Pseudo Bibimbap (Korean Mixed Rice) with Gohlee Gook (Oxtail Soup)

Probably one of the better known Korean meal-in-a-bowl is Bibimbap. In Korea, it's a lunchtime staple. It's healthy with a balance of protein found in egg and beef, mixed vegetables, and rice. I happen to love eating it - making it, not so much. To create the multi-colored vegetable mixture - of carrots, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, spinach, fiddleheads (gobi nameul) - is not a job easily done. I often liken it to a Herculean task. Each of the vegetables has to be washed, julienned and then individually sauteed and prepared so that you have 5 or 6 individual components to be placed on top. Not fun.

BUT - I have a fast version - that tastes good. It's not as DELICIOUS as the real version, but the pseudo version can be whipped up pretty quickly if you have a few things. If you've followed my suggestion about making extra bulgogi (Korean marinated thin sliced ribeye) when you marinate and then leaving it frozen - you have one component. (Beef Marinade) If you have followed my other suggestion of making additional gohlee gohm tang and put that in the freezer, you have another component. Then - all you need REALLY is to make the spinach nameul.

My kids love this - what I do is cook up the bulgogi, and then run my knife through it and chop it up into tiny pieces. Then I do the same for spinach. I put it on top of hot rice (our house is 50/50 brown and white) and a touch of sesame oil and a touch of soy sauce.

I mix it all together, and then serve it to the girls in their rice bowls.


Once they have this, they have their gohlee gook on the side, they have their complete meal.

For adults, just substitute gotchoojahng (Korean red pepper paste) for the soy, add sesame oil and mix for a treat.

Optional is a fried egg, sunny side up, served on top.

Happy Eating!