Vegan Bibimbap

• 1 cup 10-grain rice
• 2 ¼ cups water
• ½ carrot
• ½ cucumber
• 4 radishes
• 1 spring onion
• 100g bean sprouts
• 2-3 handfuls fresh spinach
• A couple sheets of dried seaweed (norri), broken into pieces

The Barbecue King Oyster Mushrooms

• 2 King oyster mushrooms
• 2 tbsp white miso
• Approx. 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp water
• Drizzle sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ a thumb-sized piece of ginger

The Korean Chilli Sauce

• 2 tbsp Gochujang
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp black sesame seeds
• 1 tsp sugar

The Garnish

• 1 spring onion
• Black sesame seeds

1. First up, wash your rice. Set up a large saucepan filled halfway with water and add your 10-grain rice. Using your hands, sift the rice through the water to remove as much excess starch as possible, watching as the water in the pan goes murky. Drain and repeat at least 3-4 times until the rice is clean and the water is clear. Then, in an empty saucepan, combine the washed rice along with 2 ¼ cups of fresh water and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes.

2. While the rice is soaking, prepare the rest of your vegetables. (Hint: you can use any vegetables you prefer, so feel free to adapt this mix!). First, peel and chop your carrot into long matchsticks and place into a bowl to one side. Then cut the cucumber into batons, thicker than the matchsticked carrots, and quarter the radishes - placing both in separate bowls to the side too. Remove the roots of both the spring onions, cutting one into matchsticks and the other into rings. Leave the rings of spring onion to be used later as a garnish, and place the matchsticks into another bowl. Finally, place the spinach into another bowl, and trim and wash your bean sprouts.

3. Next, make your Barbecue King Oyster Mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms in half, then make diagonal scores into the inner flesh to create a criss-cross pattern on each slice. In a bowl, make the mushroom marinade by mixing the white miso, sugar and light soy sauce and water. Then, peel and mince both the ginger and the clove of garlic and add to the marinade along with a drizzle of sesame oil. Mix well, and add the mushrooms to the bowl, using your hands to make sure the marinade wraps around every side of the mushroom pieces. It’s time to get cooking!

4. Return to your rice: once it has soaked for at least 30 minutes, bring the rice to a boil over a high heat, then reduce to a simmer and leave to cook for 45 mins. (Hint: remember to keep a lid on your pan for the whole time your rice is cooking! This will allow steam to build and cook the rice through).

5. Meanwhile, if you are using a traditional stone bowl, set your oven to 230C and place the bowl in the centre, leaving it to warm for 15 minutes. Once warmed, remove the bowl from the oven and brush sesame oil around the inside before returning it to the heat and leave until the rice is done.

6. Next, prepare to blanch your vegetables by setting up your wok station: line up all of your bowls of prepared vegetables, and keep them close to hand as you half-fill your wok with water and bring it to the boil.

7. When the water is bubbling, place your carrots into the boiling water and leave to blanch for just 1 minute before removing them from the wok with a Bird’s Nest or slotted spoon, back into their original bowl. Repeat with the rest of the cooked vegetables: blanching the cucumber for 30 seconds, radishes for up to 2 minutes (until the white has become translucent) and spinach for 10-20 seconds, until wilted. After blanching the beansprouts for approximately 30 seconds, remove them from the wok and run under cold water to prevent them from cooking further and enabling them to keep their crunch. Season each different bowl of vegetables with a pinch of salt and drizzle of sesame oil, massaging thoroughly, and leave to the side for later.

8. Onto the mushrooms! Now that you have finished blanching your vegetables, drain and dry your wok before returning it back to a high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil and bring it to a smoking point, then add each of the mushrooms to the wok one by one, flesh-side down and ensuring none are touching. Lower the heat to medium, then use the back of a ladle to press into the mushrooms and sear the inside. Once the mushrooms have all got a nice char on the inside, flip them over and repeat on the outer. Then, pour in the rest of the marinade sauce, adding another couple of tablespoons of water if needed. Bring the sauce to the boil and let the mushrooms cook for a further 2 minutes before transferring the contents of the wok to a separate bowl.

9. When the rice has had 45 minutes to cook through, remove it from the heat and leave it to sit with the lid on for a further 10 minutes. In this time, make your final component, the Korean chilli sauce, by mixing all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and setting aside.

10. Once the 10 minutes is up, carefully remove the stone bowl from the oven and spoon in the now-cooked rice. Return the bowl to the oven for a final 5 minutes to get a nice crisp on the base of the rice, and then transfer to a countertop.

11. Now, it’s just a compiling job! Place each of your components on top of the rice, clockwise around the edge of the bowl: beginning with the bean sprouts and matchsticked spring onion, and followed by the radish, cucumber, carrot, spinach, and gnorri. Finally, place the barbecue king oyster mushrooms in the centre of the bowl, drizzling more of the barbecue sauce over the whole bowl if any remains. Garnish with some more sesame seeds and rings of spring onion, and serve alongside the bowl of homemade Korean chilli sauce. Enjoy!