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, heat grapeseed oil in a large nonstick frying pan. Cook kale, bell pepper, and garlic with salt over medium heat until kale is wilted, 3 to 5 minutes.

 

Divide rice among 4 bowls and top with vegetable mixture and avocado.  Fry eggs in the same pan until done the way you like. Slide each egg into a bowl.

 

Mix sesame oil and soy sauce and drizzle over bowls.

 

Drizzle with Sriracha or sprinkle with togarashi.

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Sunset Magazine