Bibimbap
Rice dishes
Warm rice topped with seasoned vegetables, a fried egg and gochujang, mixed together at the table before eating.
Why this list cannot be complete
Many Korean restaurants are franchises whose recipes are not published, and shops create their own versions of the same dish. A menu name often does not tell you what is inside. This page covers the traditional recipe and the variations that have spread widely, not every shop.
Bibimbap in particular: the toppings change a lot from shop to shop, and there are many named versions such as raw beef, bulgogi, tuna or octopus bibimbap.
When you are not sure what a shop puts in, show your card to say what you cannot eat, or show the list below and ask the staff to point to what is in theirs.
What usually goes in
이 음식에 아래 재료 중 들어가는 것이 있나요?
For the staff: does this dish contain any of the ingredients below?
A fried or raw egg on top is a standard part of the bowl. Everything is stirred together before eating, so ask for it to be left off when you order.
Gochujang is made with fermented soybean powder (meju), and some places serve soy sauce or doenjang instead. Where the gochujang comes separately you can decide how much to add, but every sauce option carries soy.
Sesame oil is poured over the bowl or left on the table for you to add. Where you add it yourself you can skip it, but namul such as spinach and bracken are dressed with sesame oil and seeds, so sesame is still there. The hot stone version coats the bowl with sesame oil to crisp the rice.
Many shop-bought gochujang brands contain wheat, and wheat-based soy sauce is a second route. Wheat-free gochujang exists but you cannot tell by looking.
Barley malt powder is a traditional gochujang ingredient and still appears in many brands, alongside rice-based recipes.
Sliced or minced meat is a common topping and is usually beef, but chicken, seafood or tofu can take its place. Some places serve yak-gochujang, gochujang stir-fried with minced beef, as the sauce, so beef can be in the sauce even without the topping.
Minced garlic goes into the namul seasoning for spinach and bracken and into the gochujang sauce stirred through the rice at the table.
Some named versions, such as stir-fried onion bibimbap, put a heap of cooked onion on the rice as the main topping.
Albap, a named version, heaps fish roe such as flying fish roe on the rice.
Cockle bibimbap puts boiled cockles tossed in a dressing on the rice.
Nakji bibimbap tops the rice with spicy stir-fried long-arm octopus.
Shiitake or oyster mushrooms are sometimes sauteed and added like the other vegetable toppings, and Jeonju bibimbap is topped with shiitake.
Some places dress the vegetables or mix the bowl with perilla oil instead of sesame oil, and mountain-vegetable bibimbap may dress the vegetables with perilla seed powder.
Some recipes mix pear juice into the gochujang sauce or add shredded pear on top.
- Usually in it
- Most kitchens put this in. Assume it is there unless the staff tell you otherwise.
- Sometimes in it
- It depends on the recipe and the brand of sauce, so it is worth asking.
- Rarely in it
- The usual recipe does not call for it, but some kitchens still use it.
Checked 14 of the 33 ingredients this site covers. An ingredient that is not listed here has simply not been checked yet — that is not the same as it not being in the dish.
This page describes how the dish is usually made in Korea. Every kitchen works differently, so always show your card and ask the staff before you order.
Going on your card
- Eggs (알류)
- Soybean (대두)
- Sesame (참깨)
- Wheat (밀)
- Barley and rye (보리 · 호밀)
- Beef (쇠고기)
- Garlic (마늘)
- Onion (양파)
- Fish (생선)
- Shellfish (조개류 · 굴 · 전복)
- Octopus (문어 · 낙지 · 주꾸미)
- Mushrooms (버섯)
- Perilla seed (들깨 · 들기름)
- Asian pear (배)
Common variations
If you see one of these names on a menu, expect the ingredients below on top of the basic dish. Shops differ, so check with the staff.
- 육회 비빔밥Beef tartare bibimbap
Adds: Beef (쇠고기)
Seasoned raw beef is placed on the rice, often with a raw egg yolk.
- 알밥Fish roe bibimbap
Adds: Fish (생선)
Fish roe such as flying fish roe is heaped on the rice and mixed in.
- 꼬막 비빔밥Cockle bibimbap
Adds: Shellfish (조개류 · 굴 · 전복)
Boiled cockles tossed in a soy sauce dressing are placed on the rice.
Diets
- VeganNot suitable
An egg on top is standard and beef is a common topping.
- Lacto-ovo vegetarianAsk first
Beef is common, but some places swap it for tofu — ask for a meat-free bowl.
- HalalAsk first
The meat topping changes from shop to shop, so ask what meat is used or order it without.
Other dishes with the same ingredients
- JapchaeSoybean · Sesame · Garlic · Mushrooms — Usually in it / Beef · Onion · Eggs (poultry) · Wheat · Fish · Shellfish (incl. oyster, abalone, mussel) · Perilla seed (incl. perilla oil and powder) — Sometimes in it
- BulgogiBeef · Soybean · Sesame · Garlic — Usually in it / Onion · Wheat · Octopus (incl. long-arm and webfoot octopus) · Mushrooms · Asian pear — Sometimes in it
- GimbapSesame · Eggs (poultry) · Soybean — Usually in it / Fish · Wheat · Beef · Garlic · Onion · Perilla seed (incl. perilla oil and powder) — Sometimes in it
Read more
- Soy in Korean foodWhere this ingredient hides across Korean food
- Sesame in Korean foodWhere this ingredient hides across Korean food
- Eggs in Korean foodWhere this ingredient hides across Korean food
- Gluten-free travel in KoreaWhere wheat hides in sauces and broths
- Vegan dining in KoreaWhere meat and seafood hide in Korean cooking
- Emergency allergy help in KoreaWhat to do and say if a reaction starts
- Halal food in KoreaWhere pork, alcohol, and non-halal meat hide in Korean cooking
- Temple food and Buddhist vegetarian dining in KoreaWhere garlic, green onion, and other pungent vegetables hide
Sources we checked
Each finding on this page lists the recipes and references it is based on. Source titles appear in their original language and are not translated, and each link opens the other site in a new tab.
Show the 24 sources behind each finding
What usually goes in
Eggs · Usually in it
Soybean · Usually in it
- Wikipedia, "Gochujang" — made with fermented soybean (meju) powder and barley malt powder; some recipes use rice or barley (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia, "Bibimbap" — egg and sliced meat (usually beef) as common additions; sesame oil; dolsot bowl coated with sesame oil; tofu, chicken or seafood as substitutes (opens in a new tab)
Sesame · Usually in it
- Wikipedia, "Bibimbap" — egg and sliced meat (usually beef) as common additions; sesame oil; dolsot bowl coated with sesame oil; tofu, chicken or seafood as substitutes (opens in a new tab)
- 나무위키, 「비빔밥」 — 육회비빔밥을 날 소고기가 들어가는 변형으로 소개, 약고추장은 소고기에 고추장을 더해 볶은 것, 나물은 참기름으로 양념 (opens in a new tab)
- 만개의레시피, 「시금치나물 만드는법」 — 참기름 · 통깨 (opens in a new tab)
- 만개의레시피, 「고사리나물볶음 만드는 법」 — 참기름 · 볶음참깨 (opens in a new tab)
Wheat · Sometimes in it
Barley and rye · Sometimes in it
- Celiac.com, "Is Gochujang Gluten-Free? What to Know Before You Buy" — many commercial versions contain wheat, barley malt or wheat-based soy sauce (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia, "Gochujang" — made with fermented soybean (meju) powder and barley malt powder; some recipes use rice or barley (opens in a new tab)
Beef · Sometimes in it
- Wikipedia, "Bibimbap" — egg and sliced meat (usually beef) as common additions; sesame oil; dolsot bowl coated with sesame oil; tofu, chicken or seafood as substitutes (opens in a new tab)
- 나무위키, 「비빔밥」 — 육회비빔밥을 날 소고기가 들어가는 변형으로 소개, 약고추장은 소고기에 고추장을 더해 볶은 것, 나물은 참기름으로 양념 (opens in a new tab)
- 만개의레시피, 「소고기 약고추장 만드는법」 — 소고기 다짐육, 나물 비빔밥에 얹음 (opens in a new tab)
Garlic · Usually in it
Onion · Sometimes in it
Fish · Sometimes in it
Shellfish · Sometimes in it
Octopus · Sometimes in it
Mushrooms · Sometimes in it
Perilla seed · Sometimes in it
Asian pear · Sometimes in it
Common variations
육회 비빔밥 · Beef tartare bibimbap
알밥 · Fish roe bibimbap
꼬막 비빔밥 · Cockle bibimbap
Diets
Vegan · Not suitable
Lacto-ovo vegetarian · Ask first
Halal · Ask first
Each dish is researched by hand from the sources we checked, and nothing here is generated automatically. Recipes vary from kitchen to kitchen, so always confirm with the staff before you order.