All too often, comfort food and healthy don't go together, but this vegetarian bibimbap is an exception. It's a delicious bowl of goodness, packed with a rainbow of vegetables and here made with brown rice.

vegetarian bibimbap in bowl with vegetables in piles on top

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I've been meaning to make bibimbap for such a long time, and I'm not really sure why it has taken me so long. Especially after I got a bit of a taste for Korean food when I made hoedeopbap, Korean sashimi rice bowl, but somehow it still took a while.

But now I've made this vegetarian bibimbap, I know I need to make a meat version soon, as well as this again.

mixed vegetarian bibimbap in skillet from side

What is bibimbap?

Bibimbap is a Korean dish that means 'mixed rice' as it is literally rice with lots of things mixed in. You can vary the additions to taste, but they usually include a few different vegetables, and meat and/or egg in many cases, and some spicy sauce to bring it all together.

Even the sauce comes in more than one form, but typically it is a sauce made with gochujang, a spicy red pepper paste.

The first time I came across bibimbap was in London years ago when Korean food was fairly new there, so it was a bit of a novelty. I remember we found it strange that it was translated as 'hot pot' since a hot pot is something quite different in the UK - a kind of stew with a layer of potatoes as a crust which I must share some time.

Bibimbap was something completely different but definitely delicious. To make my own, I've drawn on a few versions I have had and recipes, including this one from My Korean Kitchen.

bowl of vegetarian bibimbap with some of vegetables in small bowls around main bowl

Different ways to serve vegetarian bibimbap

As well as having different ingredients, there are also variations on how you serve bibimbap. The simpler version, which is what I imagine many people do at home to use up leftover bits of food for a quick meal, is a bowl of rice with everything on top (as above), that you can then mix in.

If you want to expand this idea for example for entertaining, you can even make a 'bibimbap bar' and let people serve themselves.

vegetarian bibimbap as dolsot bibimbap in skillet with raw egg in middle

The other way is to make it more of a dolsot bibimbap. Dolsot is a stone dish that's heated up and the rice is cooked in it so that it gets a wonderful slightly crisp edge to it. The toppings are piled on top, along with a raw egg. You then mix it all together at the table just before you eat it and the egg cooks with the heat of the stone and everything else.

Of course, not everyone has a dolsot at home, but you can achieve a similar effect with a cast iron skillet (as I did, above). Personally I think I prefer the dolsot for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, there's something fun about eating out of a pan (not that you have to, of course), and I like how you can get the rice a little crispy. But the other part is you can make a larger batch and then just reheat in the pan when you are ready to eat in mere minutes.

steps making vegetarian bibimbap - cut mushrooms, cooking carrots, cooked vegetables and adding vegetables to rice

How to make vegetarian bibimbap

It can take a little bit of time to make this if you are starting from scratch, as there are a few components to it, but each is pretty quick and easy.

Set the rice to cook while you prepare the toppings.
Blanch the beansprouts and wilt the spinach then dress both with sesame oil, garlic powder, salt and toasted sesame seeds.
Cut the cucumber and carrots in julienne strips. Trim mushrooms and slice.
Toss the cucumber with salt, leave a few minutes then squeeze lightly to remove excess liquid.
Fry the carrots and mushrooms separately in a little oil to soften.
Put together the bowl and serve.

You can easily make more for another time too, as I say, either making just enough rice each time to have a simple bowl, or reheat extra rice for a dolsot version.

I've used brown rice here, both as it's a little healthier and I like the slight nuttiness with everything else, but you can also use white rice if you prefer.

vegetarian bibimbap mixed together in skillet

This vegetarian bibimbap might seem to take a little bit of time, but it's perfect for meal prepping or feeding a crowd, if you make more. It's a wonderfully comforting and tasty bowl, that just happens to be good for you too. You can hardly get better.

Try these other tasty bowls:

Korean sashimi rice bowl (hoedeopbap)
Salmon poke bowl
Cuban quinoa bowl with grilled sweet potato, plantain and avocado-mango salsa

Plus get more vegetarian meals and Korean recipes in the archives, like favorites japchae (a noodle stir fry) and hotteok (sweet stuffed pancakes).

bowl of vegetarian bibimbap with the various vegetables in piles over the rice underneath

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