Bibimbap (Korean Rice Bowl with Beef and Vegetables ...

Welcome to April’s serving of Have You Eaten? This month our chosen food is Bibimbap, also known as mixed rice. The name bibimbap breaks into two parts to describe the meal - bibim (비빔) meaning “to mix with various ingredients” and bap (밥) meaning “rice”. Bibimbap is a simple, homely yet hearty and relatively healthy meal. It is usually prepared with rice, whatever banchan (반찬 or side dishes) is at hand and mixed with some sauce to tie it all together, traditionally gochujang (고추장 or red chilli/pepper paste) is used.
A Brief History of Bibimbap
The true origin story of bibimbap’s creation is not actually known. There are a number of theories about when and where in history it first was created:

• Royal origins theory - It was originally a simple dish known as “sura” ( 수라 King’s meal) served during the Joseon dynasty when a light meal was required or when the royal family attended court.
• Peasant food theory - During harvest season farmers would take all their food combined in one bowl with them.
• Donghak uprising theory - During the uprising of 1894 the rebels were forced to mix their dishes together as there was a general lack of crockery to eat from.
• Eunbok theory - After the completion of ancestral rites people would take a portion of each dish into a bowl and mix them together.
• Lunar New Year theory - On the eve of the lunar new year ordinary people would take all the leftover food they had and mix it together with rice as it was considered necessary to get rid of all uneaten dishes before the new year began.

It is believed that the dish was originally known as “goldongban” which translates as “rice mixed vigorously” (also “hwaban” which means “flower blooming on top of rice”) and is recorded as early as the 17th century, with the earliest recipe being recorded in the Siuijeonseo. Some sources state this is the first in print mention of “bibimbap”, however, a study from 2015 argues against this.
In the late 1990’s Korea Air was the first airline to serve bibimbap as an inflight meal paving the way for it to become an internationally renowned signature dish of Korea. Since then the dish has grown in popularity on a global scale.
Now there are all sorts of modern takes on bibimbap from cup bibimbap, to easy microwavable bibimbap, to all sorts of bibimbap flavoured dishes, they have even developed it so that astronauts can fulfil their bibimbap cravings but none of these can beat the original form.
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Symbolism of Bibimbap
As a dish bibimbap is very symbolic. It is said to “symbolise the harmony and balance in Korean culture”. Additionally the individual colours of the ingredients are also symbolic following the principles of the five elemental colours (Obangsaek 오방색) each colour represents a body part, a position and an element.
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Colour	Body Part	Position	Element	Representative Ingredients in Bibimbap
Red (Orange)	Heart	South	Fire	Gochugang, Carrots, Chilli, Jujube
Black (Brown)	Kidneys	North	Water	Mushrooms, Seaweed, Beef
Blue (Green)	Liver	East	Tree	Cucumber, Spinach
Yellow	Stomach	Centre	Earth	Egg Yolk
White	Lungs	West	Metal	Rice, Bean Sprouts, Radish

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Varieties of Bibimbap
As mentioned above bibimbap is a dish which combines rice with a number of ingredients, the typical inclusions you will see are namul (sauteed seasoned vegetables 나물) and kimchi (김치). It may be topped with a protein (either cooked or raw) and/or an egg (either cooked or raw). Gochujang is typically added to bring everything together and add a kick. Other common additions include sesame oil, soy sauce, and doenjang (fermented soybean paste 된장).
Bibimbap is endlessly customisable to an individual’s taste, so I’ll just discuss a few of the main versions you can find. The names of the different variations of bibimbap generally stem from the location in which they originated, the type of dish in which they are served, or the type of protein featured in them.
Jeonju Bibimbap (전주비빔밥) - the most famous of all regional bibimbap varieties. In this version there are many different inclusions most importantly the rice is cooked in beef and bean sprout broth and one of the inclusions is bean sprouts grown in the area. This is typically served in a warm brass bowl.
Dolsot Bibimbap (hot stone pot bibimbap 돌솥 비빔밥) - this version of bibimbap is served in a hot stone pot
Yangpun Bibimbap (양푼비빔밥) - this version of bibimbap is served in a yangpun bowl (metal bowl).
Sanchae Bibimbap (bibimbap with wild vegetables 산채비빔밥 ) - this version of bibimbap is made using seasoned leafy greens and other wild root vegetables found in the mountains.
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Memorable Scenes in Korean Dramas Featuring Bibimbap
Bibimbap usually appears in a drama under one of the following circumstances:
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1. A character has reached a new low /is stressed out by life; they drown their sorrows in a big bowl of bibimbap usually whilst wearing their best tracksuit/in secret.
2. A character is too lazy to prepare a meal or has almost no food left to eat and they are starving
3. A lower class character is eating in front of a chaebol or higher class character and for some reason they have no ramen on hand (poor sheltered chaebols have never tried either of these foods, it’s pretty hilarious!)
4. A character needs to bond over food with someone they are not that close to. Bibimbap is best when shared out of a big metal bowl.

As this is the usual case it’s hard to think of too many super memorable scenes featuring bibimbap. Here are a few that I personally enjoyed:
In the first season of Let’s Eat Lee Soo Kyung’s mother comes to visit and prepares bibimbap as a meal and comments that it might not be good enough. Goo Dae Yeong replies that it is perfect as it is impossible to get the right taste when only making one portion. Apart from the horror of the eggshell in the frying pan that catches my eye every time I watch, this is a great mukbang scene which showcases the dish bibimbap and how it should be eaten well. It definitely made me want to try it out.
In the classic rom-com Full House, frustrated at waiting for Young Jae to come home, Ji Eun begins a late dinner of bibimbap. When he arrives home she offers him some only for him to tell her “that’s not bibimbap, that’s dog food!. No, I don’t eat things like that”. A few days later she catches him stuffing his face with bibimbap and has to help him alleviate his resulting indigestion. I really like how the scene where Rain prepares the bibimbap and stuffs his face is shot, so here’s an endless loop of it.
Bibimbap is a common feature in many family dramas as you see more of the characters day to day life which includes simple home meals like bibimbap. In the drama Smile, You, the family members were under strict rules for when and what they could eat and so there were a few sneaky bibimbap scenes along the way. In one of these scenes, in order to get Jung In to eat something after having not eaten all day Hyun Soo demands she make him some food. Reluctantly she prepares him some bibimbap which he rejects saying it is too salty and that she has to eat it all or she’ll dob her in for wasting food. The bibimbap she prepared was so-so but this scene was particularly nice as it highlighted the change in the leads relationship.
What bibimbap scenes are memorable for you?
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What Experiences Have you had Eating and Making Bibimbap?
Bibimbap is my mother’s absolute favourite Korean food, so I have extremely warm feelings about it because she gets adorably excited at the prospect of eating it every single time it comes up in conversation. I didn’t personally try it before my trip to Korea as it was something that was easy to find everywhere. My first time eating it was on my flight to Korea and it was so delicious I was mad at myself for choosing other dishes over it in the past.
I also ate it by the seaside after visiting Odeo island. I am not 100% sure what sea creature it was because my Korean is about as basic as my ability to identify sea creatures. I think it was possibly sea urchin, whatever it was it was pretty great.
As for cooking, I’ve made bibimbap a few times but I’m pretty lazy with the whole cooking the ingredients separately in order of darkness concept so I don't make it very often. My Korean Kitchen is my usual go to for Korean recipes. By some miracle I managed to find some gochujang at the supermarket today so I’m going to make this one for dinner tonight.
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What’s the Next Course?
Next month is KDRAMA’s 10th birthday so we will be celebrating in the traditional way with a bowl of Seaweed Soup (Miyeok guk 미역국) on the big day (Sunday 10th of May).
Until then we’d love to hear your experiences with bibimbap be it simply on screen envy or more in the comments below.
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Additional Bibimbap Material:

• Historical and Biological Aspects of Bibimbap a Korean Ethnic Food - The study which argues against the theories surrounding bibimbap's history
• Bibimbap Globalisation Foundation Story of Bibimbap - Origin of bibimbap, mentions in literature, and Jeonju Bibimbap information
• Visit Korea's page on Bibimbap - More regional varieties with pictures
• Stop eating it wrong - Bibimbap - For “correct eating technique” tips see this video (or just do your own thing - no judgement here).

Korean Bibimbap Recipe
A popular Korean rice dish, Bibimbap traditionally means mixing various ingredients with rice. It has many variations both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Here is a quick and easy recipe with chicken and prawns along with veggies and spices mixed with jasmine rice along with the famous gochujang sauce.
For more recipes, visit super suvai tamil recipes
For interesting cooking videos, visit super suvai tamil samayal

How to Make Korean Bibimbap

1.Heat oil, sauté ginger, add raw jasmine rice, sauté for 30 seconds, add 100 ml of chicken stock and cook it covered for 20 minutes.
2.Sauté all veggies (cut into Julienne), chicken and prawn separately with garlic, sesame oil and light soya, Crushed pepper.
3.Prepare the sauce by heating a wok with oil, add garlic, chilli paste and gochujang paste, add little chicken stock, and adjust seasoning as required.
4.Cook eggs, sunny side up.
5.Assemble by placing the rice in the stone bowl, topped with sautéed veg, chicken and prawns. Top with fried egg. Serve with gochujang sauce on side.
tags: #supersuvaitamil #supersuvaitamilrecipes #supersuvaitamilcooking

I went to a Korean restaurant with my sister the other day and got bibimbap..
Holy fuck
So good!! I need to eat this again and there's no Korean food places where I live
Can anyone supply me with a recipe? And how can I successfully cook it so I get that crunchy rice effect?
I'd rate myself with above average cooking skills, so throw whatever you got at me
Thanks :D