Last night (on the fourth of July) I made bi bim bap for dinner. Bi bim bap is a Korean dish – it’s rice, topped with lettuce, various cooked veggies, and an egg. And meat, for non-vegetarians. (Like that yolk, Sophia?)
In the spirit of being local/homegrown/American (it was fourth of July) I made this with mostly organic produce from our farmers’ market; the eggs are also organic and free range and delicious. I think the rice is even organic too. I’m making a serious effort to be more local/organic these days.
That is Bobby’s bi bim bap. It’s brown/white rice (a mix), some lettuce, a fried egg, and roasted veggies.
Maggie’s Organic Roasted Veggie Bi Bim Bap
Ingredients
- brussels sprouts, quartered
- green beans
- burdock, finely sliced
- turnips, sliced (I used a mandoline)
- zucchini, sliced (mandoline again)
- peanut oil (a few tablespoons)
- soy sauce (a few teaspoons)
- lettuce
- rice (brown or white)
- red spicy Korean sauce (we used ketchup + hot sauce – a good approximation!)
- 1 fried egg per person
Method
First I coated the brussels, beans, turnips, zucchini, and burdock in peanut oil and soy sauce. I put the brussels, burdock, and beans on one pan because those have to cook for longer; the turnips and zucchini can go on another sheet. I baked them at 400F for 35 minutes. I took out the turnips/zucchini early (25 minutes or so).
(Note: in the picture above I had put the burdock with the turnips/zucchini – I had to move it to the other pan because it wasn’t done after 25 minutes!) Then they came out:
Once the veggies were done, we simply made bowls of rice + lettuce + fried egg, and added the toppings. Here is the bi bim bap base (Bobby’s):
And here is the finished product (mine – extra lettuce, obviously):
We topped it with homemade ketchup + organic hot sauce. Yum!
This was so much better than some of the other things I have made recently – not because the other things are bad, but because this was made with fresh, organic, local ingredients. I am finally converted. These veggies were fabulous and it’s not worth it to me to save money with non-organic produce anymore. I’m going GREEN.
Exercise of the day: I’m about to do my Diane von Furstenberg exercise, and then Bobby and I are going to the Met a little later to meet up with a friend. We’ll walk there (over a mile) and back.
Do you buy organic? Is it worth it to you? Can you get organic produce/products where you live?
wow!! this looks fantastic! all those yummy veggies. what a great recreation of a traditional dish. i love bi bim bap!
i think for certain produce, it is totally worth it to buy organic – such as strawberries, which can contain tons of pesticides if conventionally grown. i try to buy organic whenever i can – but there are certain fruits like bananas where it doesnt seem to matter as much if you buy organic or not. if im at the farmers market though, i won’t buy any conventional produce – there are always organic options available and i like to support the organic farmers!
wow!! this looks fantastic! all those yummy veggies. what a great recreation of a traditional dish. i love bi bim bap!
i think for certain produce, it is totally worth it to buy organic – such as strawberries, which can contain tons of pesticides if conventionally grown. i try to buy organic whenever i can – but there are certain fruits like bananas where it doesnt seem to matter as much if you buy organic or not. if im at the farmers market though, i won’t buy any conventional produce – there are always organic options available and i like to support the organic farmers!!
That’s crazy- yesterday one of my friends was talking about Bi Bim Bap…and here it is 😀
I def. try to buy organic when I can. It’s more expensive but I like to look at my body as a good investment!
Looks awesome. Hope you guys had a happy 4th. The red sauce is called “gochujang” — I have a dangerous addiction to it 🙂
Oh that looks great and so glad you guys had a nice time today! FUN!
And i loved your goal/comment about just enjoying your 1st yr of marriage and making it awesome. That alone, is the only goal you need. Fabulous!!
and til i read this post, i had no idea what Bi Bim Bap is?! Now i do 🙂
I would like to buy more organic, but honestly sometimes I purchase based on price. There are certain foods that we eat a lot of and just can’t afford to go organic with them. Sometimes the price is the same, which is great and we will get the organic. If it is more than twice the price, I just can’t justify it.
I used to skip buying organic but after switching my focus, joining a CSA and enjoying farm-fresh, organic veggies on the regular- nothing else tastes right. It makes such a difference and maybe it’s partially a mental thing but my body thanks me for it, so it’s win-win!
I love this dish and it seems to simple but I never thought to make it at home.
I try to buy organic if I can afford it. I have a produce store by me that sells a ton of organic stuff and its SUPER CHEAP. If they dont have a produce that is organic that I need, I’ll buy the regular one. I like buying from produce stores too versus big super markets.
Yup, love the egg! I love the idea of roasted veggies in bibimbap…Veggies taste the best roasted!
As for buying local/organic…I wish I had more resources to do that, but I don’t live in NYC and I am already struggling balancing my grocery budget…My dream is to live in SF though, so when I earn my own money, I’ll do my best to be sustainable! 🙂
I’m with Sophia in that I don’t really have access to as much organic produce as I would like. I have to go out of my way just to find organic apples, even in the summer. That said, I do what I can and try to buy organic for the “Dirty Dozen” but my budget is already stretched with all the produce that I buy in general.
In a perfect world, I would go organic all the time. As it is, I do what I can when I can.
Organic all the way–and it will be that way for me as long as I have enough money in my pocket.
this looks melt-in-your-mouth good! great meals here