Ottawa is lucky to have had a bibimbap food truck (found on Bank, between Albert and Slater) this summer. It seemed to be quite popular with people queuing during lunch hour.

Bibimbap is a fantastic meal:

• It’s healthy because it usually starts with rice and vegetables and the ubiquituos gochujang (hot pepper paste sauce- you can find a recipe for the seasoned gochujang to use in your bibimbap here). You add other ingredients according to your palate.
• it’s easy to eat because you put everything in a bowl and mix into one delicious combination.
• It’s not expensive: Unless you decide to throw in some truffles (which you can) and lobster (which you can) or caviar (which is a nice salty addition).
• It’s versatile. Because the ingredients can easily be personalised and the intensity adjusted according to how much spice you can handle, bibimbap is a crowd pleaser.
• It’s relatively easy to make: you start with rice and add whatever you have in the fridge. You can throw in whatever leftover you have in your fridge. See some variations prepared by one blogger – one more traditional  and the other a modern version

No wonder that Claire Potter from The Guardian calls bibimbap the ultimate comfort food. High praise indeed!

When served in the typical hot stone bowl, the heat of the bowl slowly crisps the rice at the bottom of the bowl. It also seems like the heat of the bowl is keeping the sunny side up egg warm. So when you stir the pot, the different textures of the garnishes combine together with the gochujang, the runny yolk and the crispy rice.  It is definitely delight in a bowl.