A lighter version of bibimbap (Korean mixed rice bowls) using cauliflower rice and lean ground turkey. These colorful Korean cauliflower rice bowls can be prepped ahead of time for your weekly meal prep.
One of my favorite Korean dishes to eat is bibimbap. I just love how colorful it is with the various vegetable toppings. I rarely make it at home because they are so many individual components and it can be time consuming if you’re making it for just one meal. But it works really well for a weekly meal prep since you’re making enough for an entire week.
My mom recently asked me why my meal prep recipes usually feature four containers instead of five. She finds it quite amusing. There are actually a few reasons.
- It’s hard to photo with five. Where does the fifth one go without throwing off the balance of the photo?
- Mr. K usually eats out at least once a week for lunch so he only needs four days of meal prep.
- One of them usually gets eaten by me before I take my photos. I can’t help snacking on the finished ingredients while prepping these!
But just for my mom, all five made it to the photos for this recipe. My mom actually gave me the idea for this meal prep when she suggested I include Korean pickled radishes in my lunches, which made me think of bibimbap.
What is great about making this at home is that you can pick and choose your favorite toppings. I went with bean sprouts, spinach, carrots, cucumbers and pickled radish. For the protein, instead of beef I used lean ground turkey. You can also use ground chicken.
And I also really love adding a fried egg on top so that I can break the yolk into the rice mixture, but that’s also completely optional.
Korean Bibimbap Cauliflower Rice Bowls Meal Prep
Ingredients
For the Cauliflower Rice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large head of cauliflower cut into florets and pulsed in a food processor until it resemble rice (see note)
- salt to taste
For the Meat
- 1 lb lean ground turkey or ground chicken
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 tbsp brown sugar (see note)
- 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (see note)
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp Gochujang Korean chili paste
For the Vegetable and other Toppings
- 2 small persian cucumbers julienned
- 4 tsp sesame oil divided
- 1 bunch spinach leaves
- 3 cups bean sprouts
- 2 carrots julienned
- 15 thin slices of Korean yellow pickled radish
- Gochujang Korean chili paste
- salt to taste
- fried eggs optional (see note)
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds optional
Instructions
- In a large skillet, add olive oil. Bring to medium-high heat. Add in the cauliflower rice. Season with salt as needed. Stir and cook until cauliflower is tender. Set aside to let cool.
- In a large skillet, add 1 tbsp sesame oil. Bring to medium-high heat and add in the ground turkey. Stir and crumble to cook. When the turkey is almost completely cooked, add in the brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and gochujang. Evenly mix into the ground turkey. Start with 2 tbsp of brown sugar and 2 tbsp of soy sauce and add more if needed. When meat is fully cooked, taste and adjust sauces as needed. Set aside to let cool.
- Add cucumbers to a small bowl and sprinkle with a little salt to draw out excess water. Let stand for about 20 minutes and then drain off the water.
- Add 2 tsp of sesame oil to a medium skillet. Bring to medium-high heat. Add in spinach. Saute until just cooked. Season with salt. Remove spinach from skillet and allow to cool.
- Add 2 tsp of sesame oil to skillet and bring to medium-high heat. Add in bean sprouts. Cook until tender but still crisp and season with salt. Remove from skillet and allow to cool.
- Add carrots to the skillet and a few tbsp of water. Bring skillet to medium-high heat. Season carrots with salt and cook carrots until they are barely cooked and still very crunchy.
- To assemble, add cauliflower rice to five bowls/meal prep containers. Divide spinach, sprouts, cucumbers, and carrots evenly amongst the five bowls, giving each component its own space inside the bowl. Add ground meat to the center of each bowl. Add three pickle slices to each bowl. Add a dollop of Gochujang to each bowl (which can then be mixed in when ready to eat). If desired, top with a fried egg. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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