Fragrant Meongge Bibimbap (Sea Squirt Rice Bowl)
A one-bowl meal of fragrant in-season sea squirt and crisp vegetables tossed with sweet and tangy homemade chojang.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
A special one-bowl meal featuring fragrant, pleasantly bitter in-season sea squirt paired with crisp vegetables and sweet and tangy chojang. The sea squirt is prepped by scraping away the viscera and rinsing briefly, and the chojang develops a deeper flavor when aged for about a day. It makes a wonderful appetite-whetting spring meal or a light dish to pair with drinks.
- Servings
- 2–3 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Mildly spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Sea squirt (meongge)
- Water dropwort (minari)
- Cucumber
- Carrot
- Cabbage
Chojang
- Fine gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)1 tbsp
- Gochujang (Korean red chili paste)2 tbsp
- Regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang) (or brewed soy sauce (yangjo-ganjang))1 tbsp
- Corn syrup (mulyeot)1 tbsp
- Sugar1 tbsp
- Vinegar2–3 tbsp
- Minced garlic1/2 tbsp
- Mirin (cooking rice wine)1 tbsp
- Ground black peppera little
- Radish sprouts or seaweed also make great additions.
- Trim both ends of the sea squirt slightly—trimming only the very tip on the root end so no meat is cut away—then slit the skin with kitchen shears to separate the meat, scrape off the viscera with a knife, and rinse briefly.
- When sea squirt is in season, you can buy plenty, clean it, and freeze it in portions to use as needed.
Steps
Prepare the ingredients
This is ten thousand won worth of sea squirt (meongge).
It is about 10 pieces, mixed large and small.
Clean the sea squirt
Trim both ends of the sea squirt slightly.
Especially on the end with the root-like whiskers, trim only a tiny bit off the tip so you do not cut away any meat.
For the middle section, cut through just one side of the skin with kitchen shears, and the skin and meat will separate easily.
If you turn the meat over, you may find the viscera sticking to it. Scrape it away gently with a knife to remove it.
Never throw away the horns on the end pieces, because there is meat tucked inside them.
Rinse briefly and drain the water roughly.
Chop finely for bibimbap or bibim noodles, or cut into large pieces if you want to enjoy it as raw sashimi.
A lot of sea squirt juice comes out after cutting; transfer it to a bowl so no more is lost, and it is great to use along with the meat in soup dishes like miyeokguk.
When sea squirt is in season, you can buy a lot, clean it like this, freeze it in portions, and use it as needed.
Make the chojang
Add 1 tbsp fine gochugaru (Korean chili flakes), 2 tbsp gochujang (Korean red chili paste), 1 tbsp regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang), 1 tbsp corn syrup (mulyeot), 1 tbsp sugar, 2~3 tbsp vinegar, 1/2 tbsp minced garlic, and 1 tbsp mirin (cooking rice wine), then mix the seasonings together.
If you let it mature in the refrigerator at least a day ahead, the chili flakes will hydrate thoroughly, the seasonings will blend well, and the flavor will deepen.
Slice the vegetables
I took small amounts of vegetables from the refrigerator and julienned them.
Finish
When I first learned to eat raw sea squirt, I started by chewing the meat out of the horns.
It is so much fun to chew firmly with your teeth and pull the meat out.
Diip it in sweet and tangy chojang, and you can taste the rich, full aroma of sea squirt filling your mouth.
Eating sea squirt like this makes spring feel so much closer.
You cannot miss having meongge bibimbap as a one-bowl meal.
Radish sprouts or seaweed also go wonderfully in meongge bibimbap, so try using them and enjoy your meal.
Have a happy and enjoyable holiday.
Ppunwife's tips
- If you let it mature in the refrigerator at least a day ahead, the chili flakes will hydrate thoroughly, the seasonings will blend well, and the flavor will deepen.
- Never throw away the horns on the end pieces, because there is meat tucked inside them.
FAQ
How should I store leftover sea squirt?
Clean fresh sea squirt when it is in season, divide it into portions, and keep it in the freezer so you can take it out whenever you need it.
Should I throw away the juice that comes out when cutting sea squirt?
Do not throw it away; collect it in a bowl and add it along with the sea squirt meat to soup dishes like miyeokguk to enhance the flavor.
Is there a trick to making chojang taste better?
Mix the seasonings and let the sauce mature in the refrigerator for at least a day ahead; the chili flakes will hydrate well and the flavor will deepen.
What vegetables pair well with the bibimbap?
In addition to water dropwort (minari), cucumber, carrot, and cabbage, additions like radish sprouts or seaweed pair wonderfully according to your preference.
