The sheer amount of time we’ve spent watching K-dramas have surely developed our craving for Korean flavors. Admittedly, the sight of our favorite idols feasting on Korean food got us craving for it too.
Korean cuisine is known for the layering of tastes and textures such that there’s an explosion of flavors in every mouthful.
One of K-cuisine’s hallmark dishes is kimchi. This traditional side dish is made with salted and fermented vegetables and flavored with a variety of seasonings and aromatics such as chili powder, spring onions, garlic and salted seafood, resulting in complex blend of sour, spicy and umami.
Kimchi is ever-present in Korean food culture that you would be hard-pressed to find a Korean meal without it.
That certainly held true for Koreans Steve Song and David Seo, two buddies living abroad who embraced local cuisines but found something missing in their foodie adventures. Deciding to add a taste of home to their meals, they developed a kimchi-style condiment that’s uniquely blended to complement and add that crave-worthy kimchi flavor to practically any dish.
They named their creation Bibimbud, the Original Kimchi Sauce.
Made by people who absolutely love kimchi, Bibimbud is packed full with the flavor and goodness of kimchi with no preservatives. The product underwent a natural fermentation process just like real kimchi which allows it to get better with age and keep for a longer period.
It also comes with the health benefits brought by real kimchi such as boosting and metabolism and improving blood circulation and gut health.
With these in mind, why not incorporate Bibimbud to any meal?
Check out this fusion of Korean and Japanese flavors in my version of Kimchi Spam Musubi, made possible by Bibimbud.
Spam Musubi is said to have originated in Hawaii during and post-World War II, when the Japanese-American locals incorporated the canned meat into their own cuisines.
The addition of Bibimbud to Spam Musubi gives a new dimension of flavor to this popular snack.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups steamed rice, kept warm
- 1 can Spam cut into eight slices
- Teriyaki sauce made with 1 tbsp sugar dissolved in 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 3 eggs, whisked until homogenous
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
- 2 nori sheets, each sheet cut into 4 strips of equal width
- 2 tbsp Bibimbud, The Original Kimchi Sauce
Procedure:
- Mix one tablespoon of the teriyaki sauce to the eggs.
- Place a lightly oiled frying pan over medium to low heat. Add the eggs, cover and let cook for five minutes. When the top is set, slide the eggs onto a cutting board, the two sides into the middle making three layers then cut into eight strips of equal width.
- Fry the Spam in a non-stick pan over high heat for five to seven minutes until crispy on both sides. When cooked, place the Spam pieces on a paper towel to drain off excess oil. Using the same pan, cook the remaining teriyaki sauce over medium heat. When it begins to thicken, add back the Spam to coat both sides of pieces with sauce.
- Mix the Bibimbud, sesame seeds and rice vinegar into the rice and divide the mixture into eight equal portions. Press one portion into your musubi mold. (You can use the empty Spam can as a musubi mold by lining the bottom and inner sides with plastic wrap.)
- Layer an egg strip on top of the rice then top with a piece of Spam. Press the layers against the mold until firm.
- Wrap the molded musubi in a strip of nori. Seal the end of the nori strip with a bit of water.
- Serve and enjoy!
Bibimbud may also be used in flavoring Kimchi Fried Rice, Kimchi Pasta, Bibimbap, Korean-style Fried Chicken and more. For more details about Bibimbud and to check out recipes, visit bibimbud.com.
Given that Bibimbud is in a sauce form, it is easy to adjust the kimchi taste in the food, whether mild to suit newbies, or more intense to suit connoisseurs of Korean cuisine.
So the next time we go on a K-drama binge, we know we can easily have a taste of the flavors our K-idols are enjoying, thanks to Bibimbud!
Bibimbud is available at Lazada in 250-gram packs for Php175/pack.
Disclosure: A product sample was by Bibimbud.
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