Jeonju Bibimbap (전주비빔밥, Jeonju Mixed Rice)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rice cooker or 2-liter heavy pot with a tight lid
• •Large pot for blanching
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •10-inch skillet
• •8 to 10 small mixing bowls
• •Sharp knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the rice

   Rinse the rice until the water runs mostly clear, then soak it in clean water for 30 minutes. Drain it in a sieve for 10 minutes. If you are using dried shiitake, soak them in warm water now too. Soaked, drained rice cooks evenly, and that matters here because the rice has to carry soybean-sprout water without turning wet.

2. 2

   Cook the sprouts

   Bring 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt to a boil. Add the soybean sprouts and boil uncovered for 6 minutes, stirring once, until they are crisp-tender. Boil uncovered the whole time; changing your mind halfway is how sprouts get that harsh smell. Lift the sprouts into a bowl and reserve the cooking water. Season the sprouts with 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. Taste one. It should be nutty and clean, not salty.

   Measure 2 cups of the soybean-sprout cooking water for the rice. If you are short, add plain water to reach 2 cups.
3. 3

   Cook the rice

   Put the drained rice in a rice cooker with 2 cups reserved soybean-sprout water and 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, then cook on the regular white-rice setting. For stovetop rice, bring the same mixture to a lively simmer in a heavy pot, cover tightly, reduce the heat to low, cook 15 minutes, then rest off the heat 10 minutes. The sprout water puts Jeonju's flavor inside the rice, not just on top of it.

4. 4

   Mix the sauce

   Stir together the gochujang, rice syrup, pear juice, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, rice vinegar if using, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. The sauce should loosen enough to fold through rice but still sit on a spoon. Start each bowl with 1 tablespoon sauce. If the first bite tastes only of gochujang, the sauce has swallowed the dish.

5. 5

   Season the spinach

   Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds, then rinse under cold water and squeeze firmly until no water drips when you press it. Cut into 2-inch lengths. Season in its own bowl with 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. Spinach carries water like a sleeve carries rain, so squeeze it well or it will loosen the whole bowl.

6. 6

   Cook the gosari

   Heat 1 teaspoon neutral oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the gosari, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 3 tablespoons water. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, turning often, until the stems are tender and the liquid is almost gone. Finish with 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. Bracken needs soy and time; if you rush it, it stays woody.

7. 7

   Cook the doraji

   Rub the doraji with 1 tablespoon coarse salt for 1 minute, then rinse twice and squeeze dry. Heat 1 teaspoon neutral oil in the skillet. Add the doraji, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, and 2 tablespoons water. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the bitterness softens but the root still has a little snap. Finish with 1 teaspoon sesame oil.

8. 8

   Cook zucchini and carrot

   Toss the julienned zucchini with 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt and let it stand 10 minutes, then squeeze lightly. Cook it in 1 teaspoon neutral oil over medium heat for 2 minutes, just until glossy and flexible, then finish with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil. Wipe the pan. Cook the carrot separately with 1 teaspoon neutral oil and 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt for 2 minutes, then finish with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil. The knife work stays visible after mixing, so cut carefully.

9. 9

   Cook mushrooms and beef

   Cook the shiitake first: heat 1 teaspoon neutral oil, add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon sugar, and stir-fry 3 minutes. Finish with 1 teaspoon sesame oil and move them to their own bowl. Mix the beef with 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and the black pepper. Heat 1 teaspoon neutral oil and cook the beef 2 to 3 minutes, just until browned. Jeonju restaurants often serve yukhoe (raw seasoned beef), but at home you cook it unless the beef was sold specifically for raw eating.

10. 10

    Dress the muk

    If using hwangpo-muk, dress it gently with 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds. Use open fingers, not chopsticks, because mung bean jelly breaks if you toss it hard. If using pasteurized egg yolks, keep them cold until assembly. If using fried eggs, cook them now, with the yolks still soft if your table likes them that way.

11. 11

    Arrange the bowls

    Fluff the hot rice and divide it among 4 wide bowls. Arrange the soybean sprouts, spinach, gosari, doraji, zucchini, carrot, shiitake, beef, and hwangpo-muk in separate arcs over the rice. Set an egg yolk or fried egg in the center. Add gim strips if using, 1 tablespoon gochujang sauce per bowl, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil per bowl, and a final scatter of sesame seeds. The separation is not decoration. It lets each ingredient speak before the spoon brings them together.

12. 12

    Fold and serve

    At the table, fold the bowl from the bottom with a spoon until the rice, vegetables, beef, egg, and sauce are evenly joined. Do not pound it into paste. Taste, then add up to 1 teaspoon more sauce if the bowl needs it. Bibimbap means mixed rice, yes, but it should still taste like rice, sprouts, greens, roots, mushrooms, and beef. 손맛 is real; I measure it anyway, so the next bowl does not have to be guessed back into being.

Chef Tips

• •Use more small bowls than you think you need. Each namul is seasoned alone because spinach, sprouts, bracken, roots, mushrooms, and beef do not want the same hand. Season them as a crowd and they all go dull.
• •Water-packed gosari and peeled doraji make this possible in a home kitchen. Dried gosari is excellent, but it needs soaking and simmering ahead until tender; do not expect it to soften in the bibimbap pan.
• •Hwangpo-muk is one of Jeonju bibimbap's signs. If you cannot find it, plain cheongpo-muk (mung bean jelly) is closer than tofu. Better a missing ingredient than the wrong texture pretending to belong.
• •Raw yukhoe belongs to many Jeonju restaurant bowls, but only with beef handled for raw eating from the butcher onward. Cooked seasoned beef is the honest home version, and it keeps the structure of the dish intact.
• •Cook the month you're standing in. In spring, minari (water dropwort) can join the bowl; in summer, a little cucumber is welcome; in autumn, mushrooms can be more generous. Keep the separate seasoning and the five-color balance.

Advance Preparation

• •The gochujang sauce can be mixed up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated. Stir before using, because sesame oil rises.
• •The spinach, gosari, doraji, mushrooms, and beef can be cooked 1 day ahead and kept in separate containers. Bring them to room temperature before assembling so they do not chill the rice.
• •Cook the rice the day you serve it. If you must use leftover rice, sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons soybean-sprout water, cover, and reheat until soft before assembling.
• •Cut and dress hwangpo-muk close to serving. It dries at the edges and breaks when handled too much.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 625g)