Everyone who knows me knows I love a great piece of juicy steak. However, I also love eating tofu and veggies and sometimes don’t miss the meat at all! I love ordering bibimbap in Korean restaurants and always felt like the minced meat was not necessary, which is why I decided to recreate a vegetarian version at home! This is a little time consuming because you have to cook all the components separately but it will be so worth it! Apart from being healthy, cutting down on meat is also eco-friendly because the production of meat (especially beef) has significant detrimental effects on the earth as shown in the little infographic below:

While I am trying to lead a more eco-friendly life, I would be lying if I said that I am going to give up on beef. So all things in moderation! I think it is important to be conscious of our decisions and it impact it has, but also to find a happy balance between sustainability and your own personal lifestyle. J and I are trying to cut out beef as much as possible but will still enjoy our burgers and steaks from time to time!

Now on to the vegetarian bibimbap, I am quite an “eyeball” type of cook where I don’t measure anything but I will try to quantify as much as possible! Also, feel free to add any other veggies that you love but below are the ingredients that I used:

Serves 2-3 people 

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot
• 7-8 large shitake mushrooms
• 1 cucumber
• 1-2 handfuls of spinach
• Kimchi
• Eggs
• Scallions
• Sugar
• Mirin
• Salt
• Brown or white rice

For the sauce:

• Gojuchang (fermented Korean chili paste)
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Vinegar
• Soy sauce
• Water
• Sesame oil

Instructions:

1. Cook the rice.
2. Julienne the carrots and cut the scallions and spinach.
3. Slice the mushrooms into 1 inch width pieces.
4. Peel a little bit of the cucumber skin (not all off, peel so there are stripes of skin and no skin) and slice into thin slices. You can also cut the cucumber down the length into a semi circle if its a large cucumber.
5. Put the sliced cucumbers into a bowl and generously salt. Let sit and then rinse and squeeze out the excess liquid. Add sugar and vinegar.
6. Sautee the carrots and then add around 1/2 cup of water and let it soften. Carrots take a little while to cook! Add in mirin, salt, and a dash of soy sauce. Set aside.
7. Sautee the mushrooms and add soy sauce and sesame oil.
8. Sautee the spinach with some salt.
9. Mix the sauce with all the ingredients listed above and loosen it up with some water. Adjust according to tastes.
10. Time to organize the bowl! Add the rice to the bottom of the bowl and then organize the veggies and kimchi around. Add a fried egg (keep the yolk runny) on top and sprinkle more scallions and sesame seeds if you want! Add the sauce, mix, and enjoy!