Hwe Dup Bap (Korean Sashimi Rice)

Is there a more perfect meal than hwe dup bap?  It's like sushi meets salad meets bibimbap. Fresh, healthy sashimi pieces sit atop a variety of fresh and pickled vegetables, all resting on a bed of rice (brown rice in this case - even better!).  The spicy sauce/dressing, despite having a bit of sugar, is low in salt but thoroughly tangy and delicious, making this a well-balanced meal that will still feel like a treat.

The beautiful thing about both hwe dup bap and bibimbap is that there are so many ways to put them together.  The only constants in this dish are really the rice, lettuce, sashimi, and spicy sauce.  Beyond that, you're free to add any other ingredients that might go well in a sashimi-type salad. I went with what I had on hand: radishes, apples, carrots, and cucumbers, but other common choices are nori, masago, radish sprouts, and purple cabbage.  As long as the fish is fresh, you can't go too wrong here.

Hwe Dup Bap
1/4 lb sashimi (tuna, salmon, yellowtail, or a mixture all work great), cubed
1 cup brown rice, prepared
1 cup red leaf lettuce, shredded
1/4 cup daikon radish, cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup carrot, cut into matchsticks
1/4 cup fukujinzuke
1/2 fuji apple, thinly sliced
1 tsp roasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp gochujang
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil

In a small bowl, whisk together gochujang, vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil.  Continue to stir until
sauce is thick (similar to the consistency of ketchup) and no clumps of gochujang remain.

Add rice to the bottom of a large bowl and top with shredded lettuce.  Arrange radish, fukujinzuke, cucumber, carrot, and apples in neat piles around the edge of the bowl.  Add cubed fish to center of bowl and top with sesame seeds.

Serve with spicy sauce and consume immediately.