This Vegan Oyster Mushroom Bibimbap is so easy to make, super filling and really healthy!
I’m not going to claim that this version of the traditional Korean dish Bibimbap is in any way an authentic recipe. It’s more a loose variation that I’ve made vegan.
Bibimbap usually consists of a bowl of rice topped with various vegetables, meat (usually beef) and a raw or fried egg all coated with a spicy sauce called gochujang.
For this version here, I’ve replaced the beef with meaty oyster mushrooms and soft, silky tofu. You can use whatever other vegetables you like, but I went for wilted spinach as well as lots of other raw veggies such as quick-pickled Chinese cabbage, salad cress, spring onions, pickled ginger and sweet red peppers.
Other good vegetables to add would be carrots, beansprouts, broccoli, or anything else you happen to have on hand, really!
The sauce I made for this Bibimbap is inspired by the flavours of Japanese BBQ sauce. Japanese BBQ is called yakiniku, which means grilled meat.
The meat is dipped in a special sauce called tare before being eaten (rather than being marinated before cooking). This sauce, which is usually made from soy sauce, sugar, fruit juice, garlic and sesame seeds, is perfectly salty-sweet and full of flavour.
I personally think the sauce also goes well with loads of foods other than meat, so decided to use it for this Bibimbap, and was very happy with the results!
This Vegan Oyster Mushroom Bibimbap recipe is healthier than the original version of the dish and it’s so easy to make. All you need to do is throw together a few basic ingredients to make the sauce, pan-fry some mushrooms, scrambled tofu and other vegetables of choice, and then tumble the whole thing over a bed of rice. So simple!
I absolutely love the combination of the meaty, chewy oyster mushrooms, perfectly tender silken tofu, crunchy Chinese cabbage and sweet, fiery pickled ginger with the nutty brown rice.
I hope you’ll love this Vegan Oyster Mushroom Bibimbap! Want more great bowls? You might like my:
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Helpful tools to make this Vegan Oyster Mushroom Bibimbap:
glass mixing bowl
Vegan Oyster Mushroom Bibimbap (GF)
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil, for frying (or sub coconut or rapeseed oil)
- 300 g (10oz) silken tofu
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- Handful oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped (or sub shiitake mushrooms)
- Few handfuls spinach
For the sauce*:
- 3 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce if not gluten-free)
- 1 heaped teaspoon miso (ensure gluten-free if necessary
- 1 teaspoon agave syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 cm (1/2 inch) fresh ginger, grated
- 1 clove of garlic, grated
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- Pinch of black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 1/2 apple, peeled and grated
- Pinch of cayenne chilli pepper, to taste
To serve (optional):
- Cooked brown or white rice
- Spring onion, thinly sliced
- Pickled ginger
- Salad cress
- Red pepper, thinly sliced
- Quick-pickled Chinese cabbage
For the quick-pickled Chinese cabbage (serves 2 with leftovers):
- 4 leaves Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced
- Generous pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon agave syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- Pinch of cayenne chilli pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Mix together the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl
- Drain away the water from the tofu and pat dry with a paper towel
- In a bowl, crumble the tofu either with your hands or a spoon
- Pour 2 tablespoons of the sauce over the tofu and mix well (you could leave the tofu to marinate for up to a day in advance of actually making the dish if you want)
- Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan
- Once hot, add the onions and fry until soft
- Next add the mushrooms with 2 tablespoons of the sauce
- Once cooked, transfer to a plate and set aside
- Heat up another tablespoon of oil
- Once hot, add the tofu and fry for a few minutes until heated through
- Transfer onto the same plate as the mushrooms and set aside
- Heat up another tablespoon of oil
- Add the spinach along with the remainder of the sauce and heat until spinach has wilted
- Transfer onto the same plate as the mushrooms and tofu
To serve:
- Serve in bowls over a bed of rice and sprinkle over the spring onions, pickled ginger, salad cress, red pepper slices
- Also great served with quick-pickled Chinese cabbage (see recipe below)
For the quick-pickled Chinese cabbage:
- Place thinly sliced chinese cabbage in a bowl with a generous pinch of salt and leave for about 10 minutes, until cabbage has wilted
- Squeeze out all the water that has come out of the cabbage and place back in the bowl
- Add agave syrup, vinegar and cayenne chilli pepper
- Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days
Notes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of the products, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Werner Hofmann
Great sauce. I need to avoid added sugar incl. fruit. I substituted the agave with some red beet juice and the apple with raspberries pressed thru a garlic press. What flavors!
Oyster mushrooms, leak and baby broccoli over quinoa. Yumm.
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much for sharing, so glad you liked it! Your substitutions sound delicious 🙂
Charlie
Love this sauce!
Rhian Williams
Thank you!