Meat mains
Chicken Bibimbap Bowl
‘Bibimbap’ is Korean for ‘mixed rice’. The dish can be meat or vegetarian and consists of lots of different things (often leftovers) served with rice for mixing and eating together. It’s become rather beloved of the Instagrammers, as it’s so colourful. You can change the veg based on the seasons and use a mix of raw or lightly cooked as you see fit. The chicken is easily swapped out for firm tofu if you want a vegetarian version. Eating a wide variety of colourful veg is great for gut health, if you can add something live and fermented into the mix, such as kimchi, occasionally, all the better.
Ingredients
main
- 125g brown basmati rice
- 2 handfuls of finely shredded red cabbage
- 1 carrot, peeled into thin ribbons
- 150g shiitake mushrooms, roughly torn
- 250g chicken breast, cut into thin stir-fry strips
- 50g broccoli sprouts
- 100g kimchi
- ½ tsp black onion seeds
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- chilli flakes – add to taste
- 2 eggs - optional
for the sauce:
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 2cm piece of ginger, finely grated
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tbsp of gochujang paste or sriracha sauce
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Method
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Step 1
Boil a kettle. Rinse the rice in a sieve. Transfer to a medium saucepan and add a couple of pinches of salt. Cover well with boiled water. Boil for 20-25 mins, until tender with a little bite, while you prep your veg.
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Step 2
To make the sauce, mix the garlic and ginger in a small bowl with the vinegar, tamari, gochujang paste, and sesame oil.
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Step 3
Lightly season the chicken with salt. When the rice has about 5 mins left to cook, heat 1 tbsp of plain oil in a frying pan. Stir-fry the chicken and mushrooms on a high heat for 3-4 minutes, then add the sauce and stir-fry for 30 secs. Remove from the heat.
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Step 4
Drain the rice, pressing it well to remove excess moisture. Divide between 2 bowls. Arrange the chicken, mushrooms, cabbage, carrot, and broccoli sprouts on top. Finish with some kimchi, and garnish with the black onion and sesame seeds. Add some dried chilli flakes to your taste if you want more heat. It is common to serve this dish finished with a fried egg, the choice is yours.