Bibimbap Heaven in Jeonju

If you’ve never tried Korean food then you’re missing out big time. While kimchi may not be everyone’s dish-of-fermented-cabbage there’s oh so much more to try and among my favourite dishes is Bibimbap – literally meaning “mixed rice”. It just so happens that bibimbap originates from Jeonju so while I was there I tried the original…

Mouth Watering...

Bibimbap (비빔밥) is typically served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with sautéed and seasoned vegetables (나물 – namul), sliced meat (usually beef) and mixed together with chilli pepper paste (고추장 – gochujang) and egg. Just looking at this picture again is making my mouth water – if this doesn’t look good to you then there’s something seriously wrong!

Heavenly Meal

When ordered in a restaurant it usually comes with a variety of side dishes, most of which are also vegetable based so makes for a very healthy meal. It’s also available in a hot stone bowl (돌솥 – dolsot), which slowly cooks the egg as you stir the ingredients together. If it gets too spicy for you then you can cool your tongue with the accompanying bean-sprout soup.

Bibimbap!

The characteristic thing about Jeonju bibimbap is that it comes with Korean beef tartar (육회 – Yukhoe), Hwang Po Mook (a yellow jelly made from mung beans) and raw egg yolk (most other regions in Korea serve it with a fried egg). In addition to this, the rice used for bibimbap in Jeonju is cooked in beef broth rather than plain water so it looks and tastes better.

Post-Mixing!

This is how it looks once everything has been mixed together and is ready to be enjoyed. We ate this at a restaurant called Jongnohoigwan (종로회관) which is opposite the west gate of Gyeonggijeon Shrine. Believe me, it tastes as good as it looks!

David avatar

5 responses

  1. I heard real Jeonju bibimbap comes with raw chopped meat but it seems the diner gave you cooked one instead considering you are a foreigner unless you asked so.

    1. Yes, but I thought this was beef tartar? I’m not sure I would know the difference 😀

  2. Elizabeth avatar
    Elizabeth

    no raw meat- it does have a raw egg init, but the bowl is heated in the oven and comes out sizzling hot- as soon as you stir it up, the egg is cooked… and it’s delicious!

  3. Well, 육회 means raw meat sashimi, literally.

  4. Sitta avatar
    Sitta

    The one i ate in Jeonju village, had the raw beef and i couldn’t finish it. It wasn’t my type, i prefer the cooked one ^^

Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *