Dolsot BiBimBap

Now this is personally one of my favorite Korean dishes, Dolsot Bibimbap. It’s a variation of Bibimbap, which is a bowl of rice topped with an assortment of sautéed and seasoned vegetables, fried egg, ground beef, and gochujang (which is a sweet and spicy red sauce) to pour on top of it all. Instead, Dolsot (which means stone bowl) Bibimbap is made in sizzling hot stone bowl, like soondubu

Assortments of vegetables are used, which makes up most of the dish. Usually, they include: carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms, mu, spinach, soybean sprouts and gosari (bracken fern stems). This is all put on top of the rice with the ground beef and an egg.

A raw egg is actually put in the hot bowl after all the other ingredients are put in. The bottom of the bowl is coated with oil, usually sesame or olive. The bowl itself is so hot, that when the egg is put in, the heat from the bowl cooks it, and the rice touching the bowl turns golden and crispy. The crispy golden rice only adds to the texture and taste of the dish.

As I was taught by a friendly waitress, you take your utensils and mix the ingredients together so that you get a taste of everything in every bite. But don't forget about the gochujang sauce. It adds a rich flavor to the dish, so be generous with it. Also, it's not extremely spicy, so even if you are sensitive to spice, you can still enjoy splashing some of it in.

Honestly, I'm not a big vegetable fan, as I suspect most of you aren't either, but even though Dolsot Bibimbap is made up mostly of vegetables, its still one of my favorite dishes. I encourage everyone, even those of you that hate vegetables to try this dish.