I know what you’re thinking right now…HOLYSH*TTHATSALOTOFINGREDIENTSJULI. And you’re correct. But that’s because that’s what bibimbap is all about. It’s a rice bowl full of all sorts of ingredients that make this bowl a mouth full of flavor. Sure, you could use less ingredients, but your mouth wouldn’t have a party and that would be lame. So since there are so many ingredients, I recommend prepping things ahead of time so all you really have to do is cook a couple things and organize when you’re ready to eat. You remember what I said the other day…”failing to plan is planning to fail.” SO DON’T FAIL.
Before I made this dish, I was totally freaked out about making my own pork belly. Because I had never made it and you see people cook it up in so many different ways. I was so intimidated. So I threw it in the freezer for a couple of weeks, until I was ready to put on my big girl pants. And you know what? It’s seriously not that hard. Like, at all. All you have to do is marinate it, cook it at a high temperature then turn down the heat and let it cook longer. Boom. That’s it. So stop being intimidated and make this. DO IT!
This recipe came from inspiration after eating at Uncle here in Denver. It’s the super new hip restaurant that EVERYONE is going to right now. And, of course, the space is uber small and makes you feel like you’re eating dinner with the entire restaurant. Super romantic. And since everyone is going there, getting a table at a decent hour sucks. So me and some girls decided to get there right when they opened. Well, we walked there in heels so that look a little longer and we got there at about 5:08…the wait was already 45 minutes for inside so we decided we would eat outside…then it began to rain and the wind picked up so we all had dirt in our drinks…then we found out that a girl was hit in the head by an umbrella a little bit earlier and they had to wash away the blood. So we got our food to go. Why the hell we didn’t do that in the first place, I don’t really know. Why can’t hip places be bigger…and deliver?
This reminds me, I need a date with my husband. We haven’t had one just the two of us since our wedding. And actually, during our wedding week we didn’t even have one meal just the two of us. So far being married means not hanging out with each other. That must change ASAP!
Pork Belly Bibimbap
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
For the pork belly
- 1 pound pork belly, skin removed
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos
- 1/2 cup coconut vinegar
- 1/4 cup sriracha (make your own or try this brand)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
For the rest of the bibimbap
- 2 cups cooked rice or cauliflower rice (I eat white rice since I workout regularly, but you can use cauliflower rice if you prefer!)
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1 cup mushrooms
- pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup kimchi (there are many brands at whole foods, just find a brand that has the simplest ingredients in it)
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup sliced cucumbers
- 2–3 green onions, sliced
- handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
- sriracha, to garnish (make your own or try this brand)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
For the pork belly
- Whisk all sauce ingredients together. Divide in half an set half of it in a container for later. Pour the other half of the marinade into a ziplock bag then add pork belly, cover and place in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, remove pork belly from the marinade (discard marinade) and pay dry. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Place pork belly fat side up on the wire rack. Put in oven to bake for 30 minutes then turn oven down to 225 degrees F and cook for 1 hour. (1 hour per pound of pork belly) Once cooked, remove and let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing into bite size pieces.
For the bibimbap
- When pork belly has about 30 minutes left to cook, make cauliflower rice or regular rice then place evenly in two large bowls.
- Using the marinade that you placed in a container the night before, pour it into a large skillet over medium heat. Bring to boil and let reduce until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 10-12 minutes. Once thickened, toss pork belly in the sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Place a small non-stick skillet over medium heat, add ghee along with mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook until browned then remove and set aside. To the same pan, crack an egg into the pan over low heat and cook for about 6-8 minutes until whites are cooked through and yolk is still runny. I did each egg separately to keep the cooking temperature even.
- Now build the entire bowl: on top of the rice divided between 2 large bowls, add pork belly, kimchi, shredded carrots, bean sprouts, cucumbers, mushrooms, an egg, cilantro and green onions on the side. Also, top with sriracha for an extra kick!
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I am so stoked to try this recipe! I absolutely LOVE bibimbap bowls. Earl’s downtown has a pretty good version, but I definitely still need to try Uncle. Although I will probably be ordering my food to go after hearing your experience 🙂
It’s not as many ingredients as I was expecting. 🙂
I love Uncle but we’ve waited an hour and 45 minutes for a table there, ridiculous. Ever since eating there I’ve been obsessed with making my own Ramen. I’m excited to try this Bibimbap bowl!
have you ever been to Ototo for Ramen. right next to sushi den! i’ve never waited for a table and i LOVE their ramen!
curious about using a pork tenderloin instead of a pork belly for this. thoughts, Juli?
you totally could, it won’t be the same cooking technique though!
This looks AMAZING! I can’t wait to try it! xx
I can’t wait to make this!
My mouth is watering just a bit! Oh and perfect timing because I just purchased half of a pasture raised/organic hog (freezer is stocked) so I’ll definitely be trying this recipe!
Get that date scheduled with your hubby!
Juli, where in Denver do you recommend buying your pork belly? Thank you!
i got mine at whole foods! i’ve seen it at both wash park and glendale!
Hi, any reason you do white rice instead of brown? Just curious! Thanks.
just preference, i just light the taste and texture more!
Id say this is beautiful. Bibimbop in its essence is taking whatever you have and tossing it in a bowl with some pepper paste and rice. You made a unique version with non traditional Korean ingredients BUT anyone who says this isn’t bibimbop is full of themselves. This is literally bibimbop aka “mixed rice”.
I used to LOVE bibimbap and then I just figured it was one of my permanently restricted foods! What are your thoughts on using the precooked Trader Joe’s pork belly? Would a lot of the flavor in this dish be lost without preparing your own? Yours looks wonderful!