Ever since I got back from my trip to Japan, I have never had the desire to eat sushi anymore. The fish at home is nowhere as fresh as the ones in Toyko and just doesn't seem worth the price. The only sushi dish I occasionally crave is the Korean sushi rice bowl, hwe dup bap. It wasn't until my high school days that my mom introduced me to this dish, but I haven't turned back since. Think of it as a deconstructed sushi bowl but with a special spicy sauce - trust me, it's delicious!

Hwe Dup Bap (Korean Sushi Bowl)
Ingredients
Spicy sauce
- ¼ cup gochujang
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Remaining ingredients
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 2 cups red leaf lettuce chopped
- 1 large carrot thinly sliced
- 1 persian cucumber thinly sliced
- ¼ cup radish sprouts
- 4 ounces sashimi grade salmon
- 4 ounces sashimi grade tuna
- 2 tablespoons masago
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
- 1 ounce bonito flakes
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
Instructions
- Combine ingredients for the spicy sauce, mixing together until incorporated. Set aside.
- Assemble bowls. Place 1 cup rice in bottom of each bowl followed by 1 cup red leaf lettuce, ½ carrot, ½ Persian cucumber, 2 tablespoon radish sprouts 2 ounces salmon, 2 ounces tuna, and 1 tablespoon masago per portion. Garnish with sesame seeds, green onions, and bonito flakes. Drizzle sesame oil and spicy sauce and mix well. Serve.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
If you ever had the Korean rice bowl, bibimbab, and am a fan of sushi, this dish is for you. Since hwe dup bap is essentially a sushi bowl, you need fresh ingredients when preparing this dish.
I usually use sashimi-grade salmon and tuna for my bowl but you can mix it up and add snapper, albacore, or yellowtail.
Now anyone can make a good sushi bowl but makes it great? Adding ingredients like masago, radish sprouts, and bonito flakes. I refuse to eat hwe dup bap without masago and bonito flakes - it makes all the difference. If you want to add even more toppings, put some nori strips, salmon roe, or even pickled ginger on there.
Finish your bowl with the spicy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil, mix everything together, and enjoy! With the craze of poke bowl restaurants popping up left and right, I predict that hwe dup bap will be next - or at least they should be!
For more Korean foodinspiration, check out this jjampong recipe!
Mary Frances
Sushi is perfect for the summer! Love this 🙂
cma0425
Couldn't agree with you more!