Bibimbap Recipe 6 - Andong Bibimbap

안동 비빔밥 (헛제사밥)

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bibimbap

healthy

nut free

vegetarian

pescetarian

prep time:

50 min

cooking time:

50 min

total time:

100 min

Andong Bibimbap is originated from Andong in the province of Kyeong-sang-buk-do. It features delicious vegetable namul's, steamed fish and a variety of jeon (coated and pan-fired fish and vegetables). Unlike other bibimbap, it’s served with soy sauce instead of spicy gochujang sauce. Traditionally, vegetables namul's are served on top of rice in a large brass bowl and the rest is served on a bronze plate. But, you can also arrange all toppings in a bowl like other bibimbap.

Andong Bibimbap is also called “Heot Jesa Bap,” which means “fake ritual food.” Why “fake ritual food”?
Andong has been the home of confucianism in Korea ever since the Joseon Dynasty. One of the important practices of confucianism is the ritual of offering an elaborate spread of delicious food to one’s ancestors (called ancestral rites). And people eat the food used in the ceremony afterwards. Even today some Koreans observe this ritual.

In the Joseon dynasty, aristocrats would be studying all night for the high government official exam, and get hungry. So they would jokingly tell their servants that they want to perform the ancestral ritual as an excuse to eat delicious food. Thus, the servants used to call the food “Heot jesa bap” meaning “fake ritual food.”

Clearly, it was too delicious to have only for the real rituals! Shall we start cooking this flavorful bibimbap?

You can buy bibimbap ingredients online here.

Clearly, it was too delicious to have only for the real rituals! Shall we start cooking this flavorful bibimbap?

You can buy bibimbap ingredients online here.

INGREDIENTS

shop these ingredients online »

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Change to: Metric US

4½ cups	Rice, white short grain 쌀
choose 2-3 from the following for namul
3 oz	Fernbrake or Bracken, Gosari 고사리
8 oz	Spinach 시금치
8 oz	Soybean Sprouts 콩나물
12 oz	Korean Radish 무
3 oz	Doraji, Bellflower Root 도라지
choose 1-3 from the following for steaming
1 lb	Mackerel 고등어
12 oz	Shark 상어
12 oz	Octopus 문어
12 oz	Beef, flank 양지
choose 2-3 from the following for jeon (Korean pancake)
338	Zucchini, Korean (Grey Squash) 애호박
12 oz	Napa Cabbage 배추
9 piece(s)	Kelp (dried, 2" X 2" or 5 cm x 5 cm) 다시마
1 lb	Tofu, Firm (for panfrying) 부침용 두부
13 oz	Pollock 명태
for batter and seasoning ingredients
2¼ cups	Buchimgaru (Korean Pancake Powder) 부침가루
2¼ cups	Water 물
½ cup 1 tbs	Flour 밀가루
5	Egg 계란
2¼ cups	Vegetable Oil 식용유
½ cup 3⅓ tbs	Salt 소금
2⅓ tbs	Black Pepper 후추
2⅓ tbs	Garlic (minced) 다진 마늘
3⅔ tbs	Chopped Green Onion 다진파
4½ tbs	Soy Sauce for Soup (Gukganjang) 국간장
3⅔ tbs	Sesame Seeds 깨
for sauce on the side
½ cup 5½ tbs	Soy Sauce (regular) 왜간장
6⅔ tbs	Water 물
1½ tbs	Sesame Oil 참기름
2¼ tsp	Garlic (minced) 다진 마늘
4½ tbs	Chopped Green Onion 다진파
2¼ tsp	Sesame Seeds 깨

Ingredients Notes:

kitchen tools
- steamer
- clean cloth to line the steamer
- bamboo skewers (optional)
- paper towel or clean towel to wipe moisture from ingredients and drain fat from pan-fried ingredients

tips:

Don’t be overwhelmed! You can choose a few toppings you like.

In general, Andong bibimbap includes three categories of toppings: vegetable namuls, steamed fish or meat and jeon (coated & pan-fried. To simplify this dish, you can just pick a couple of vegetables namuls and one from each of the steamed and jeon categories.
Also, you can grill fish instead of steaming for less fishy taste and smell.

When choosing toppings, consider balance in taste, texture and color.
Taste: For pleasant bitterness add toppings like doraji (platycodon root) namul, bom namul, chui namul and san namul.
For sweetness, add carrots or zucchini.
Texture: If you like a bit of a mushy texture you can add zucchini and mushrooms, whereas things like platycodon are more crunchy.
Color: You want to use a variety of colors to create a beautiful and contrasting array. (For example, if you have spinach perhaps you don't need to use two other greens. You want different colors like red, white, brown, etc.) When you arrange the ingredients, try to put contrasting colors next to each other, and similar colors as far apart as possible.

Good to know

Breading may come off the fish or vegetables if:
-The surface of the vegetable is wet.
-Frozen fish is not thawed through because water comes out while it is being cooked.
-Your pan is not good. if your pan is not non-stick or too old, the breading will stick to the pan.
-You forgot to oil the pan and the breading is sticking to the pan.

Making crispy jeon:
If you like crispy texture, you want to add more oil and pre-heat and cook on high heat. Be extra careful when you add vegetables to a pre-heated pan. Hot oil can splash everywhere (especially if your hands were wet and dripping water). Have a splash guard or a lid ready in case. If you like jeon softer, use less oil and cook on low heat.

You can buy Korean dried vegetables online here.

More questions? Please leave your questions below in the comment section. We will do our best to answer as soon as we can.

instructions	photos	summary
Ingredient amounts in the recipe instructions are for the default serving size.	Click to enlarge photos.	Ingredient amounts in the recipe summary are for the default serving size.
1. Cook rice Don’t forget to cook rice before you start. See how to cook rice in a pot or how to cook rice using rice cooker .		1 Cook rice
2. Soak & wash dasima Soak 4 pieces of dried kelp (2” X 2” or equivalent portion) in water for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat-dry with paper towel or clean kitchen towel.		2 Soak, wash & pat-dry 4 pieces kelp 30 min
3. Thaw fish If any of the fish is frozen, thaw them in cold salt water (1 tsp of coarse salt for 2 cups of water) or leave it in the fridge overnight. Rinse and pat-dry with paper towel or clean kitchen towel.		3 Thaw fish Rinse & pat-dry
4. Prepare namul (optional) Prepare 2 to 5 namul’s you like such as gosari (fernbrake) namul, spinach namul, soybean sprouts namul, gaji (egg plant) namul, etc. See all namul recipes here. You can also see classic bibimbap recipe to learn how to make various namul toppings.		4 Prepare namul
5. Prepare garlic and green onions Peel and mince 4-5 cloves of garlic and finely chop 3 green onions.		5 Mince 4-5 cloves garlic Chop 3 green onions
6. Cut tofu Rinse about ½ tofu block (about 200g) under running water. Pat-dry with paper towel or kitchen towel. Cut tofu into ¾” (or 1 cm) thick rectangles.		6 Rinse & dry ½ tofu Cut ¾” (or 1 cm) thick rectangles
7. Pan-fry tofu Lightly coat a non-stick pan with vegetable oil. Pre-heat on medium heat for a minute. Cook both sides of the tofu pieces until golden. *Don’t preheat too long. The oil might splash when you add tofu to the pan.		7 Pre-heat a pan vegetable oil 1 min Cook both sides tofu until golden
8. Flatten napa cabbage Flatten 3 napa cabbage leaves by gently tapping with the back of a knife.		8 Flatten 3 napa cabbage leaves
9. Salt napa cabbage Sprinkle salt and let it sit for 10 min.		9 Sprinkle salt Let it sit 10 min
10. Rinse & dry napa cabbage Rinse the napa cabbage leaves and pat-dry with paper towel or clean kitchen towel.		10 Rinse and pat-dry
11. Cut & season zucchini Wash and slice ⅓ of a zucchini (about 150g) into rectangular shaped pieces (roughly 2” X 1½”). Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides If the surface gets moist, pat-dry with paper towel or clean kitchen towel before coating with batter.		11 Wash & slice ⅓ zucchini 2” X 1½” Season both sides salt & pepper Wipe moisture
12. Make jeon batter Make jeon batter by mixing 1 cup of buchimgaru (Korean pancake mix) & 1 cup of cold water. You can use wheat flour or rice flour instead of buchimgaru. But buchimgaru gives more flavor and crispier texture.		12 Mix 1 cup buchimgaru 1 cup cold water
13. Pre-heat a pan Preheat a non-stick pan with vegetable oil on medium to high heat for a minute.		13 Preheat a pan vegetable oil Med Heat 1 min
14. Coat napa cabbage with batter Dip a leaf of napa cabbage in the batter and place it in the pan.		14 Coat napa cabbage leaf with batter Place in the pan
15. Pan-fry Coat the rest of nappa cabbage leaves with the batter and add to the pan, allowing the leaves to overlap. Do this quickly. Once the batter is cooked they won’t sick together. Let it cook on medium to hight heat until the bottom is golden for about 2-4 minutes.		15 Coat remaining leaves with batter Cook Med Heat 3 min
16. Flip Flip the nappa cabbage leaves and cook until the bottom is golden for about 2-4 minutes. Set it aside on paper towel or a strainer to drain fat.		16 Flip Cook Med Heat 3 min
17. Make kelp & zucchini jeon Add more oil to the pan. Coat kelp and zucchini with the batter and cook both sides until golden.		17 Coat kelp with batter Cook each side Med Heat 3 min
18. Drain fat Set it aside on paper towel or strainer to drain fat.		18 Drain fat
19. Prepare pollock Cut pollock fillet into a large bite sized pieces. Wipe any moisture using paper towel or kitchen towel.		19 Cut pollock Pat-dry
20. Dredge pollock Lightly dredge pollock pieces in flour.		20 Dredge pollock in flour
21. Coat with egg Beat an egg and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Dip the flour dredged pollock into the egg mix.		21 Beat egg with a pinch salt a pinch pepper Dip pollock into egg
22. Pan-fry pollock Preheat a non-stick pan with vegetable oil on medium to high heat for a minute. Add coated pollock pieces into the pan. Cook until the bottom is golden for 2-4 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden for 2-4 minutes.		22 Preheat pan with vegetable oil Med Heat 1 min Cook pollock each side until golden Med Heat 1 min
23. Prepare fish and beef Cut the shark fillet, octopus and beef into roughly 2” X 1” pieces. Thread each kind onto a skewer (optional).		23 Cut 2” X 1” shark fillet octopus beef On to skewers
24. Skewer mackerel Thread a whole mackerel onto a skewer (optional).		24 Mackerel onto skewer
25. Steam Pour water into a steamer and bring to boil. Line the steamer with clean cloth (optional). Once the water starts to boil, add the fish and beef skewers into the steamer. Close the lid and let it steam for 10-15 minutes or until all the fish and meat are cooked through. If the octopus is pre-cooked, add it in the last few minutes. Remove all from skewers before serving. Cut mackerel into 4 pieces.		25 Steam fish and meat 13 min
26. Cut napa cabbage jeon Once the napa cabbage jeon is cooled, cut it into roughly 2” X`1” pieces.		26 Cut napa cabbage jeon into 2” X`1”
27. Make sauce In a bowl, mix 6 tablespoons of soy sauce, 3 spoons of water, 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, 2 tablespoons of chopped green onions and 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds (optional). Place the sauce into 4 small sauce bowls to serve with 4 bibimbap at the end.		27 Mix 6 tbs soy sauce 3 tbs water 2 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp minced garlic 2 tbs chopped green onions 1 tsp sesame seeds
28. Heat stone bowls (optional) OPTIONAL: Coat 4 stone bowls with vegetable oil or sesame oil and place a bed of rice (short grain rice/sticky rice) at the bottom of stone bowls and leave them on LOW heat for 15-20 min (or until golden brown crust is formed at the bottom). This is optional. You can just place rice without heating it up. You can use a brass bowl or any other large bowl if you like.		28 Coat stone bowl with oil Place a bed of rice Low Heat 15 min (golden brown crust)
29. Top with ingredients Arrange toppings in each bowl so that contrasting colors are beside each other. You don’t have to completely fill up the bowl. Bibimbap bowls are big so people can mix the content without making a mess. If you are a small eater, use a smaller amount of rice. For this bibimbap, you can only add vegetable namul’s in the bowl and serve the rest on the side.		29 Top with ingredients
30. Serve and enjoy Serve the soy sauce based sauce on the side. To enjoy the dish, add the sauce to your liking and mix everything well. You can certainly use gochujang or a spicy bibimbap sauce instead. See bibimbap sauce or bibimbap sauce with beef for the recipes.		30 Serve on the side sauce