Rawbar Bibimbap
- Level: Advanced
- Yield: 4 portions
- Total: 14 hr 15 min (includes marinating and cooling time)
- Active: 1 hr 10 min
Ingredients
Pork Belly:
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 side pork belly
1 quart cola
6 ounces sliced ginger
Bibimbap:
Oil, for frying and stir-frying
4 Bibimbap Rice Cakes, recipe follows
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced yellow onions
1 cup sliced bok choy or similar vegetable
2 ounces Kim Chi Sauce, recipe follows
4 eggs
1 cup shredded daikon radish
2 ounces Ginger-Scallion Sauce, recipe follows
Radish sprouts, for garnish
Lemongrass Simple Syrup:
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 cup shaved lemongrass
Bibimbap Rice Cake:
7 cups rice wine vinegar
5 cups sugar
1 tablespoon dashi
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 ounce kombu
6 cups sushi rice, cooked
1/2 cup scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups panko
Oil, for oiling ring mold
Kim Chi Sauce:
2 cups fish sauce
2 cups light soy sauce
2 cups sugar
20 toasted dried Thai chiles, ground
8 toasted dried ground habanero chiles
Ginger-Scallion Sauce:
2 cups sliced scallions
2 cups light soy sauce
1/2 cup minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup rice vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons seasoning sauce, such as Maggi
Directions
Special equipment:
a deep-fryer- For the pork belly: Mix together salt and sugar in a small bowl. Rub all sides of pork belly with mixture and place on a rack set in a pan, then cover and refrigerate, 8 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Remove pork belly from rack and pat dry. Place back in pan without the rack. Bring cola, ginger and 3 quarts water to a simmer in a saucepan, then pour over pork belly. Cover pan with foil and braise in the oven until tender, 1 to 2 hours. Remove from broth, then let cool and refrigerate until completely cold.
- Slice into 4-by-1/8-inch-thick slices.
- For the bibimbap: Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
- Bring oil to 350 degrees F in a deep-fryer. Fry Rice Cakes, 3 minutes. Drain and hold.
- Place 8 slices pork belly in a pan (save remainder for another use) and bake until hot and browning on the edges, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, stir-fry carrots, onions and bok choy in oil in a saute pan until tender and caramelized. Deglaze pan with Kim Chi Sauce and remove from heat.
- Fry eggs in a nonstick pan until sunny-side up is reached.
- Assemble in each of 4 warm bowls: Daikon radish, Rice Cake, drizzle of Ginger-Scallion Sauce, stir-fry vegetable mix, pork belly, fried egg and radish sprouts on top.
Bibimbap Rice Cake:
- For the lemongrass simple syrup: Bring sugar, lemongrass and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a small pot, then turn off the heat and let cool.
- For the rice cakes: Combine the vinegar, sugar, dashi and 1/4 cup salt in a large bowl and stir until sugar and salt dissolve. Wipe kombu with a wet paper towel, then add it to the seasoning. (Remove kombu before using.) Season the sushi rice with 3/4 cup of this "sushi zu" (save the remainder for another use).
- Combine the sushi rice, 3/4 cup simple syrup (save the remainder for another use), scallions, garlic, pepper, 2 cups panko and remaining teaspoon salt in a bowl. Mix well, then shape into 8 cakes using a 3-inch oiled ring mold. Press firmly into remaining panko to crust both sides. Individually wrap each cake in plastic.
Kim Chi Sauce:
- Combine fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, Thai chiles and habaneros in a bowl and whisk to dissolve sugar.
Ginger-Scallion Sauce:
- Combine scallions, soy sauce, ginger, vinegar, sugar and seasoning sauce in a bowl and whisk to dissolve sugar.