Spicy Beef Bibimbap with Crispy Cast-Iron Rice

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A Japanese-BBQ-style spicy bibimbap you can make on a weeknight. Thin-sliced beef rib meat gets a quick sear, sweet corn and peppers go in the same pan, and a hot cast-iron skillet does the job of a stone bowl — pressing the rice into a golden, crackly crust. A sweet-hot gochujang "umakara" sauce ties it together, and every topping can be prepped ahead so assembly takes five minutes.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup gochujang (Korean chili paste)
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon water, plus more as needed

• 1 lb boneless beef short rib or flank steak, sliced 1/8 inch thick against the grain
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil, for searing

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 medium green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 cup frozen or canned corn kernels, drained
• 1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 5 oz baby spinach
• 2 cups mung bean sprouts
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided, for the greens
• kosher salt

• 5 cups cooked short-grain white rice, warm (about 1 3/4 cups uncooked)
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil, for the skillet
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 sheet toasted nori, cut into thin strips (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the sauce: in a small bowl, whisk the gochujang, mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, grated garlic, ginger, and 1 tablespoon water until smooth and pourable — it should ribbon off the spoon. Add water a teaspoon at a time if it is too thick. Set aside (it keeps 2 weeks refrigerated).
2. Marinate the beef: if your short rib isn't pre-sliced, freeze it for 20 minutes, then slice it 1/8 inch thick against the grain. Toss with the soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and minced garlic. Let sit at room temperature 15 minutes while you prep the vegetables.
3. Cook the greens: bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the spinach and stir for 30 seconds, just until wilted. Scoop it out with a spider or tongs into a colander, rinse under cold water, then squeeze hard into a tight ball to remove liquid. Chop roughly and toss with 1 teaspoon sesame oil and a pinch of salt.
4. Return the water to a boil and blanch the bean sprouts for 90 seconds, until they lose their raw snap but stay crunchy. Drain, rinse cold, shake dry, and toss with the remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil and a pinch of salt.
5. Cook the crisp vegetables: heat 1 tablespoon neutral oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the carrot matchsticks and cook 1 minute, then add both bell peppers and a pinch of salt and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes, until just tender-crisp with a few blistered spots. Transfer to a plate. Add the corn to the empty skillet and cook undisturbed 2 minutes, until lightly charred; move to the plate. All toppings can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated in separate containers.
6. Sear the beef: wipe the skillet, add 1 tablespoon neutral oil, and heat over high until it shimmers and just begins to smoke. Add the beef in a single layer, working in two batches so it browns instead of steams. Sear 90 seconds without moving, then toss 60 to 90 seconds more until caramelized at the edges and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the second batch.
7. Crisp the rice: set a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes, then add 3 tablespoons neutral oil and the 1 teaspoon sesame oil and swirl to coat the bottom and lower sides. Add the warm rice and press it into an even 3/4-inch layer with a spatula or the back of a measuring cup. Cook undisturbed 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat — do not stir. You'll hear steady crackling; when it smells toasty and the edge of the rice looks dry and golden, the crust (nurungji) is set. Peek with a thin spatula and give it another 2 minutes if it's still pale.
8. While the rice crisps, fry the eggs: heat a nonstick skillet over medium with a thin film of oil. Crack in the eggs and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until the whites are set and lacy at the edges but the yolks are still runny. Season with a pinch of salt.
9. Assemble: turn the heat under the cast iron to low. Arrange the beef, spinach, bean sprouts, peppers, carrots, and corn in neat sections over the rice, slide the fried eggs on top, and drizzle with about half the spicy sauce. Scatter with sesame seeds, scallions, and nori strips.
10. Bring the skillet to the table on a trivet (it will still be sizzling). Serve the remaining sauce alongside, then break the yolks and scrape from the bottom as you mix so everyone gets crispy rice with each bite.
11. To plate as individual bowls instead, scoop the rice with its crust into 4 warmed bowls, keeping the crispy side up, and top each the same way.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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