Kitchen Venture #8: 'Bibimbap'

So it is about FOUR months since the last kitchen venture post. Since February and my kitchen experiments with cold soba, I have yet to actually cook or experiment in the kitchen since. No actually, since I moved in here, I don't cook very much. So I find ways to improvise and break the sandwich and cereal rut.

And somehow, I managed and survived. The life of a very lazy student. Lazy when it comes to feeding myself. And also I am impatient. Today doing groceries, I saw a frozen meal I wanted to get and then it said ready in 6.5 minutes, I thought that was too long to myself. Oh boy.

I am pretty easy going when it comes to food. I mean I like fine dining and I totally know what's the difference between for example, otoro and toro; woody undertones and fruity tones. Trust me, I eat enough to know and I am spoilt rotten by Daddy when I am home. Nevertheless, we can't always have good food. And thank god I can live on salads and stuff. But there are days I want something more.

Photo credits: mayydiaries.blogspot.com
It came to my attention (after a couple of years) that I can buy microwavable rice. Previously I don't cook rice at home nor do I own a rice cooker. I don't like rice that much unless its sushi or when I get the mood. OKAY, back to the above photo, it is my version of the Korean dish bibimbap which is a signature Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed meal." Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot. Vegetables commonly used in bibimbap include julienned cucumber, zucchini, mu (daikon), mushrooms, doraji (bellflower root), and gim, as well as spinach, soybean sprouts, and gosari (bracken fern stems). Dubu (tofu), either plain or sautéed, or a leaf of lettuce may be added, or chicken or seafood may be substituted for beef. For visual appeal, the vegetables are often placed so that adjacent colors complement each other.

I am not a fan of Korean cuisine as I have mentioned before but I make an exception for bibimbap because I love fresh raw vegetables and sunny side ups. So in my version, I use brown rice (microwavable ones if you are as lazy as I am). I shred cucumber, tomatoes, red onions and/or carrots or slice them into round shapes. Because those are my staple vegetables. So easy to eat them, no cooking involved and very minimal water rinsing.

After arranging them above the rice, I add baked beans or canned tuna or canned chicken or ham or pork floss. ANYTHING you like basically. You can be hardworking and fry up some minced meat and stuff. At most, you should put two of the items named in this paragraph. Because anymore would really be overkill to the rice.

After all that, you top it off with a suuny side up with a runny yolk. The yolk HAS to be runny so the rice and meat can properly soak it up when you break it. That's the best part as it adds a new level of flavour to the meal.

There, done in minutes and minimal waiting around for something to cook. As long as I am kept busy, I have no complaints. I really liked the dish being kept fresh with all the raw vegetables. Like a rice salad thing. And filled with my favourite food. You can definitely do it too. Such child's play! I would imagine a kid loading it up with M&M's and chocolate sauce or something HA HA HA.

Till my next kitchen venture, Mayy xo