RECIPE - Vegetarian/Vegan Bibimbap (with tempeh)
- Mr T
- Apr 20, 2020
- 5 min read
This isn't going to win any 'authenticity' awards from any Koreans out there, but to my uneducated palate it certainly hit the spot! It also contains SO many ingredients, that I really implore you not to follow this recipe to the letter and truly make it your own with what you have in the fridge/enjoy eating! There are only a couple of things I consider 'essential'. Admittedly, this relies on a couple of 'store bought/processed' items to achieve its 'authentic' taste, and it is heavier on the salt than I usually like.... but we can't always be perfect and some things are just WAY too much effort to make from scratch, right?!
This dish is so complex and delicious in flavour and is a really impressive crowd-pleaser, but at the same time SO easy to make!
Shopping list (makes approx 12 meals):
Essential items:
Daikon 1/2 - could use cucumbers instead of/as well, I guess
Carrot x2
Beansprouts x2 bags
Spinach x2 packs
Kimchi x1 800g tub - check contents if you are vegan
Sesame seeds / shichimi sesame seed furikake mix
Eggs x12 (or however many meals) - for me, eggs are essential to finish the bibimbap, but can easily not be added if you are keeping this vegan
Non-Essential items/items you can substitute for your favourites/what you have:
Tempeh 500g - hard to find. You can bake tofu, or just leave out if you are avoiding soy
Aubergine x3
Shitake mushrooms x1 large pack
Nagai negi/leeks x2
Broccoli x1 or 2 heads
Courgette x2
Lime x1
BROWN rice (better bite), sesame oil, soy-sauce or tamari (for a gluten free option), chilli of some description (flakes / sauce), garlic, white/rice vinegar, sweetener (maple syrup/honey/sugar), shichimi, salt & pepper - these are all things I have in my cupboard permanently, so don't obviously shop for them every time, but you need all these items.
The tempeh was the most expensive ingredient on this list, but I don't often get it, so wanted to give it a go. It was around 500/600yen for a 250g pack, so two of them were over 1000yen (found in an awesome Halal shop I discovered near Yoyogi-Uehara - Tokyo Camii Halal Shop). The rest of the fresh items listed above cost me around 2700yen from 'Niku no Hanamasa' near Yoyogi-Koen. As you are only using small amounts of each thing to build your bibimbaps, this can make a lot of meals! I got around 12 meals out of this which fed me, lunch & dinner, for the working-week and into the weekend! That's around 300yen per tasty, nutrient dense, hearty, filling meal!
Method
Brown rice:
Wash and cook your rice in the normal way in your rice cooker.
This will be thing that takes the longest to cook out of everything, so get it on first.
*** As I said, I recommend BROWN rice for this dish, as it adds more 'bite'. Bibimbap is usually served in a sizzling stone bowl which continues to cook everything and actually crisps up the rice giving it a nice bite/crunch. As most people cannot replicate this at home, I think brown rice adds a nicer texture and taste than white rice, for this dish. ***
Marinated baked tempeh:
Chop your tempeh into bite sized cubes and steam for 10mins - this makes it tender and better for soaking up marinade.
While the tempeh is steaming, in a sealable tupperware, mix together 1/4 cup tamari/soy-sauce, 2tbsps rice/white vinegar, 2tbsps maple syrup/honey/sugar, 1tbsp sesame oil, 1tsp of chilli & a good grind of pepper.
Once steamed, place the tempeh into the marinade and leave for a minimum of 30mins.
After marinating, pre-heat the oven to 220°C and place marinated cubes on a baking sheet lined tray.
Bake for 10mins, remove and brush more marinade over and then bake for a further 10mins, or until edges begin to char slightly.
*** If you are roasting any vegetables, then plan to get them in the oven at the same time on the free shelf to be efficient with your energy/cooking time ***
Roast vegetables:
*** Remember, these items are optional, use what you have/like to eat. ***
Wash & chop your broccoli and courgettes into bite sized pieces and place in a bowl.
Mine a garlic clove or two and add to the vegetables.
Drizzle over a bit of sesame oil, tamari/soy-sauce, shichimi & a good grind of pepper. Mix together with your hands.
Place vegetables on a baking sheet lined tray.
Pre-heat the oven to 220°C (maybe you are roasting these with the tempeh/tofu) and roast for 20mins or until the edges are slightly charred. Remove once, halfway through, to turn the vegetables.
Pickled vegetables:
Wash & chop your carrots and daikon into thin matchsticks.
Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of salt & 2 teaspoons of sugar in 2/3 cup of warm water.
Add this mixture to a sealable tupperware box and add 2/3 cup of rice/white vinegar.
Add the daikon & carrot matchsticks to this mixture and leave to soak. Once cool, put on lid and put in refrigerator for at least 30mins before eating.
Sauté vegetables:
*** Remember, these items are optional, use what you have/like to eat. ***
Wash & chop your aubergine, shitake mushrooms & nagai-negi into bite sized pieces.
Mine a garlic clove or two.
Heat a good lug of sesame oil in a wok/large frying pan until it begins to smoke.
Add garlic and nagai-negi and stir-fry for a minute or two on a high heat.
Add the aubergine and mushrooms and continue to stir fry for a few more minutes until the sesame oil looks absorbed and the vegetables have begun to colour.
Drizzle over a bit of tamari/soy-sauce, rice/white vinegar, a sweetener, a bit of chilli & a good grind of pepper.
Remove from the heat as soon as soaked up/evaporated.
Soft boil eggs:
*** Helps make a delicious 'sauce'/adds a richness to the finished dish, which I love, but can be left out to make this dish vegan. ***
Boil eggs for three and a half minutes.
Immediately plunge eggs into ice water after boiling (helps with peeling).
For best results, cook just before serving and break/peel the shell very delicately to be careful not to split the very soft egg inside.
Other items/vegetables:
*** The rest does not need cooking and just needs adding to your bowl when building and serving your bibimbap. ***
Chop & wash your spinach, spin in a salad spinner and box up in the fridge for serving raw. Some may like to sauté this, which is completely fine, but I like to use the heat of the rice/microwaving to just make it wilt slightly.
Wash your beansprouts, spin in a salad spinner and box up in the fridge for serving raw.
Kimichi - no prep needed. Serve from fridge when building bibimbap.
Slice your lime into wedges for squeezing over the top when building bibimbap.
Sesame seed/furikake - no prep needed. Sprinkle on top when building bibimbap.
Building/Serving your Bibimbap:
To start, I like to put a handful of the raw chopped spinach in the base of the bowl. On top of this I put the steaming hot rice, to begin to wilt it. To achieve that 'authentic' look, it is good to place the remaining items, each in their own 'segment' on top of the rice. Finish with the egg in the middle, a squeeze of lime over everything and a sprinkling of sesame seeds/furikake. The eater then has the joy of splitting that soft-boiled egg and mixing everything together into one glorious, delicious mess!
Building/serving your bibimbap, may look something like this:
Doesn't it just MAKESENSE to increase your fermented/pickled food intake to improve your gut health and boost your immunity? This Korean favourite contains three fermented/pickled items (tempeh, kimchi & homemade pickles) and a HUGE variety of vegetables! Yes, it cheats a little with a few store-bought items and has a little too much salt, but doesn't it also MAKESENSE to give yourself a break every now and then and allow a little naughtiness in what is otherwise a very healthy meal!
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