KoreaToday Surachai’s Recommendation: Bibimbap (Rice mixed with vegetables and beef)

Bibimbap is a dish made of cooked rice and various vegetables, beef, garnish and red pepper paste. It is said that the dish comes from the customs of memorial services at rural villages. It is very convenient to prepare, just put all the ingredients on top of the rice and mix them together with the red paper paste.

Ingredients

450 grams of non-glutinous rice, 600 grams of water, 300 grams of young pumpkin, 200 grams of skinned bellflower roots, 120 grams of beef (top round), 200 grams of soaked bracken, 2 eggs, 3 grams of kelp, 26 grams (2 tablespoons) of edible oil

Seasoning sauce: 18 grams (1 tablespoon) of soy sauce, 6 grams (0.5 tablespoon) of sugar, 9 grams (2 teaspoons) of minced green onion, 5.5 grams (1 teaspoon) of minced garlic, 2 grams of sesame salt, 0.3 gram of ground black pepper, 4 grams of sesame oil

Fried red pepper sauce: 95 grams of red pepper paste, 20 grams of minced beef, 9 grams of minced green onion, 5.5 grams of minced garlic, 90 grams of water, 18 grams of sugar, 19 grams of sesame oil

Preparation

1. Wash the rice, soak in water for 30 minutes, drain water in a strainer for 10 minutes.

2. Cut the young pumpkin into 5-6 centimeter long strips, 0.3-centimer wide, then shred into matchsticks, soak with salt for 10 minutes and wipe with cotton cloth. Shred bellflower roots into 5-6 centimeter long, 0.3-centimeter wide strips, add salt and hand mix before letting sit for 10 minutes; then

rinse. (photo 1)

3. Wipe blood off beef with cotton cloth, then cut into 6-centimeter long, and 0.3-centimeter wide strips. Wash the bracken, cut into 5-centimeter long strips. Season beef and bracken with seasoning sauce. (photo 2)

4. Stir and pan-fry egg garnish; shred into 5-centimeter long, 0.3-centimeter wide strips.

Recipe

1. Put rice and water in a pot and, heat for 4 minutes on high. When it boils, continue to boil for another 4 minutes then lower heat to medium before boiling for another 3 minutes. When the rice becomes soft, lower the heat to low, steam for 10 minutes to be well-done.

2. Preheat the frying pan and oil, stir-fry pumpkin on high heat for 30 seconds then remove and spread out to cool.

3. Preheat the frying pan and oil, stir-fry bellflower roots on medium heat for 5 minutes. (photo 3)

4. Preheat the frying pan and oil, stir-fry beef and bracken on medium heat for 3 minutes.

5. Pour edible oil into the pan, oil fry kelp on medium heat for 10 seconds.

6. Put the minced beef, green onion, garlic and half of the sesame oil in a pot, stir-fry them on medium heat for 2 minutes. Add red pepper paste, sugar and sesame oil, stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add water, stir for anther 3 minutes to make fried red pepper paste.

7. Serve steamed rice with prepared ingredients and fried red pepper paste on top. (photo 4)

* All images of the recipe are courtesy of ``The Beauty of Korean Food: With 300 Best-Loved Recipes,'' published by the Institute of Traditional Korean Food.