The low calorie Korean Bibimbap recipe is healthy, tasty, and packed with flavour. There are so many variations of the dish that you can make, depending on your taste and dietary needs. The choice of vegetables for this dish is endless, and there are many protein options too. You can add Tofu if you’re vegetarian, or if you’re a red meat lover, you could add beef or pork mince. We opt for chicken mince or turkey mince, as they’re leaner options. If you’ve got an abundance of leftover vegetables in your refrigerator, mix it up, and add your leftovers.
Authentic Bibimbap uses raw meats and raw eggs, but we like to use chicken mince, which must be thoroughly cooked before consuming. Occasionally we’ll add a raw egg, but usually we lightly poach it, or fry it first.
In order to keep the calories down, we’ve opted to use less oil, a smaller serve of rice than is typically used, a lightly poached egg instead of fried, an abundance of vegetables, and sugar alternatives.
Additionally, we’ve opted for low sodium varieties of soy sauce, and have avoided adding salt to the dish in order to reduce the sodium content.
Firstly, prepare the meat sauce in a bowl and stir through the meat (minced or diced). Leave the meat to marinate for approximately 30 minutes.
While the meat is marinating, prepare the Bibimbap sauce. Lightly fry the garlic in a pot over a low heat, then add the other ingredients. Stir the ingredients for a few minutes. Set the sauce aside.
Next, cook the rice as per the packet instructions. Thoroughly rinse the rice before you cook it.
Once you've completed these steps, start preparing your vegetables. Firstly, peel and julienne the carrots. Fry the carrots in a wok or non-stick pan on a high heat for approximately 3 minutes.
If you're adding zucchini, julienne the zucchini and lightly fry in the wok for a couple of minutes. If you want fresh, uncooked vegetables, cucumber is a great alternative.
If you want to cook/ wilt the spinach, you can. We typically like ours to be fresh, as well as the bean sprouts because it adds a lovely element of texture.
Rinse the mushrooms and thinly slice them. Add oil spray to the wok and cook the mushrooms on medium to high heat until they are cooked through for approximately 3 minutes.
The final cooking process is the meat. Lightly spray the wok with olive oil, and cook the marinated meat on high until cooked through. If you're using chicken or turkey, take extra care to ensure that the meat is thoroughly cooked.
Put the rice into a bowl and add the meat, assorted vegetables, chopped nori, and bibimbap sauce. Add the egg on top of the rice.
Your bibimbap is now ready to serve. We hope you enjoy this colourful bowl of goodness as much as we do.
As mentioned, bibimbap is a flexible dish to make. If you’re vegetarian, simply replace the meat with tofu, or add additional vegetables to your liking.
If you’re not accustomed to cooking and eating brown rice, you could try using half white rice/ half brown rice to start with. While brown rice takes a little longer to cook, it does have a wonderful, nutty flavour. It also has more texture and is higher in fibre.
The vegetables that we’ve chosen to use are a guide. If you don’t want one of the vegetables, swap it with something that you’ll enjoy. It’s common to add pickles, broccolini, or spring onions.
Finally, to add extra flavour to your bibimbap, you can sprinkle chilli flakes over the top, and add additional garnish. Why not try some sesame seeds, coriander, or red chillies finely julienned.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. Nutritional values are a guide and may vary depending on the quantities & brands used.
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