Dak-bibimbap (닭비빔밥, Pyongan Chicken Bibimbap)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4 to 5 quart pot for simmering chicken
• •Rice cooker or heavy lidded pot
• •Fine sieve
• •Wide skillet
• •Mixing bowls for separate namul

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the rice

   Rinse the rice until the water runs mostly clear, then soak it in fresh water for 20 minutes while you start the chicken. Drain it well. Soaking gives the grains time to cook evenly in broth, and this bowl needs rice that is tender but still separate enough to mix.

2. 2

   Simmer the chicken

   Put the chicken, 8 cups water, onion, smashed garlic, ginger, scallion whites, peppercorns, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a pot. Bring it just to a boil, skim the gray foam, then lower to a steady simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, until the thickest piece of chicken reaches 74 C or 165 F. Hard boiling clouds the broth and tightens the meat, so keep it quiet.

3. 3

   Strain and shred

   Lift out the chicken and let it cool until your hands can handle it. Strain the broth through a fine sieve and keep it warm. Pull the chicken into thin shreds along the grain, not chunky pieces, because dak-bibimbap should mix through the rice without fighting the spoon.

4. 4

   Season the chicken

   In its own bowl, season the shredded chicken with 1 tablespoon soup soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon crushed sesame seeds, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 tablespoon sliced scallion, and the black pepper. Taste one strand. It should be savory and clean, not salty enough to carry the whole bowl by itself. Notebook 41 says this is where people over-season, because the meat looks plain. Leave room for the rice and namul.

5. 5

   Cook broth rice

   Put the drained rice in a rice cooker or heavy pot with 2 1/4 cups strained chicken broth and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook as you normally cook short-grain rice, then rest it covered for 10 minutes before fluffing. Save the remaining broth for serving at the table. Rice cooked in chicken broth is the quiet backbone of this dish; plain rice works, but the bowl loses some of its depth.

6. 6

   Season the sprouts

   Bring a small pot of water to a boil with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the mung bean sprouts and boil 2 minutes, then drain well without rinsing. While still warm, season them in their own bowl with 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/2 minced garlic clove, 1 teaspoon crushed sesame seeds, and a small pinch of salt. Warm sprouts take seasoning better, and they should stay pale and crisp.

7. 7

   Cook dark namul

   Heat 1 tablespoon neutral oil in a skillet. Add the gosari, 1 teaspoon soup soy sauce, 1 minced garlic clove, and 2 tablespoons chicken broth, then cook 4 to 5 minutes until the fernbrake is tender and seasoned through. Move it to its own bowl and finish with 1 teaspoon sesame oil. In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon neutral oil and cook the shiitake with 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce for 2 to 3 minutes, just until glossy and softened. Keep the mushroom separate. Season them as a crowd and they all taste the same.

8. 8

   Prepare cucumber and egg

   Toss the julienned cucumber with 1/4 teaspoon salt and let it stand 10 minutes, then squeeze it gently and season with 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon crushed sesame seeds. For the jidan (thin egg garnish), beat the yolks with a pinch of salt and the whites with a pinch of salt in separate bowls. Wipe a skillet lightly with oil and cook each into a very thin sheet over low heat, then cool and cut into fine threads. Separating the colors is not vanity; it keeps the bowl clear and cared for.

9. 9

   Mix the jang

   Stir together the remaining 3 tablespoons regular soy sauce, 2 tablespoons chicken broth, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1 minced garlic clove, 2 tablespoons sliced scallion, and the remaining crushed sesame seeds. This is the table sauce, yangnyeom ganjang (seasoned soy sauce). Add 1 tablespoon per bowl first, then more only after mixing. 손맛 is real; I measure it anyway, so the next cook gets the same gentle bowl.

10. 10

    Assemble and serve

    Divide the warm broth rice among four wide bowls. Arrange the seasoned chicken, sprouts, gosari, shiitake, cucumber, yellow and white jidan, and gim threads in separate piles over the rice. Spoon 1 tablespoon yangnyeom ganjang over each bowl and let each person mix at the table, adding more sauce only as needed. Serve the remaining hot chicken broth in small bowls on the side with a few scallion slices. Do not add gochujang to the bowl. If someone insists, put it on the side and let the dish keep its own name.

Chef Tips

• •Cooked gosari from the refrigerator case is the weeknight choice. Dried gosari is good, but it needs soaking and boiling before this recipe begins, so make it a separate day unless you enjoy turning dinner into a committee meeting.
• •If you must shorten the chicken step, use unsalted homemade or good store-bought chicken broth and plain poached chicken breast or thigh. A rotisserie chicken is too salty and too strongly seasoned for this bowl.
• •Gukganjang (Korean soup soy sauce) seasons the chicken and gosari cleanly. If you do not have it, use regular soy sauce and reduce the added salt, then taste. Regular soy is darker and sweeter, so use a little less before deciding.
• •Keep the sauce mild. Dak-bibimbap should taste of chicken broth and sesame oil first, soy second. Gochujang belongs to many good bowls, just not this one.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken and broth can be made up to 2 days ahead. Store the shredded chicken and broth separately, covered and refrigerated, then warm the broth before cooking the rice.
• •The gosari and shiitake can be seasoned 1 day ahead. The sprouts and cucumber are best made the day you serve, because their clean crunch is part of the dish.
• •The yangnyeom ganjang can be mixed up to 3 days ahead, but add the sliced scallion on the day of serving so it stays fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 650g)