The problem with running a food blog where you share lots of ethnic recipes, and in particular a vegan food blog where you share lots of ethnic recipes, is that you get a lot of people who react one of two ways: (1) “This is too exotic. Can I substitute a bunch of stuff?” or (2) “This is so inauthentic. Why’d you substitute that stuff?” I try to aim for a nice place in the middle, and judging by the nice even split in reactions, I’m succeeding. I posted a bibimbap recipe a while back, which is pretty exotic to most Americans, and I did get some questions, and even a comment about tofu being unsuitable, as meat is apparently more authentic. Whatever the case, authentic or not, the Korean restaurants I’ve eaten bibimbap in have all had tofu as an option, for which I’m very grateful because otherwise I might never have experienced the deliciousness that is bibimbap. This makes no attempts at feigning authenticity. It’s totally invented. I made it up and I’d do it again. It was goooooooood. My biggest issue when I posted that first bibimbap recipe was the whole stone bowl thing. I love those hot sizzly bowls, and I can’t imagine eating my bibimbap rice without it having sizzled away against the surface of a stone bowl, but I know most people reading weren’t about to go out and invest in special tableware for that one dish. So I ditched the bowl and the rice completely. I didn’t miss them. Stuffing things into a sandwich is probably my favorite way to make seemingly exotic food more accessible. This sandwich is a whole new species of bibimbap, no special equipment needed.
