Faux Bibim Bap

What do you do when you've got leftover sauce for bibim bap (Korean rice and mixed vegetables) but hardly any of the other ingredients for the dish?

The recipe I use includes cooked rice, hot red pepper sauce, cucumber slices soaked in saltwater, lettuce, blanched spinach, and sauteed vegetables: fern brakes (requires overnight soaking), shiitake mushrooms (rehydrated first), shredded zucchini, and julienned carrots. I had rice, the leftover sauce, and lettuce. No time to soak the bracken or shiitakes. No greens on hand, nor fresh zucchini or carrots. How the heck could I pull this off?

I'll tell you how I pulled it off, and how I often deal with this kind of situation: creativity in the kitchen. With the rice and the sauce, all I really needed were some tasty vegetables that would go well with those. Here's what I came up with, resulting in a very good lunch.

• Portabello mushroom - I had one portabello in the fridge so I cleaned and sliced it up. I then sauteed and seasoned it exactly as I would have done with the rehydrated shiitakes. (Saute until starting to wilt, add a little sugar and soy sauce, and saute another minute or so.)


• Shredded frozen zucchini - I thawed out some of the zucchini that had frozen and then been shredded (see last post). Because it had so much moisture in it, it did not saute very well but it did add a little flavor to the dish.


• Gluten balls - ages ago, I made simple little baked gluten balls (from Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cookbook). I put the extras in the freezer. To defrost, I just simmered them in a little water for a few minutes. After draining, I sliced them thinly. Before cooking the vegetables, I sauteed these in the skillet and added a little soy sauce at the end. They came out with a nice chewy hearty flavor, almost reminiscent of the stir-fried beef served with traditional bibim bap. I tossed them with a little minced garlic for bite.


• Cucumber kimchi - during cucumber season, I almost always have this on hand. I make it the same way as this melon kimchi but with cukes. This worked well in place of the regular cucumbers in the recipe.


• Lettuce - cleaned and torn into bite-size pieces.

Becoming proficient in the kitchen means letting go of strict recipes and learning to use what you have on hand. This is a crucial skill for those who strive to eat a local diet, too, because it will be rare that you have all of the ingredients on hand at one time for many published recipes. Learn to substitute for ingredients in recipes or simply make up your own. The ability to prepare tasty and healthy meals with whatever you have available is a great skill to have.