South Korea: Delicious Bibimbap at Hankook Jib in Jeonju

In Jeonju, we had dinner at Hankook Jib, which is a restaurant famous for its bibimbap. Bibimbap is a Korean dish with rice and various toppings including different kinds of vegetables and sometimes raw beef and raw egg yolk. You add gochujang (hot Korean red pepper paste) to taste, and it all needs to be mixed well before eating to ensure the colors and flavors are evenly distributed.

My Korean friends often tell me I don’t mix my bibimbap thoroughly enough, and at Hankook Jib the waiter also gave me a skeptical look, when I started stirring my bowl. Then he rushed to get me an apron. I was the only person at the table, who was offered an apron so I think the waiter was worried that my amateur bibimbap mixing skills would cause gochujang spatter all over the place. I thus decided to let Ella take over the bibimbap mixing, so I could make a small video and show you how bibimbap mixing is done properly.

In Korea, you are always served a number of side dishes (banchan), when you visit a traditional Korean restaurant, and according to Ella, the Banchan we got at Hankook Jib were very good. The waiter also gave us a dish with a kind of yellow jelly sticks, which tasted really good, but which we could hardly eat as we were too full from the bibimbap. I don’t remember the name of the dish, but there’s a picture of it below, – it’s the dish with yellow jelly sticks and cucumber strips.

Curious about making your own bibimbap? Here’s my recipe:

Recipe: Bibimbap with vegetables, mushrooms, and fried egg >>