Homemade Korean Vegan Bibimbap

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Bibimbap is a popular Korean dish that translates to “mixed rice”. This easy vegan bibimbap recipe uses crispy flavorful tofu instead of the traditional egg yolk and beef often served with this dish. 

This vegan bibimbap bowl is covered in an array of colorful veggies over a fluffy bed of rice. The crispy marinated tofu adds protein and another layer of texture, while the savory Gochujang sauce brings everything together. 

Although we vigorously mix everything with chopsticks before serving, each ingredient is individually prepared with love and care. The vegetables of choice are not random and each color has a symbolic meaning.

Black or dark colors represent the north and the kidneys – for example, bracken ferns, shiitake mushrooms, or nori seaweed (also called gim). Red or orange represents the south and the heart, i.e., chili paste, carrots, and red bell pepper. 

Green symbolizes the east and the liver, with cucumber and spinach. White represents the wets or the lungs, with bean sprouts, radishes, rice, and others. And yellow represents the center and the stomach, with foods like egg, pumpkin, or yellow bell pepper. 

Why We Love This Vegan Bibimbap Recipe

It’s a delicious way to eat the rainbow! There are so many colors from green to red, yellow and orange, white and brown, this dish is a tasty way to get a good serving of vegetables for the day.

The Gochujang sauce is tantalizingly sweet, spicy, and umami all at the same time. Instead of serving the Bibimpap bowl with plain Gochujang (Korean chili paste), I’ve turned it into a sauce so that you don’t have to flavor each ingredient individually.

This Korean vegan bibimbap recipe comes together in less than an hour. And it’s ideal for meal prepping. You can double this recipe and have six servings of vegan bibimbap ready to assemble whenever you’re hungry.

What Ingredients Do I Need For This Vegan Bibimbap Recipe?

For the Bibimbap bowl:

  • 10 oz. firm tofu, pressed
  • 1 ½ Tbsp. soy sauce (use tamari or GF soy sauce for a gluten-free version)
  • 1 ½ tsp. Gochujang (Korean chili paste, see our list of Best Chili Paste Substitutes if needed)
  • 1 Tbsp. neutral oil (I used vegetable oil)
  • 5 oz. mushrooms of choice (button or champignon are good, but shiitake is best)
  • 8 oz. spinach, blanched and washed with the excess water squeezed out by hand
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil 
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1 tsp. sesame seeds
  • 1 large carrot, shredded (or red bell pepper or both)
  • 1 large yellow bell pepper, julienned 
  • 6 oz. soy bean sprouts
  • 1 long cucumber, thinly sliced
  • 2 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 3 cups cooked rice of choice (I used short grain rice)
  • 6 oz. Lacto-fermented bok choy or kimchi or another pickled vegetable (see recipe for Lacto-fermented Bok Choy here)
  • Optional: sesame seeds and bits of gim (edible seaweed) to garnish

For the sauce:

  • 3 Tbsp. Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
  • 3 tsp. Rice wine vinegar
  • 1 ½ Tbsp. Soy sauce (or Tamari)
  • 1 ½ Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar (or another sweetener of choice)
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely minced

How To Make Vegan Bibimbap

Even though we mix everything before eating bibimbap, each ingredient in this dish is carefully prepared. This ensures every bite is perfectly balanced in flavors and textures. 

Step 1: Prepare the tofu

  • Cut the pressed tofu into equal bite-sized cubes. I got 18 cubes.

Step 2: Marinate Tofu in Soy Sauce & Gochujang for Enhanced Flavor

  • Prepare the marinade for the tofu by mixing the 1 ½ tablespoons of soy sauce with 1 ½ teaspoon of gochujang in a shallow bowl. Place the tofu in the marinade and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. 
  • Turn the pieces of tofu halfway through so that they marinate evenly.
  • Pan-fry the tofu in some neutral oil on a non-stick pan on medium-high heat. Let the tofu brown on all sides. 
  • Be careful not to burn yourself as the oil may splatter at the beginning. 

Step 3: Cook the soybean sprouts

  • Wash the soybean sprouts, removing any dead soybeans. 
  • Bring a medium pot with salted water to a boil and then boil the sprouts, covered, over medium-high heat for 20 minutes. Do not uncover them while they’re cooking.
  • Once cooked, drain and set aside. You can save the broth for a nice side soup.

Step 4: Prepare the rest of the veggies

  • Chop the blanched spinach roughly and add half a teaspoon of garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. Cover to preserve the flavors and set aside.

Step 5: Fry the Tofu to Crispy, Golden Perfection

  • Wipe the pan you used for frying the tofu and heat some more oil until hot.

Step 6: Fry the mushrooms in hot oil

  • Fry the mushrooms until nicely browned on all sides. Season the mushrooms with a little salt only after frying so that they don’t release too much water.

Optional Step: Sauté the shredded carrot and bell pepper

  • Individually sauté the shredded carrot and bell pepper just until lightly soft. You can also leave them raw.

Step 7: Make the dressing and assemble

  • Prepare the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together in a small bowl until the sugar has dissolved. 

Step 8: Distribute one cup of cooked rice evenly into each of the three serving dishes.

  • Place 1 cup of the cooked rice in each of the 3 serving bowls and top with equal amounts of veggies and cooked tofu.

Step 9: Enhance Your Dish’s Appearance and Taste with a Touch of Optional Sesame Seeds and Gim

Step 10: Drizzle the Gochujang dressing to serve. Enjoy!

Notes & Variations

  • If you want to make a quick version of Bibimbap, just use spinach, soybean sprouts, carrot (or red bell pepper, or both), gochujang, toasted sesame oil, and a protein of choice like fried tofu. These ingredients are essential.
  • You can also easily substitute any of the other vegetables, but it’s a good idea to stick to the same colors. Try swapping cooked pumpkin or sweet potato for the carrot, golden beets or corn for the yellow bell pepper, and so on.
  • Adding a fermented or pickled ingredient to bibimbap is crucial to its composition. If you don’t have time to make Lacto-fermented bok choy or kimchi ahead of time, you can use store-bought kimchi or your favorite pickled vegetable.
  • If you want to reduce oil consumption, bake the tofu in the oven at 355°F for 25-30 minutes, turning halfway through. It takes a bit longer, but it’ll still turn out crispy and delicious.
  • For some tips on how to make perfect rice, check out our article on How To Fix Mushy Rice In A Rice or Pressure Cooker. And if you’ve got the opposite problem, we’ve got you covered with our article on How To Fix Rice Sticking To The Bottom Of Various Cookers

If you’re wondering, “do you eat bibimbap warm or cold?”, you’re not alone. Bibimbap is typically eaten warm in the winter and cold in the summer. It tastes amazing both ways!

Korean Vegan Bibimbap

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 3
Calories: 539kcal

Ingredients

For the bibimbap bowl

  • 10 oz. firm tofu pressed
  • 1 ½ Tbsp. soy sauce 1 ½ tsp. Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
  • 1 Tbsp. neutral oil
  • 5 oz. shiitake mushrooms or other
  • 8 oz. spinach blanched and washed with the excess water squeezed out
  • ½ tsp. salt 1 tsp. sesame oil, 1 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tsp. sesame seeds
  • 1 large carrot shredded
  • 1 large yellow bell pepper julienned
  • 6 oz. soy bean sprouts
  • 1 long cucumber thinly sliced
  • 2 spring onions finely chopped
  • 3 cups cooked rice of choice
  • 6 oz. Lacto-fermented bok choy or kimchi or another pickled vegetable
  • Optional: sesame seeds and bits of gim edible seaweed to garnish

For the sauce:

  • 3 Tbsp. Gochujang Korean chili paste
  • 3 tsp. Rice wine vinegar
  • 1 ½ Tbsp. Soy sauce
  • 1 ½ Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 1 large garlic clove finely minced

Instructions

  • Cut the pressed tofu into equal bite-size cubes.
  • Mix 1 ½ tablespoons of soy sauce with 1 ½ teaspoons of gochujang in a shallow bowl. Place tofu to marinate for 30 minutes, turning the pieces halfway through.
  • Wash soybean sprouts and simmer them in salted water over medium-high heat for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  • Chop the blanched spinach roughly and add half a teaspoon garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. Set aside.
  • Pan-fry the tofu in some neutral oil on a non-stick pan on medium-high heat. Let the tofu brown on all sides.
  • Wipe the pan clean and heat some more oil until hot. Fry the mushrooms until nicely browned. Season with salt only after frying.
  • Optional step: individually sauté the shredded carrot and bell pepper just until lightly soft. You can also leave them raw.
  • Prepare the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
  • Place 1 cup of rice in each of the 3 bowls and top with equal amounts of veggies and cooked tofu. Sprinkle with optional sesame seeds and gim, and drizzle the Gochujang dressing to serve. Dig in!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 539kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 1279mg | Potassium: 1300mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 15569IU | Vitamin C: 133mg | Calcium: 318mg | Iron: 6mg

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