A Bold Bowl of Bibimbap
Bibimbap is a signature Korean dish that I love eating as much as I love saying out loud. Pronounced bee-beem-bahp, it means “mixed rice” in Korean. The dish is commonly prepared with a mix of assorted vegetables, rice, an egg, and some form of sliced meat. Although many Korean restaurants serve this dish as part of their full menu, it is a specialty at Bowl’d on Solano Avenue in Albany.
On a recent visit to Bowl’d with a friend, we ordered bibimbap. Here are some instructions to prepare you for your visit. First off, you need to decide if you want it cold or hot. The hot one is called Dolsot Bibimbap, prepared in hot stoneware, and costs extra. This is the way I like it because I enjoy the sound of the sizzle when you mix the ingredients and the sauce hits the stoneware. Also, when you reach the bottom, you will get browned crunchy rice pieces.
Next you need to choose your protein. Your choices are beef (bulgogi), chicken, pork, and pork belly. The chicken and pork belly has the options of ordering spicy. For an additional charge, higher end protein options of beef short ribs (kalbi) and salmon are available. Vegetarians have an option of mung bean pancake or tofu.
At Bowl’d you are also given the option of white or mixed grain rice. Mixed grain consists of a mixture of barley, sweet brown rice, wild red rice, sweet rice, and black rice.
I ordered the Dolsot Bimbimbap with bulgogi and white rice. The best way to eat it is to add some spicy chili paste, break up the over easy egg, and mix all the ingredients thoroughly. The dish came with assorted banchan or Korean side dishes.
I wanted to try the Bowl’d wings or Korean Fried Chicken (KFC). The KFC are deep fried chicken wings cooked in a sweet and tangy chili sauce. They came out piping hot, crispy, and flavorful. All I can say is that they were finger lickin’ good.
I love noodles so I take most opportunities to eat them. My favorite Korean noodles are the clear glass noodles made from sweet potato starch. We ordered the veggie Jhap Chae which are prepared with these noodles and stir fried with mushrooms, julienned carrots, onions, and sesame oil. I love the chewy texture of the noodles alongside the fresh cooked vegetables.
Bowl’d in Albany is part of a family of Korean restaurants in the East Bay. They also have Bowl’d BBQ and Oghane in Oakland and Spoon in Berkeley. Spoon is a Korean bistro where I previously wrote about their excellent brunch.