Budget Bibimbap

*Post by Angela.

Sometimes you don't have time. Sometimes you don't have money. Sometimes you have neither. That's when scouring the internets gets interesting. The other day, I came home to a virtually empty refrigerator/pantry and had no inclination or cash on hand to go to the store. What I did have was a few eggs, some rice, a couple of carrots leftover from a recent meal, and half a bag of spinach. Those ingredients, plus my expansive condiment/oil/spice stores and my newfound love of Korean food led me to think of bibimbap, a Korean dish meaning "mixed rice." And I really loved momofukufor2's inspired idea to fancy up the bowl with a slow-poached egg. What resulted was a very, very simple dish, one that I normally would not have blogged about, but it was yummy enough and hearty enough to keep me satisfied and to make me want to share it.

List of ingredients for the bibimbap:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 4 large eggs
• 1 large carrot, peeled and thinly julienned
• A couple of handfuls of spinach
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 4 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 4 tbsp sriracha sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar

First, I brought a pot of water up to exactly 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and placed a rack in the pot. I wanted to make sure that I could maintain the correct temperature, so once the thermometer (yes, that is a meat thermometer, it's the only one I have, so shut it) hit 140, I let the water sit for about 10 minutes and adjusted as necessary.

I added the eggs and let them sit in their hot water bath. Now, there are a lot of sources out there for slow-poached eggs. Some recommend cooking for 40-45 minutes, others recommend 85-90 minutes, and still others recommend some duration in between; I decided to go with the last group and babied my eggs for about 60 minutes.

After the time had elapsed, I cracked an egg into a small dish to make sure it was fully cooked. Ahhhh...I heard choirs of angels lauding the gloriousness of this method of cooking. The egg white had just barely firmed and looked creamy and soft, and I could tell by looking that the yolk was going to be perfectly runny.

Next, I moved onto the sauce. I whisked together the rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, sriracha, and sugar until the sugar had dissolved. Now, to be really authentic, I would have used gochujang, a spicy and fermented Korean condiment. But since I didn't have any, I figured everything is improved with sriracha. And I was right - this sauce is wonderful, hot, sweet, nutty and soooooo good on rice...

...so I spooned the cooked rice into a bowl and mixed it together with the sauce, then topped it all off with the carrots, torn spinach, and one of the poached eggs. 

To finish it off, I seasoned the bowl with some salt and pepper. I'm not too proud to say that I loved this budget meal. It's the epitome of adaptable - you can throw whatever vegetables you have on hand in there, as well as any meat you have lying around (I'm thinking pork products or shredded chicken would be great), and the richness of the egg yolk and the delicious sauce will really tie all the ingredients together. And of course, you don't have to slow-poach the eggs - you can poach them normally, or even fry them. So next time I find myself short on funds, motivation, inspiration, time, or a combination of all of these, I know I can still pull out a tasty, kinda sorta nutritious, and filling dish if I have some rice and a couple eggs.