Bibimbap

Bibimbap is a bowl of warm rice topped with an array of separately seasoned vegetables, a fried or raw egg and a spoonful of gochujang, all mixed together at the table just before eating. It is Korea's best-known dish abroad and a fixture of home cooking across the shared Korean culinary tradition. Its origins are uncertain, and using up small leftover side dishes is only one of several theories.

What it really is

Each vegetable is prepared and seasoned on its own — spinach and bean sprouts blanched, carrot and mushroom quickly stir-fried in sesame oil — so that every namul keeps its own texture and flavour before they meet in the bowl. Thin strips or minced beef, marinated in soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil, go on top with a fried egg, sometimes left runny, sometimes raw. A spoonful of gochujang, the fermented chilli paste, sits at the centre.

Mixing is the point, not a garnish choice. The diner stirs everything together just before eating, so the rice picks up colour and heat from the gochujang and takes on the character of each vegetable. In the dolsot variation, served sizzling in a hot stone bowl, the rice touching the sides crisps into a golden crust that is scraped up along with the rest.

How it is served

• Mixed thoroughly at the table, not eaten layer by layer.
• In a stone bowl for a crisp rice crust, or a regular bowl for a softer dish.
• With extra gochujang on the side so the diner controls the heat.

How to write it on the menu

• List the vegetables and the protein; bibimbap varies a great deal by kitchen.
• Say whether it is the sizzling stone-bowl version or the standard one — they eat very differently.
• A vegetable-only bibimbap, without beef, is common and easy to offer alongside the classic.

Soy sauce and some gochujang contain wheat, so the classic recipe contains wheat alongside egg, soy and sesame. Without meat it can be vegetarian; without meat and egg, and with suitable sauces and garnishes, it can be vegan.