Cast-Iron Dolsot Bibimbap with Crispy Rice Crust

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Korean stone-pot bibimbap without the stone pot: a screaming-hot cast-iron skillet, a slick of sesame oil and day-old rice give you nurungji, that golden crackly crust everyone fights over. Marinated beef, five quick-seasoned vegetables and a runny-yolk egg go on top, and a glossy gochujang sauce ties it together. The vegetables can be prepped days ahead — or swapped for whatever cooked leftovers are in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked short-grain white rice, preferably day-old and chilled
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola

• 8 oz beef sirloin or ribeye, sliced 1/8 inch thick against the grain
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated Asian pear or 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon mirin or dry sherry
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 3 tablespoons gochujang
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

• 5 oz baby spinach
• 4 oz mung bean sprouts
• 1 medium carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
• 1 small zucchini, cut into thin matchsticks
• 4 oz shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup kimchi, roughly chopped
• 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided
• 2 teaspoons neutral oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• kosher salt

• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon neutral oil
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 sheet roasted seaweed (gim), cut into thin strips
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Freeze the beef for 20 minutes to firm it up, then slice it 1/8 inch thick against the grain. Toss with the soy sauce, grated pear, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, grated garlic, mirin and black pepper. Let marinate at room temperature for at least 20 minutes while you prep everything else.
2. Whisk all the gochujang sauce ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth and glossy. It should pour slowly off a spoon; add water 1 teaspoon at a time if it's stiff. Set aside.
3. Bring a medium saucepan of well-salted water to a boil. Blanch the bean sprouts for 2 minutes, scoop out with a spider or slotted spoon into a colander, and rinse under cold water. Add the spinach to the same boiling water and cook just 30 seconds, until wilted, then drain and rinse cold.
4. Squeeze the spinach hard in your hands to remove as much water as possible, then toss in a small bowl with 1 teaspoon sesame oil, half the minced garlic and a pinch of salt. Squeeze the bean sprouts dry and toss in another bowl with 1 teaspoon sesame oil, the remaining minced garlic and a pinch of salt.
5. Heat 1 teaspoon neutral oil in a skillet over medium-high. Cook the carrot matchsticks with a pinch of salt for 2 minutes, until just tender but still snappy; move to a plate. Add the remaining teaspoon of neutral oil and cook the zucchini with a pinch of salt for 2 minutes, until barely limp; move to the plate in its own pile.
6. In the same skillet, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and the shiitakes. Cook over medium-high, undisturbed at first, for 4 to 5 minutes until browned and shrunken, then add the 1 teaspoon soy sauce and toss for 15 seconds. Move to the plate. Wipe the skillet out.
7. Return the skillet to high heat until nearly smoking. Add the marinated beef in a single layer and cook without stirring for 90 seconds, then toss and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, until caramelized at the edges and just cooked through. Transfer to a plate and keep the pan drippings.
8. Set a 10- or 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until a drop of water skitters and evaporates instantly. Add 2 tablespoons sesame oil plus 1 tablespoon neutral oil and swirl to coat the bottom and 1 inch up the sides.
9. Add the cold rice and press it into an even 3/4-inch layer with the back of a spatula, packing it firmly against the pan bottom. Cook undisturbed over medium heat for 10 to 14 minutes. Do not stir or peek by lifting the rice — instead listen for steady crackling and smell for toasted popcorn. Slide a thin spatula under one edge at the 10-minute mark; the crust should be deep golden and stiff.
10. Meanwhile, fry the eggs: heat 1 teaspoon neutral oil in a nonstick skillet over medium and cook the eggs sunny-side up for 2 to 3 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks are still liquid. Season with a pinch of salt.
11. Arrange the toppings over the crisped rice in neat wedges, like spokes on a wheel: spinach, bean sprouts, carrot, zucchini, shiitakes, kimchi and beef. Slide the fried eggs into the center. Scatter with scallions, seaweed strips and sesame seeds.
12. Bring the skillet to the table on a trivet while it's still sizzling. Spoon over half the gochujang sauce, then break the yolks and stir everything together vigorously from the bottom up, scraping to lift big shards of the rice crust into the mix. Add more sauce to taste and serve straight from the pan.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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