This authentic bibimbap dolsot is just as good as it is in the restaurant! For a homemade version, use a cast iron skillet instead of a dolsot pan.
This recipe was reprinted with permission from A Common Table by Cynthia Chen McTernan.
“If I had to choose one meal for the rest of my life, it would be bibimbap.” It’s Cynthia Chen McTernan in her new book A shared table. And we couldn’t agree more. Alex and I first ate dolsot bibimbap at a Korean restaurant here in Indianapolis, in steaming stone bowls. The combination of hearty veggies, eggs and crispy rice was out of this world! We’ve been addicted ever since. Would you like to learn how to make bibimbap at home? Continue reading.
What is bibimbap?
Bibimbap is a Korean rice dish: it’s a bowl of hot white rice topped with spiced vegetables. It sounds easy until you add the spicy gochujang, Korean chili paste, and a fried egg. The plus: you mix the dish just before consumption! This melds all of the pungent marinated and fermented flavors of the veggies with the creamy yolk. It really is one of the most magical experiences. Once you’ve had it, you’ll sing its praises.
So what is dolsot bibimbap?
so what dolsot Bibimbap? When ordering a “dolsot” style bibimbap, the dolsot is a hot stone bowl in which the bibimbap is served. The dolsot makes the rice crispy and takes the whole dish to a whole new level. Our tip for you: If the Dolsot Bibimbap is an option, Always order the Dolsot version! You will not be disappointed.
How to make bibimbap: some tips
The bibimbap is the ultimate meal bowl! Since there are so many components, it takes a little time to prepare. Allow at least 1 hour to prepare the bibimbap. You will find that the time was definitely worth it as the blend of textures and flavors is simply stunning. Here are the main components for the bibimbap:
- Make the rice. Short-grain white rice is the most traditional. Get started and move on to the rest of the meal.
- Fry each vegetable individually. Check out the recipe below for Cynthia’s easy method of seasoning with salt and sesame seeds. You can use many different veggies, but we prefer the mix she chose. Spinach, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, and onions are perfect.
- Do the gochujang Sauce. The sauce here takes over! The opening only takes a few minutes.
- Fry the rice (optional). Cooking the rice in a cast iron skillet crisps it up and makes it a dolsot bibimbap!
- Fry the eggs. Fry the eggs just before serving.
This recipe is unbelievable! It was so delicious we made it again for dinner. It’s great for entertaining because it’s so customizable. We made this recipe as a vegetarian bibimbap, but the recipe in the book also includes beef bulgogi.
Make bibimbap dolsot: with a cast iron skillet!
Well, if you want to overdo your bibimbap… make it a dolsot bibimbap! Alex and I thought we had to have a dolsot pan to make dolsot bibimbap at home. Bad! Using Cynthia’s recipe from A Common Table, You can use a cast iron skillet to make the rice crispy! It was a game changer for us. It takes about 15 minutes for the bottom to be golden and crispy, but it’s definitely worth it.
Gochuyang is essential.
Be sure to find gochujang in your grocery store! Getting that signature flavor into the gochujang sauce used to flavor the whole dish is absolutely essential. Cynthia’s gochujang sauce recipe contains gochujang, honey, soy, and toasted sesame seeds. Preparing the gochujang sauce makes it easy to baste the whole bowl. To cut the time a bit, you can just add a spoonful of gochujang yourself: however, this makes it mostly spicy and lacks the salty and sweet components.
Q&A with the author: A common table
Cynthia Chen is the author of the food blog Two Red Bowls, where she shares recipes and her life as an avocado and mom. her new cookbook, a common table, is a work of art. Her photos elegantly capture imaginative cuisine, and her recipes? Well, let’s just say this Dolsot bibimbap has quickly become a fan favorite in our house! Here’s an exclusive Q&A with Cynthia about the book!
Her book is called A Table Together: What Does It Mean?
Cynthia: At its core, the book is an account of my little family and the things that make us who we are. So the Table Together is an intersection between my Chinese background and my Southern childhood, my husband’s Korean-Irish heritage and his Hawaiian childhood, and the places we have met since we started a family together. I wanted to put together a collection of our must-haves and favorite dishes from each of these cuisines, but also something that shows they have more in common than meets the eye.
As one description of your book states, “The food we eat is rarely the product of any culture or time, but is richly intertwined”. What is an example of this?
Cynthia: One dish that I think has a complex and interesting background is shakshuka. Not only are there iterations throughout the Middle East, but also its Italian cousin, Purgatory Eggs (which I play around with a bit in the book!). The same basic combination can be found in other places, like Huevos Rancheros and even scrambled eggs and Chinese tomatoes. It’s crazy to think that when I sit down in a restaurant and order a dish like shakshuka, something happens to me that often has such a rich history that I can’t begin to understand. And he also has something in common with other cultures he doesn’t come from.
You mention if you could eat one food forever it would be dolsot bibimbap. What makes Bibimbap Dolsot so special?
Cynthia: I have very fond memories of bibimbap because it was one of the first dishes my mother-in-law taught me when I met my husband. But really, I love the fact that I never get tired of it. It’s so balanced – it’s got all kinds of veggies, granola, protein, but also all kinds of textures and flavors. There’s the sweetness of the carrot and onion and the bulgogi marinade, the flavor of the beef and egg and nori, the sweet, smoky spice of the gochujang, and the crunch when you make it a la dolsot. (Plus, I love that it’s pretty much made for a party where you can mix and match what you put in!)
Thank you Cynthia for sharing the recipes of your common cultures with the world!
Get the book
Order A Common Table by Cynthia Chen McTernan here!
This bibimbap dolsot recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten free.
The description
This authentic bibimbap dolsot is just as good as it is in the restaurant! For a homemade version, use a cast iron skillet instead of a dolsot pan.
For the dolsot bibimbap
- 4 at 6 tablespoons vegetable oil (we used grapeseed oil)
- 2 cups carrots, cut into strips (approx 4 medium carrots)
- 2 cups julienne zucchini (2 at 4 Zucchini)
- 2 cups chopped onions (1 at 2 onions)
- 2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce or more to taste
- 3 at 4 toasted sesame, divided
- 5 at 6 Cups of packaged shredded spinach leaves
- 1 tbsp minced garlic 2 to 3 cloves)
- 2 at 4 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
- 8th at ten cups cooked short-grain white rice (try our instant pot or stovetop method)
- 4 at 6 Big Eggs (1 per person)
- Roasted shredded seaweed (nori) for serving
- Gochujang or gochujang sauce to serve
For the gochujang sauce (optional)
- ½ cup gochuyang
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy pasture
- 2 tablespoons Honey
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame
- To cook the vegetables, sauté each variety separately: In a large nonstick skillet, heat about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables, season generously with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until tender. Carrots take about 3-4 minutes, zucchini 1-2 minutes, onions 5-7 minutes and mushrooms 5-7 minutes. You can add a touch of soy sauce to the mushrooms if you like. When each vegetable is cooked, remove and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, then set aside.
- Boil water in a teapot. Place the spinach in a colander and pour water over the spinach until it is light green and tender. Drain and rinse immediately to stop cooking, then toss the spinach with 1 tbsp garlic, 1-2 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tsp sesame seeds, 1 tsp soy sauce, salt and pepper. Taste and season as needed. Put aside.
- Finally, in a large cast-iron skillet, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons sesame oil over low heat. When the oil is hot, add the rice to the pan and gently spread into an even layer. Cook, without stirring, for about 15 minutes, allowing the rice to crackle very slightly until the bottom layer of rice forms a golden, crispy crust.
- Stir in the gochujang sauce, if you like (you can serve just gochujang, but we enjoyed it with the sauce!). Thin the sauce with a little water if needed (our gochujang was pretty runny so we didn’t have to do this step).
- Fry the Eggs: In a medium non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium-low heat. Gently crack the eggs into the pan and cook, without stirring, until the whites are set and opaque, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Divide the rice among 6 large shallow bowls, followed by the vegetables, eggs and a handful of grilled seaweed on top. Serve with gochujang sauce (or gochujang sauce) on top or on the side.
Remarks
This recipe was reprinted with permission from A Common Table by Cynthia Chen McTernan.
- Category: main course
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: Korean
Keywords: Dolsot Bibimbap, Bibimbap Recipe, Korean, Vegetarian Bibimbap, Dolsot Pan, How To Make Bibimbap, Vegetarian Gluten Free
More dinner recipes
This Bibimbap Dolsot is a delicious vegetarian recipe that’s perfect for dinner with friends! Here are some other dinner recipes on A Couple Cooks:
Last update: June 2020
