When we used to travel to North America on Korean or Asiana Airlines, I would almost inevitably reserve a bibimbap main course the minute we settled into our seats. They tended to run out quickly and if you weren’t politely aggressive, you would probably end up with a less edible choice… Going back further, several decades to my college years, my Korean roommate and I occasionally trolled Koreatown (or was it just a street then) in New York to indulge in Korean food that was well priced and delivered in hearty portions. So bibimbap has been in my system for a while. I made a great bibimbap a year or so ago (without the proper stone bowls) with lechon sisig, and this time around, I wanted to use up some lechon meat scraps…
What triggered the experiment was coming across these stone bowls at a kitchen supply store while I was shopping for some other stuff. At PHP340 or so ($7) they seemed like a reasonable buy, and I got two of them. Back at home, they were washed thoroughly, placed in a cold oven and the oven turned on and placed on medium high heat where I left the bowls for say 45 minutes or so. The oven was turned off, and the bowls left in there overnight. I am not sure if this “curing” or “seasoning” step in necessary, but I did it anyway. The next day, I coated the inside of the bowl with sesame oil, put it directly on a gas flame and heated it up for several minutes until hot.
Into the hot stone bowl went rice (say 1.5 cups worth) and it sizzled just a tad, so I realized I had to keep heating the bowl further.
Added some chopped and stir-fried lechon…
…then carrots, mushrooms and spinach (previously prepared with sesame oil, seeds and seasoning)…
…beansprouts and a raw egg. I prepared a sauce with gochujang, a chili paste with some honey and water, sesame oil and sesame seeds and also a side dish of kimchi.
This was the first mix… until I realized I needed a lot more gochujang sauce added in. For a first try, it was a huge hit! A little on the spicy side (I was sweating by the time I was halfway through the bowl), I doubled that up with copious amounts of kimchi and more of the side dishes as well. It was SO SO EASY to do, and will definitely be experimenting more with these stone bowls, perhaps even attempting Filipino “stone bowl” meals!
9 Responses
Thumbs up! Will this be on the Zubuchon menu?
Betchay, no, not on the menu, but maybe one day I will do a bunch of international dishes with a lechon swap-in… over the years, I have already done a “Lechon & Beans” dish, lechon ramen, red curry with lechon, even a sisig Bolognese. We have tried lechon phô, lechon spring rolls, lechon hash, lechon sandwiches, lechon callos, lechon paella, lechon tacos, etc. So maybe a one-weekend pop-up of dishes for pre-purchased tickets/guests might work, say 60-80 per seating only. :)
wow, you can now add videos to your posts :)
mr. marketman,
asiana airlines.
ricky, thanks, edited.
Lechon would be a good filling for burritos, quesadillas and tacos.
creative lechoneering, i should say
Bibimbap is one of our best-sellers in our little food delivery biz.
But our version has carrot ribbons that are blanched and marinated the way you did with your spinach. Try mo din, MM – a different texture to add to the party in the mouth. :)
I will be anticipating it sa Zubuchon, ha!
Been wanting to try bibimbap for ages, what kitchen supply store did you buy them from MM?