Kimchi bibimbap is a traditional Korean dish made with kimchi, mushrooms, roasted veggies, and a delicious gochujang sauce. This dish is kind of like a Buddha bowl and only requires 30 minutes to make!
Ahhh, kimchi bibimbap. One of my favorite dishes ever, bibimbap is a Korean dish that follows along with my current kimchi obsession.
What is bibimbap, exactly?
Basically, bibimbap is a rice dish with a bunch of veggies on top. You could probably say it’s a bit like stir fry, the main difference being that the vegetables aren’t necessarily sautéed. Instead, they’re sliced and diced and placed on top of the rice in their raw form (though you can sauté them if you want to).
Throw on some fried eggs, some marinated vegan bulgogi (the “beef” mushrooms), and gochujang sauce, and you’ve got yourself a bowl of vegetarian bibimbap.
Components to this vegetarian bibimbap
Each part of this recipe consists of vastly different ingredients. In total, it’s made up of three distinct sections: bulgogi, fillings, and gochujang sauce! Here is what’s required for each part of this recipe:
Mushroom Bulgogi: To make the mushroom bulgogi, we’ll start by marinating it in a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted sesame seed oil, garlic, and gochugaru flakes! This mixture combines flawlessly to create the tastiest mushrooms (…ever).
Fillings: Next, we have the fillings. The fillings make up the bulk of this recipe, so we’ll want to make sure they’re perfect! This recipe calls for white or brown rice (your preference), bean sprouts, kimchi (check out my homemade kimchi recipe for details), cucumbers, carrots, green onions, and eggs. You can really go crazy and add anything else you might want (this Thai Cucumber Salad or this Thai Cabbage Salad would be delish!)
Gochujang sauce: Finally, we have our gochujang sauce! This sauce is made up of a variety of liquids and seasonings. You’ll need gochugaru flakes, toasted sesame seed oil, sugar, water, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic. If you can’t find gochujang flakes in your grocery store, feel free to nix the gochujang sauce and use sriracha instead!
How to make mushroom bibimbap
Kimchi bibimbap has a lot of ingredients, but it’s pretty easy to put together. To make things easier, start by dividing your ingredients into the three sections as outlined above.
We’ll start by making the sauce and marinating the bolgogi. Then, we’ll cook the fillings, mushrooms, and eggs! That’s it. Here is how it’s done:
- Make the sauce: Begin by stirring together all of the gochujang sauce ingredients. If you have trouble finding gochugaru flakes, simply use sriracha instead of making this sauce.
- Prepare the bolgogi: Next, remove the mushroom stems, clean the caps with a wet paper towel, and cut them into ¼ inch slices. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining bulgogi ingredients. Toss to coat the mushrooms, and then set it aside to marinate.
- Cook the fillings: Cook the rice according to the instructions on the package. Prep the vegetables by chopping or slicing as needed.
- Cook the bolgogi: Next, cook the mushrooms in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes, flipping to evenly cook. They should be slightly softened and deep brown when finished.
- Fry the eggs: Fry the eggs sunny side up over medium heat. The whites should be firm, and the yolks runny.
- Assemble the bibimbap: Finally, portion the rice into 2 or 3 serving bowls, and top with the mushroom bulgogi, fillings, sauce, and a fried egg. Serve immediately.
More delicious bowl ideas to try
This dish is a truly hearty, filling bowl of goodness. I love “bowl” style recipes because they call for many different ingredients. More ingredients = more flavor, variety, and nutrition (usually)! If you liked this bibimbap, you’ll love these recipes too!
- 15 Minute Buddha Bowls
- Tomato Tuna Sushi Bowls
- Vegan Burrito Bowls
- Green Goddess Sushi Bowls
- Roasted Veggie Buddha Bowls
Ingredients
Gochujang Sauce (can sub sriracha)
- 4 Tbsp gochugaru flakes Korean red pepper, 15 g
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil 30 mL
- 2 Tbsp sugar 20 g
- 2 Tbsp water 30 mL
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar 15 mL
- 1 tsp soy sauce 5 mL
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Mushroom Bulgogi
- 4 portobello mushrooms
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce sub tamari for GF, 30 mL
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar 30 mL
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil can sub olive oil, 30 mL
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp gochugaru flakes can sub ½ tsp crush red pepper flakes
Fillings
- 1 cup uncooked rice white or brown, 200 g
- 1 cup bean sprouts 75 g
- 1 cup kimchi chopped, 200 g
- ½ cucumber diced
- 1 carrot julienne sliced or shredded
- 2 green onions chopped
- 3 eggs
Instructions
- Sauce: Stir together all Gochujang Sauce ingredients (if you have trouble finding gochugaru flakes, simply use sriracha instead of making this sauce).
- Bolgogi: Remove mushroom stems and clean caps with a wet paper towel. Cut into ¼ inch slices. In a small bowl, stir together remaining bulgogi ingredients. Toss to coat the mushrooms, and set aside to marinate.
- Fillings: Cook rice according to instructions on the package. Prep veggies, chopping or slicing as needed.
- Cook Bolgogi: Cook mushrooms in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes, flipping to evenly cook. They should be slightly softened and deep brown when finished.
- Fry Eggs: Fry eggs sunny side up over medium heat (so that whites are firm but yolks are runny).
- Assemble: Portion rice into 2 or 3 serving bowls. Top with mushroom bulgogi, fillings, sauce, and a fried egg. Serve immediately.
Tips & Tricks
- Add sautéed veggies, like spinach, zucchini, or eggplant
- Make it vegan by simply omitting the egg
- Take the rice a step further by making it crispy. Pack the cooked rice into a greased saute pan, then cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, not stirring during that time. The bottom of the rice should turn golden brown and a bit crispy!
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