Ingredients:

• 2 cups medium-grain Korean rice, or Japanese rice
• 1 large cucumber, sliced into thin strips
• 1 1/2 cups spinach, parboiled and squeezed of excess water.
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
• 2 teaspoons salt, divided, plus more to taste
• 2 dashes sesame seeds, divided
• 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts, parboiled and squeezed of excess water
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 4 shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated if dried, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 pound meat, optional
• Fried egg, optional
• Gochujang, or red pepper paste, for serving

Method:

• To begin, you’ll need to cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stove. If you don’t want to use Korean or Japanese rice or are being health conscious, you can try brown rice instead. This will affect the flavor, of course.
• Next, give the cucumber strips a salt water bath for 20 minutes.
• Drain the cucumber strips using a sieve.
• Then, season spinach with 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 dash of the sesame seeds.
• Season bean sprouts with 2 teaspoons sesame oil, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and the remaining dash of sesame seeds.
• You’ll then need to sauté the carrots with a dash of salt.
• Next, sauté the mushrooms with a dash of salt.
• After that, sauté the zucchini with a dash of salt.
• Then, place the cooked rice in a large bowl and arrange vegetables on top.
• If wanted, meat, egg, or both can be placed in the center.
• Serve each helping with small bowls of gochujang and remaining sesame oil.

Koreans usually eat this rice dish with some beef, but if you’re not a fan of red meat, don’t despair.

You can also top bibimbap with just an egg fried sunny-side up. The reason this dish is so popular is that it’s not only very tasty, but it’s also completely versatile.