Inside a Bowl of Bipimbap

Before I stirred the contents with chopsticks, my bipimbap was a work of art, ingredients in their respective provinces, topped with a sunny egg, jiggly yellow belly in the middle.

This dish, apparently a favorite of Gweneth Paltrow, is most famous in the rice growing valleys of South Korea. Each region has cuisine unique to its climate. For instance, mushrooms and other wild plants are cultivated in the mountains, so North Eastern Korea has staple food with wild ferns and native roots.

What's in bipimbap, you ask? You can easily make it at home. Bipimbap is rice topped with dried seaweed, kimchi, lettuce, cucumber, sprouts (or alternative vegetables), and egg!

It's delicious and frankly less of a commitment than a boiling cauldron of kimchi jiggae. Kimchi jiggae takes time to prepare, then needs to sit and cool. Bits of red pepper cling to your teeth-- you find out who your true friends are, afterwards! Who needs that hassle?

If you're on the run, order bipimbap, served in less than 5 minutes. It's flavored by gochujang: red chili paste, healthy and cheap: 3,000 W.