Traditionally, bibimbap is made by cooking each ingredient separately — the rice, vegetables, beef, eggs, and sauce all come together beautifully, but it can involve a lot of cooking and a lot of dishes.

This rice cooker bibimbap method is my little cheat code. It saves so much effort, but still gives you about 90% of the flavour and comfort of a classic bibimbap bowl. You get rice, vegetables, beef, eggs, and sauce all in one complete meal, made mostly in one pot.

Ever since I figured out this method, I’ve been making it all the time. It is hearty, healthy, cozy, and perfect for busy days when you want something satisfying without standing by the stove the whole time.

Ingredients

Beef

1/2 lb medium ground beef
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp sesame oil, added at the end

Sauce

You can also use only gochujang if you want to keep it very simple.

3 tbsp gochujang, use less if you prefer it less spicy
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp clear rice vinegar or white vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp water
1 clove garlic, finely minced

Rice Cooker Ingredients

2 rice cooker cups short or medium grain rice
4 mushrooms, sliced
Handful of soybean sprouts
1/2 large carrot, julienned
Handful of spinach
2 eggs, added during the last 15 minutes
Water, slightly less than the white rice line
Sesame seeds, for garnish, optional

Instructions

1. In a pan, or using your rice cooker’s sauté function, add a little oil. Add the ground beef and break it apart while browning.

2. Add the minced garlic, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Mix everything together until the beef is cooked through and well coated. Drizzle in the sesame oil, then remove the beef and set it aside.

3. Wash the rice and add it to the rice cooker. Add water to slightly below the white rice line, since the vegetables will release some moisture while cooking.

4. Add the mushrooms, soybean sprouts, and carrot on top of the rice. Close the rice cooker and start the regular white rice or quick rice setting.

5. While the rice is cooking, make the sauce. In a bowl, combine the gochujang, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, water, and finely minced garlic. Mix until smooth. You can adjust the amount of water depending on how thick you like the sauce.

6. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, open the rice cooker and add the spinach, cooked beef, and eggs on top. Close the lid and continue cooking.

7. Once the cooking cycle is done, drizzle over your desired amount of sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using. Mix everything together and serve warm.

A few helpful tips

Use slightly less water than usual because the vegetables will release moisture as they cook. This helps prevent the rice from becoming too soft.
If you prefer runnier eggs, add them later than the last 15 minutes. If you prefer fully cooked eggs, 15 minutes works well.
You can adjust the sauce to taste. Use less gochujang for a milder version, or add more if you like it spicy. You can also thin it out with a little more water if you prefer a looser sauce.
For the vegetables, feel free to use what you have. Mushrooms, soybean sprouts, carrots, and spinach work really well, but zucchini, bean sprouts, or other leafy greens can also be used.

Equipment

1 Rice cooker