Frozen Friday - Trader Joe's - Bibimbap Bowl

Trader Joe's Bibimbap Bowl features marinated beef, vegetables, and a spicy chili sauce on a bed of white rice.

A 10.7-oz bowl was $3.49.

Bibimbap is a Korean dish and literally means "mixed rice." It's interesting in that, at least in my experience, it's not that meat heavy. Usually the meat comes in equal amount as any of the many vegetable components. It also means the veggies need to pull their own weight flavor-wise.

Here, Trader Joe's goes with julienned carrots, spinach, and a mix of soybean sprouts and scrambled egg. The carrots were a little bland but the spinach and egg-soybean mixture offered distinct and tasty flavors.

The beef was fairly tender with a slightly tangy, sweet soy flavor to it. There's not a lot to go around and I'd recommend mixing everything together to get the most out of its flavor.

They give you quite a bit of chili sauce (gochujang) in a separate pouch. There's enough to bathe the entire bowl in. It's fairly spicy with a bit of tang and miso (fermented soybeans) funk to it. I've often found that a little goes a long way.

The rice turned out pretty well; moist but not wet or overly sticky.

Overall, Trader Joe's Bibimbap Bowl is pretty good. It might be a little weird if you've come to expect more meat in these types of bowls but the various ingredients do a good job in providing different textures and flavors. It's a more simple rendition than you'd find in a Korean restaurant, but it's also a good deal cheaper.

Nutritional Info - Trader Joe's Bibimbap Bowl w/ sauce (305g)
Calories - 600 (from Fat - 120)
Fat - 14g (Saturated Fat - 2.5g)
Sodium - 940mg
Carbs - 101g (Sugar - 11g)
Protein - 16g