Anatomy of a dish: bibimbap

1. THE BOWL

Called a dolsot in Korean, Soju heats up this special stone bowl on a gas stove until red hot. The residual heat keeps cooking the rice, so that by the time you get to the bottom, it has formed an addictively delicious crust. “It’s a happy, happy smell,” says co-owner Rota Yi, affectionately known as Soju Mama.

2. THE RICE

Plain white rice grains are cooked in an electric steamer with just a sprinkling of salt until sticky.

3. THE MINCE

“The steak mince is top quality, so we want to keep its flavour pure,” says Soju Mama. “We fry it over a gas flame, then drain it of oil, and fry it again with only garlic and salt.”

4. THE VEGETABLES

The veggies change according to season, but you’ll usually  find baby marrow, carrots and shiitake mushrooms – stirfried separately – putting in an appearance.

5. THE SAUCE

Soju Mama is pretty secretive about the exact contents of the hot sauce she makes, saying it’ll take hours to explain... She is willing to concede that she uses traditional Korean chilli paste, or gochujang, to give it its heat. A small amount is folded through the dish at the end.

6. THE EGG

Sunny side up, with crispy edges, the egg is a great foil for the heat of the chilli. If you’re lucky, Soju Mama will step in and show you how to fold it into the rest of the dish using your chopsticks (she takes the liberty of doing it for you).

7. THE FINISHING TOUCHES

A dash of sesame oil, a sprinkling of sesame seeds and a last drizzle of hot sauce does the trick.

8. THE SIDES

Many of the ingredients for the sides come from Soju Mama’s own vegetable garden, so also vary with the seasons. Pickled beetroot, carrots and green beans, radish and cabbage kimchis, bean sprouts, seaweed and sticky-sweet fermented yellow soya beans are all regular accompaniments.

Korean Soju Restaurant, 265A Main Road, Sea Point, Cape Town; Tel: 072 736 7845.

Discover more Asian-inspired recipes here.