Bibimbap
Was Never a Special Dish to Me
When I think
of Bibimbap, I don't picture a beautifully arranged bowl filled with
colorful vegetables.
The first
thing that comes to my mind is a big stainless steel mixing bowl.
When I was a
child, we didn't have a dining table.
Like most Korean families back then, we sat on the floor around a small round
table for every meal.
Now that I'm
used to eating at a table, sitting cross-legged for long feels uncomfortable.
But in those days, it was simply how everyone ate.
Whenever Doenjang-jjigae
was served for dinner, my father would quietly bring out the big mixing bowl.
Looking back,
it almost felt like an unspoken family tradition.
He would scoop
in some rice, add a little Doenjang-jjigae, toss in whatever was already on the
table—usually Yeolmu-kimchi or shredded radish.
And the ending
was always the same.
Gochujang.
Sesame oil.
That is the
Bibimbap I remember.
When people
think of Bibimbap today, they usually imagine a beautiful bowl topped with
colorful vegetables, seasoned beef, and a perfectly placed egg.
But the
Bibimbap I grew up with looked nothing like that.
We simply
mixed whatever side dishes were left in the refrigerator with rice.
It wasn't a
special meal.
It was one of
the most ordinary home-cooked meals we had.
That's
probably why it makes me happy to see Bibimbap become famous around the world.
To us, it
simply meant,
"Let's
just mix everything together tonight."
Back then, I
never imagined that such an ordinary meal would one day become one of Korea's
most famous dishes.
Eggs weren't
as common as they are today.
If there was
only one egg, it always went into my father's bowl first because he was the
head of the family.
Some days, he
was the only one who had an egg.
So the
Bibimbap I remember often didn't have one at all.
That's why,
whenever I see today's beautifully plated Bibimbap with a sunny-side-up egg on
top, it feels a little different from the one I grew up eating.
The most fun
was when my mother went out.
My siblings
and I would grab the big mixing bowl, fill it with rice, and search through the
refrigerator.
Anything could
become Bibimbap.
Kimchi?
Perfect.
Namul?
Even better.
Leftover
seasoned vegetables?
Throw them in
too.
My personal
favorite was stir-fried potatoes.
Believe it or
not, they go surprisingly well with Bibimbap.
And, of
course, we always finished with Gochujang and Sesame oil.
Looking back,
that was probably the fastest fast food our family ever had.
Ironically,
the Bibimbap people see today takes much more time and care to prepare.
But the
Bibimbap made from leftovers is still, to me, the quickest and most satisfying
meal.
Even now, I
believe the most important ingredient in Bibimbap isn't the colorful toppings.
It's Sesame
oil.
The kind of
sesame oil you use can completely change the dish.
If you ask me
what the real secret is,
it's sesame
oil.
My mother used
to take sesame seeds to a local oil mill and bring home freshly pressed sesame
oil.
It tasted
nothing like the bottled ones sold in stores.
She always
carried it home in an empty soju bottle.
That still
makes me smile.
Even
today, I still have the soju bottle of sesame oil my mother-in-law once gave
me.
Just a few
drops are enough to complete a bowl of Bibimbap.
For me, that
aroma brings back some of my happiest memories.
Today,
Bibimbap is one of Korea's most famous dishes.
But to me, it
means something different.
It reminds me
of evenings when my family gathered around a small round table and shared one
big bowl of Bibimbap together.
Do you have a
food like that?
A food that
brings back memories before it brings back its taste?
I'd love to
hear your story.
What food
brings back memories for you, wherever you are in the world?
I'd love to
hear your story someday.
What
food brings back memories for you?
One more
thing...
I have a
personal theory that the colorful Bibimbap we know today may have been
influenced by traditional Jesa food.
I have so many
stories about Jesa, too.
That's
a story for another day.
See you then.
K-Food
Story
Stories Behind Korean Food
by Somang
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