Easy Bibimbap Recipe with Ground Beef
shared by Nibblore Kitchen
This colorful Korean-inspired rice bowl layers savory ground beef, crisp-tender vegetables, kimchi, and a runny fried egg over warm rice. Cooking and seasoning the toppings separately preserves their distinct textures, while a quick gochujang sauce ties everything together. It is an approachable weeknight dinner that invites everyone to mix their bowl at the table. • Prepare and group all the sliced vegetables before heating the skillet; each topping cooks quickly. • Drain the cooked beef if it releases an excessive amount of fat, but leave a light coating to keep it flavorful. • For a lightly crisp rice base, press each serving of cooked rice into an oiled skillet over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes before assembling. • Use ground turkey or ground chicken in place of ground beef, adding 1 extra teaspoon of neutral oil when cooking. • Replace short-grain rice with medium-grain rice or cooked brown rice; follow the package directions for water and cooking time. • Use sliced mushrooms or finely crumbled extra-firm tofu instead of beef for a meatless variation. • Replace bean sprouts with thinly sliced cabbage, cooking it for 3 to 4 minutes until crisp-tender. Refrigerate the rice, beef, cooked vegetables, kimchi, and sauce in separate airtight containers for up to 3 days; cook fresh eggs when serving. Reheat the rice and beef until steaming hot in the microwave or in a covered skillet with a splash of water. The beef and cooked rice can be frozen separately for up to 2 months, but the vegetables, eggs, kimchi, and sauce are best not frozen.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Beginner-friendly
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Save recipeIngredients
- 1 ½ cupshort-grain white rice, rinsed until the water is nearly clear
- 1 ¾ cupwater
- 3 tbspgochujang
- 1 tbsprice vinegar
- 2 tsptoasted sesame oil, divided
- 2 tsphoney
- 1 tbspwarm water
- 450 gground beef, 85% lean
- 2 tbspsoy sauce
- 2 tspbrown sugar
- 2 clovegarlic, finely grated
- 1 tspfresh ginger, finely grated
- ¼ tspground black pepper
- 2 tbspneutral cooking oil, divided
- 225 gbaby spinach
- 2 tspsoy sauce, divided between the vegetables
- 150 gbean sprouts, rinsed and drained
- 1carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
- 1zucchini, cut into thin matchsticks
- 4large eggs
- 1 cupnapa cabbage kimchi, drained and roughly chopped
- 2scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 tsptoasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- 1Combine the rinsed rice and 1 3/4 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the rice steam, still covered, for 10 minutes; fluff with a fork before serving.
- 2While the rice cooks, whisk the gochujang, rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, honey, and 1 tablespoon warm water in a small bowl until smooth. Set the sauce aside.
- 3Mix the ground beef, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, black pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil in a bowl. Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, add the beef mixture, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it into small crumbles, until browned and no pink remains. Transfer the beef to a covered bowl; carefully wipe out the skillet.
- 4Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add 1 teaspoon neutral oil. Add the spinach and 1 teaspoon soy sauce, then toss for 1 to 2 minutes until just wilted. Transfer it to a plate, keeping it in a separate pile.
- 5Add the bean sprouts and 2 tablespoons water to the skillet. Cover and steam over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, then uncover and cook for 1 minute until crisp-tender and the water has evaporated. Transfer the sprouts to the vegetable plate.
- 6Add 1 teaspoon neutral oil to the skillet. Cook the carrot for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the zucchini and remaining 1 teaspoon soy sauce; cook for 3 to 4 minutes until both vegetables are crisp-tender. Transfer them to separate piles on the vegetable plate.
- 7Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 2 teaspoons neutral oil. Crack in the eggs, spacing them apart, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the whites are set but the yolks remain runny; cover the skillet for the final minute if the tops of the whites need help setting.
- 8Divide the hot rice among four wide bowls. Arrange the beef, spinach, bean sprouts, carrot, zucchini, and kimchi in separate sections over the rice. Top each bowl with a fried egg, scallions, sesame seeds, and a spoonful of gochujang sauce. Serve immediately and mix thoroughly before eating.