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4.98 from 81 votes

Vegan Bibimbap 비빔밥 | Korean Mixed Rice (with Bibimbap Sauce Recipe)

How to make vegan bibimbap–a quick and simple plant-based take on an authentic Korean mixed rice dish! It’s an easy meal perfect for weeknight dinners with fluffy rice, sautéed vegetables, and a delicious gochujang bibimbap sauce.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Korean
Keyword: bibimbap, gochujang, korean, korean food, mixed rice, rice, vegan korean food
Servings: 2 people

Equipment

  • rice cooker
  • frying pan
  • serving bowls

Ingredients

  • 2 servings cooked short grain white rice I usually use about a cup of cooked rice per serving

Vegetables

  • 2-3 cups spinach
  • 2 carrots peeled and julienned
  • 2 cups cabbage finely shredded
  • 1 zucchini large, julienned
  • 1-2 cups soybean sprouts
  • 1 1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms sliced
  • 6 oz high protein tofu cubed
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4.5 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 clove garlic grated or finely minced
  • 1/4 tsp coconut sugar or sugar of choice
  • 2 tsp rice wine vinegar

Bibimbap Sauce

  • 1/4 cup gochujang
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp coconut sugar optional
  • 1-2 tsp tamari to taste
  • 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic finely grated
  • water as needed, to thin

Garnish

  • toasted white sesame seeds
  • sliced green onion
  • shredded roasted seaweed
  • kimchi

Instructions

Vegan Bibimbap Recipe

    Spinach

    • Bring a small pot of water to a boil and quickly blanch the spinach by submerging in water for about 30 seconds to a minute. Immediately remove the spinach from the pot and shock by placing in a bowl of cold water, or rinsing under cool water.
    • Use your hands to squeeze out any excess water, then toss spinach with seasoning ingredients, to taste.

    Zucchini

    • Heat a little neutral oil in a pan over medium heat and add zucchini. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden on the edges then add garlic and cook for another minute. Season with salt, to taste.

    Carrots

    • Heat a little neutral oil in a pan over medium heat and add carrots. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until vibrant in colour and slightly tender then season with salt and pepper, to taste.

    Cabbage

    • Add shaved cabbage to a mixing bowl along with all seasoning ingredients and toss using tongs or your hands, to coat. Make sure seasoning covers all of the cabbage and then let sit. Drain off any excess liquid at the bottom of the bowl.

    Soybean Sprouts

    • Bring a small pot of water to a boil and quickly blanch the soybean sprouts by submerging in water for about a minute or two. Immediately remove the soybeans sprouts from the pot and shock by placing in a bowl of cold water, or rinsing under cool water.
    • Toss blanched soybean sprouts with seasoning ingredients, to taste.

    Tofu

    • Heat a little neutral oil in a pan over medium heat and add tofu. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until lightly golden brown and then season with salt and pepper, to taste.

    Mushrooms

    • Heat a little neutral oil in a pan over medium heat and add mushrooms. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until tender and slightly shrunken, then add toasted sesame oil and salt and pepper, to taste.

    Making the Rice

    • Be sure to wash your rice before cooking. This not only helps remove any debris and dirt but also excess starch. I recommend rinsing in cool water and draining off excess water 3-4 times until the water runs fairly clear. 
    • Always use the rice measuring cup and water lines to make sure you’re cooking the rice precisely. Zojirushi’s rice cookers come with a rice measuring cup and have clear marks on the inside of the cooking pot to indicate how much water should be added for each variety of rice.
    • Finally, make sure you’re using the correct rice cooker setting! The Micom Rice Cooker has various settings and you’ll want to use the Quick setting or the regular White setting to make perfect short-grain rice. 

    Bibimbap Sauce

    • Whisk together all sauce ingredients, adjusting to taste. You can start with half of the gochujang and add more as you go if you're sensitive to spice.

    Assembling the Vegan Bibimbap

    • Start with a base of rice in a bowl for each serving (if using a dolsot, make sure the dolsot is preheated and ripping hot). Arrange each of the ingredients around the perimeter of the bowl in little piles then garnish with desired topping of choice. Serve with sauce on the side, and add to taste.

    Notes

    Expert Tips

      • How to Make it Gluten-Free: The only substitutions you’ll need to make gluten-free and vegan bibimbap include soy sauce, which I would recommend replacing with tamari or coconut aminos and possibly the gochujang. There are several gluten-free gochujang pastes available so just do a quick scan of the ingredients to check that it is gluten-free.
      • Where to Find the Ingredients: Most vegan bibimbap ingredients are commonly found at any grocery store and I opted to focus on including more of the common vegetables as toppings to make it even simpler.
          • If you have trouble finding shiitake mushrooms, gochujang, rice wine vinegar, or seaweed, I recommend checking your local Asian market or Korean grocery store if you have one accessible to you. 
          • Otherwise, you can also find these ingredients online. Tip: Trader Joe’s recently started selling gochujang if there’s one near you!
          • If you’re looking for short-grain rice, it is sometimes labeled “sushi rice” or “sticky rice” at conventional grocery stores.

    Substitutions

      • I encourage making ingredient substitutions where you need to, especially with regard to the vegetables. 
      • This vegan bibimbap can be a great fridge cleanout meal to make with leftover vegetables and you can even swap out rice for another cooked grain or carb like quinoa, buckwheat, millet, and more! 

    Meal Prep & Storage Tips

      • Vegan bibimbap is a great recipe for meal prep! I often make rice in larger batches and store leftovers in the fridge to eat throughout the week. 
      • If you’d like to meal prep, simply make enough rice for each meal and multiply the recipe to make enough sauce and vegetables for each meal.
      • You can store each of the vegetable elements separately or in a large airtight container and keep it in the fridge. 
      • I recommend adding the bibimbap sauce just before you enjoy it and storing that separately in the fridge as well. 
      • Leftovers should last 3-4 days in the refrigerator and should be reheated before enjoying.

    Serving Tips

      • I like to top my vegan bibimbap with fresh green scallions, toasted white sesame seeds, seaweed, and sometimes kimchi or pickled yellow radish. 
      • I recommend adding scallions and seaweed just before consuming and although arranging the toppings on the rice is traditionally how it is served if you’d like to save time, don’t feel bad about mixing it all together and serving it like fried rice!
      • If you’re entertaining or making this recipe for a family, consider serving all of the elements in separate bowls and creating a bibimbap bar so that everyone can customize their rice bowl. Make sure to have plenty of bibimbap sauce!