Recipe: BibimBap

Excuse the night-time photo. This BiBimBap from Ivy's Kitchen was a ton of work. But it is absolutely delicious. I should have tripled the recipe, instead of doing a single batch. What was I thinking?

Ingredients

For the beef bulgogi:

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 8 oz mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp mirin
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp neutral oil for the pan

For the veggies:

• 1 bag shredded carrots
• 2 zucchini, julienned
• 10 oz fresh spinach
• 12 oz bean sprouts
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp toasted sesame oil (divided)
• Salt to taste
• Toasted sesame seeds

For the bibimbap sauce:

• 6 Tbsp gochujang
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp sweetener
• 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 2-3 Tbsp water to thin

Everything else:

• 4 cups uncooked short grain rice (about 6 cups cooked)
• 6 eggs

Directions

1. Cook the rice with slightly less water than usual. Let it cool while cooking everything else.
2. Make the sauce: Whisk the [gochujang], rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, soy sauce, and grated garlic in a jar. Add water a tablespoon at a time until it's pourable but still clings to a spoon. It keeps up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
3. Make the jammy eggs. Lower 6 eggs into boiling water, boil for 7 minutes, then shock in ice water. Peel once cool and keep them whole.
4. Blanch the bean sprouts in salted boiling water for 1-2 minutes, drain, and squeeze out the excess water. Toss with 1 tbsp sesame oil, a minced garlic clove, salt, and sesame seeds.
5. Blanch the spinach in the same pot for 30s, shock in cold water, and squeeze it dry. Toss with 1 tbsp sesame oil, a minced garlic clove, salt, and sesame seeds.
6. Sauté the carrots in a drizzle of oil for 2-3 minutes with a pinch of salt, until just softened. Remove, then do the same with the zucchini and the last garlic clove, about 3 minutes. Crisp/tender is the goal.
7. Make the beef bulgogi. Mix the ground beef with the mushrooms, soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and pepper. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high, sauté the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes, then add the beef. Spread it flat and lcrisp it for 3-4 minutes so the bottom caramelizes, then break it up and cook until the liquid is mostly gone and the beef is glossy, about 5 more minutes.
8. Assemble. Rice in each container, then arrange the beef and veggies on top. Pack the eggs whole and the sauce in little containers on the side.