Farm Kitchen Chronicles: Bibimbop for dinner

Another budget-friendly meal that is filling and delicious.

Years ago in college, I was introduced to the Bibimbap.

I knew a Korean student who told me her family often had bibimbaps regularly for a quick dinner—Korean comfort food, essentially. Bibimbap is said to mean “mixed” or “mixed rice”, with its origins dating back to centuries ago. Some documents say it started as a farmer’s dish, using leftover rice and whatever vegetables were out in the field, made separately but then mixed together. Some say it was a dish that originated in the king’s palace, when at the end of the season, the cooks and maids cleaned out their pantries of all the dried vegetables to mix all together in a dish.  

Back in the day, I would make a very college version of this, year-round, not paying any attention to the seasons: white rice, fried egg, a partial bag of store-bought spinach that I would sautee, and a little bit of shredded raw carrot.  Then I would top with a bottle of pepper sauce, or a store-bought Gochujang, a spicy chili paste.  (I didn’t bother with looking at ingredients much in those days, so I am sure those bottles of sauces had loads of preservatives and questionable ingredients.)