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Albap. A special type of bibimbap - using fresh fish roe! It's one of my favorite dishes to order at Japanese restaurants in Seoul. I always thought it was a Japanese dish. But after some research, I learned that Albap originated from Korea.

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The star of this dish is the flying fish roe. You've probably had it before at a sushi bar. It's commonly used as a topping on sushi rolls (e.g. this or that). Flying fish roe is much smaller than caviar - which comes from the sturgeon fish.

What does flying fish roe actually taste like? Well, nothing in particular. In fact, it has a very neutral taste. But, what you will taste is the popping of the roe. They pop as you crunch on them. I think that is why people enjoy this dish.

When making at home, feel free to substitute any of the listed ingredients: Use real crab. Or replace the Danmuji with cucumbers. But I would suggest to include the pan-fried Kimchi. It drives the overall flavor of the dish.

If you have any roe leftover, try it in pasta. Drop a few tablespoons into any white sauce (carbonara) and it will taste amazing 🙂

Albap - Bibimbap with Fresh Roe

Albap is a special bibimbap using fresh roe. Beautiful, tasty and quite elegant - if i may add!

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Course: Easy

Servings: people

Ingredients

Cooked rice - 1 cup
Flying fish roe tobiko - 3 tablespoons
Crab meat - few pieces forearm's length
Korean yellow pickled radish Danmuji - 6 small pieces
Kimchi - ⅓ cup
Onion - ½ a whole
Gim - 1 package
Radish sprouts - a handful
Mirin - few splashes
Water - ⅓ cup
Sesame oil - 2 teaspoons for Kimchi frying
Sesame oil - 1 Tablespoon for coating dolsot bowl

Instructions

Prep ingredients

Take out a small bowl. Pour ⅓ cup of water in. Mix-in a few splashes of mirin. Then add the flying fish roe in. Let it soak for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, drain it and let it drip off excess water.
Dice onion into small pieces. Dice crab meat into small cubes as well. Next, cut the danmuji into small cubes. Cut Kimchi into small bite-sized pieces with scissors.
Then put gim sheets into a plastic bag. Crumble it and pour out the flakes onto a small plate.
Take out a frying pan. Put it on a medium-heat. Put 2 teaspoons of sesame oil into the frying pan. Once hot, place kimchi in. Stir-fry the kimchi for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. No need to char them (reference video). Then place onto a plate. Clean out the frying pan for next step.
Put some vegetable oil into the frying pan. Add in onion pieces. Stir-fry until the pieces turn translucent and on the verge of turning brown. The onion pieces should taste soft. Set aside.

Make Bibimbap

Put the dolsot bowl on a low heat. Use a brush and spread sesame oil to the inside of the bowl.
Then scoop in the cooked rice into the bottom of the dolsot bowl.
Then add each ingredient to the bowl.
Top off with the fish roe. And garnish with radish sprouts.
Increase the heat to a medium. Let the dolsot bowl cook for 2 minutes. You will hear crackling and popping from the pot. This is good! This means the outer layer of the rice is getting crispy.
After 2 minutes, the bowl should be ready. Be very careful and move it to your dining table. Mix thoroughly with your spoon and enjoy!