Be Bim Bop

Be Bim Bop, meaning "mixed up rice": a traditional Korean dish (the Van Drie version)

This seems like a lot of work but once you get the hang of it, it comes together quickly. We eat this almost every week during the CSA season.

2 cups cooked white (or brown) rice (I use our rice steamer).

Marinade 1lb thinly sliced boneless chicken or beef while you prepare the vegetables. You can squish the meat and marinade together with your fingers for a few minutes to make the meat more tender.

Marinade:

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 green onions (chopped)

5 TBS soy sauce

2 TBS sugar

2 TBS vegetable oil

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)

1 TBS sesame oil (optional but I love it!)

1/8 tsp black pepper

Beat 4 eggs and pour egg mixture in small batches into an oiled pan over med/high heat making a thin egg pancake. Cook about 1 minute and then flip the pancake, cooking for another minute until firmly set. Flip pancake onto a cutting board and slice into thin strips or ribbons. Repeat 2-3X with remaining egg mixture. Place eggs in bowl and set aside.

Cut carrots into julienne strips and saute in a bit of oil until tender. Use those farm veggies! I have recently added sugar peas, turnips, and green beans to my carrots for a great use of our vegetables. You could certainly do a separate batch of sauteed zucchini, summer squash, and/or eggplant but I would cook these apart from the other vegetables listed above as they tend to get soggy if overcooked. Place cooked vegetables in bowls and set aside.

Saute chopped spinach (or kale, chard, or any dark leafy green) until wilted. Place in bowl and set aside.

Turn your pan up to high and dump the meat and all the marinade into the pan. Spread it around so it cooks evenly and saute for a few minutes until the meat is cooked through. Transfer to a large bowl.

Each diner gets a portion of rice in a bowl, then tops it with meat (be sure to spoon the meat sauce over it too), a variety of the vegetables, sauteed greens, and eggs. Then "be-bim" - mix everything together. It is ready to eat!

Traditionally this is also topped with kimchee (pickled spicy cabbage) that can be purchased at many grocery stores and Asian specialty markets (but we often skip the kimchee).

I usually make a hot sauce with equal parts fresh lime juice and nam pla (Asian fish sauce which is richer in flavor than soy sauce but you probably could substitute soy sauce too) and chopped hot peppers from the farm. Mix together and use sparingly depending on how much heat you can handle.