bibimbap

Bibimbap
* ( , from Korean , literally "mixed rice"), sometimes romanized as bi bim bap or bi bim bop, is a Korean rice dish. The term "bibim" means "mixing" and " bap" refers to cooked rice. ''Bibimbap'' is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with '' namul'' (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) or kimchi (traditional fermented vegetables) and ''gochujang'' (chili pepper paste), soy sauce, or ''doenjang'' (a fermented soybean paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The hot dish is stirred together thoroughly just before eating.

In South Korea, Jeonju, Jinju, and Tongyeong are especially famous for their versions of bibimbap. In 2011, the dish was listed at number 40 on the ''World's 50 most delicious foods'' readers' poll compiled by CNN Travel.

Name origins

The origin of the many names of bibimbap come from Korea's hanja based records, originally appearing in ''Yokjokumun'' () of ''Kijae-jabki'' () by Park Dong-ryang () in the end of 16th century (around 1590). This record associated the original bibimbap as "''hondonban'' ()" This later went on to become ''bubuiembap'' () nearly 200 years after the hanja record, and was documented in a Hangul record. The hanja dictionary () indeed contained "''bubuida'' ()" or "''bubuiem'' (), ''Dong'' ()" in hanja, which meant "mix" or "" in Korean. In the late 19th century the two names were recorded for the recipe being () and (), with the recipe being written in pure Korean. Other various recordings after this include (in Hanja) (, ), (), and () and also (); then in Hangeul, (), (), (), (), (), and ().

History

The exact origin of bibimbap () is unknown. People could have started mixing bap (rice) with banchan (side dishes) after the outdoor ''jesa'' (rites), such as '' sansinje'' (rite for mountain gods) or '' dongsinje'' (rite for village gods), where they needed to "eat with the god" but did not have as many cooking pots and items of crockery to hand as they would normally have at home. Jeonju Bibimbap is an old-fashioned and delicious dish. Some scholars assert that bibimbap originates from the traditional practice of mixing all the food offerings made at an ''jesa'' (ancestral rite) in a bowl before partaking of it.

Ordinary people ate bibimbap on the eve of the lunar new year as the people at that time felt that they had to get rid of all of the leftover side dishes before the new year. The solution to this problem was to put all of the leftovers in a bowl of rice and to mix them together. Farmers ate bibimbap during farming season as it was the easiest way to make food for a large number of people. Bibimbap was served to the king, usually as a lunch or a between-meal snack. There was more than vegetables in this bibimbap.

Bibimbap was recorded as ''hondon-ban'' () in the history book '' Historical notes of Gijae'' by the Joseon scholar Bak Dong-ryang (1569–1635). In the '' Diary of Cheongdae'' by another Joseon scholar Gwon Sang-il (1679–1760), it was recorded as ''goldong-ban'' (). The dish was also recorded in '' Complete Works of Seongho'' by Yi Ik (1681–1764) as ''goldong'' (), in '' Complete Works of Cheongjanggwan'' by Yi deok-mu (1741–1793) as ''goldong-ban'' (), and in '' Works of Nakhasaeng'' by Yi Hak-gyu (1770–1835) as both ''goldong-ban'' () and ''goldong'' ().

The hangul transcription () first appears in the 1810 encyclopedia '' Mongyupyeon'' by Jang Hon. The 1870 encyclopedia states that the dish name is written as () in hanja but is read as (), a probable transcription of the native Korean ().

In '' Collected Works of Oju'' written by Yi Gyu-gyeong (1788–1856), recorded varieties of bibimbap, such as vegetable bibimbap, miscellany bibimbap, hoe bibimbap, shad bibimbap, salted shrimp bibimbap, shrimp roe bibimbap, marinated crab bibimbap, wild chive bibimbap, fresh cucumber