Grilled Ginger-Garlic Beef Bibimbap Bowls and Quick Kimchi

Yes, those are dirty, happy hands about to devour the grain bowl in the picture above. They couldn’t even wait to be washed to dig into this meal!

And YES, that is the savory/umami, flavor bomb of a bowl I made for the riders in Bellingham, Washington at the first EVER Rapha MTB Prestige. It was an absolutely incredible event, filled with lively community, incredible trails, big adventures, cold beverages + really really great food. Not just because of these baller  Bibimbap Bowls w/Grilled Ginger-Garlic Beef + Quick Kimchi I made for those who tackled the 40 mile/8000k of climbing on the day, but because of the bounty that the Bellingham area has on offer at this time of year; everything everything everything (well, except for the tofu we offered as a vegan option) came from within 30 miles of sweet little Bham and I was very proud and honored to pick up all of our ingredients myself, then turn them into this meal. It’s perfect for recovering from a big ride, a big day at work, a long week.. It’s also the perfect thing to prep ahead and take for lunch on full days when you’d otherwise grab a string cheese + a granola bar. (Whomp whomp.) It’s what I would make to recharge you from whatever life (or the trails) have thrown your way. We eat this bowl (or some rendition of it,) at least once a week in our house. And I have a feeling you’re about to do the same!

I’m so happy to share the easy blueprint for this favorite recipe with you now, in this season where there’s bounty everywhere because it will be so easy for you to recreate it any time of year.

Bibimbap – the ultimate recovery bowl

I often get asked “what’s your favorite recovery secret?” But honestly, the “secret” to ultimate recovery is that easy, flavorful, nutrient-packed foods are the right things to enjoy if you want to fuel up, recover hard, and be ready to show up at your next training session, next meeting, or just the next full day.

These are the reasons that this bowl is ultimate – my dream meal, basically. And, they’re easy to remember and to replicate again and again in so many meals you’re making (this bibimbap included!)

• Carbohydrates: while this bowl looks loaded with vegetables from above, do NOT be confused. This is not a SALAD. This is a grain bowl filled with easy-to-digest, fiber-rich, whole-grain rice. It contains the carbohydrates that our bodies need to replenish glycogen stores lost in big efforts and challenging days; whether we’re exercising or just thinking hard. When it comes to proportions, carbohydrates should comprise 45-65% of your bowl. I use sushi rice here, because it has the most easily digestible carbohydrates of almost any rice, and that’s the point when it comes to recovery; we want to upload the nutrients as quickly as possible. The other ingredients here challenge digestion in a good way, but when it comes to carbs, we want it to be easy peasy!
• Protein: the next most important ingredient in your bibimbap bowl, or any recovery bowl, is a nice serving of protein. Proteins help our bodies to rebuild, replenish and provide necessary micronutrients for cellular regeneration and muscular excellence. This should be roughly 10-35% of your bowl and can be anything from tofu to fried eggs, beans, or meat. For this bowl, I suggested a combination of local free-range fried egg and grass-fed, local grilled garlic-ginger beef, but the tofu was also an option for those who avoid animal products and is of course and option for you as well.
• Fat: this bowl would be nothing without the plentiful serving of fat in the fried eggs, the kimchi mayo, and the nice drizzle of olive oil on top. If you’re missing out on fat, you’re missing out on flavor, vital calories, and also on the lubricating macronutrient that makes sure that your joints, muscles, thoughts, and actions fire in a timely and precise manner. If you want to think sharp, move quickly, perform well and be your best, you can’t get there without fat and plenty of it. Fat should comprise about 20-35% of your bowl.
• …and all six flavors! Lastly, this bowl is satisfying, fortifying and nutrifying because it contains all SIX of the flavors that our taste buds perceive. As you know already, FLAVOR (not macronutrients) provides queues to our bodies that indicate satiety, and our cravings for these flavors are hints into the foods and nutrients that our bodies need to thrive.

Flavors for function

YAS – FLAVORS ARE SO IMPORTANT. When we taste the six flavors, our tongues tell the digestive system which enzymes to produce to break down each flavor/type of food. Different flavors have different energetic + physiological effects on the body AND are broken down by different enzymes in the digestive systems. To be our healthiest, we need all six of them to combine in our foods, as often as possible.

• Sweet: foods with sweet flavors replenish, nourish, and fortify our bodies. These are the most prolific of the flavors, and we need sweet flavors MOST in our lives. Sweet foods aren’t just foods like cake, cookies, and sugar; meat, eggs, dairy, most grains, fruits, sweeteners, and vegetables such as beets, carrots, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes are all sweet.

• Salty: foods that taste salty help our bodies to stay hydrated, to keep our cells plump, healthy and functioning well (which promotes the healthy elimination of toxins on the cellular level.) After finishing a big effort, a long day, or an emotional adventure, we need salty foods to help replace the electrolytes we’ve burned through when we sweat, and the micronutrients that ionize our bodies in powerful, subtle ways.

• Sour: when you eat sour food – such as a tart lemon – your mouth puckers. This is the same effect that sour foods have on our bodies; they help the body to tonify cells and eliminate waste. Sweet and salty flavors are important because they plump cells, and nourish them, but healthy cells have the ability to expand and contract…and sour foods provide this balance. Lemons, vinegar, pickles and fermented foods are all great examples of sour foods.

• Bitter: bitter foods help our bodies to reduce inflammation, prevent stagnation, eliminate waste and balance the energetics of our systems, especially when enjoyed in combination with sweet foods and after a big effort. Foods like radishes, herbs, and other vegetables are bitter.

• Astringent: similar to bitter foods, astringent foods help our bodies to “keep their cool,” reduce inflammation, prevent stagnation and eliminate waste. Enjoying these foods – such as leafy greens and herbs – in balance with sweet foods make for very healthy constitutions and tons of performance. But like anything too much of a good thing is too much….and too much astringency is a truly horrible thing for our bodies and their balance.

• Pungent: pungent flavors warm the body, keep both waste and nutrients moving, promote digestion and keep things moving. These are spicy foods such as spices, peppers, alliums, ginger, and the like. These foods are meant to be used in moderation to prevent too much heat in the body or too much digestive productivity.

The flavors in this bowl are plentiful, and note that this bowl contains EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE SIX – just like ANY SATISFYING, COMPLETE, TRULY NOURISHING MEAL WILL HAVE.

I list the ingredients below so that you can start to track which foods have which flavors, and so that you can start to make 6-flavored concoctions of your own!