Recipes

Kimbap - Korean Seaweed Rice Rolls

By Chef Sang Kim

Published: 

Recipe by: Chef Sang Kim

Kimbap - Korean Seaweed Rice Rolls
Kimbap - Korean Seaweed Rice Rolls Kimbap - Korean Seaweed Rice Rolls
Portion size
Makes 4 large rolls

Ingredients for Seaweed Wrap

  • 4 gim (김), dried seaweed aka nori
  • cooking oil

Ingredients for the Rice

  • 1.5 cups uncooked short grain rice (standard measuring cup not the cup that comes with a rice cooker)
  • 1 Tb sesame oil
  • salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon) start with a little less

Ingredients for the Beef

  • 8 oz lean tender beef, cut into thin strips (or bulgogi meat or ground beef)
  • 2 ts soy sauce
  • 1 ts mirin
  • 1 ts sugar
  • 1 ts sesame oil
  • 1/2 ts minced garlic

Ingredients for the Vegetables

  • 4 strips cucumber, cut into about 1/2-inch thick long strips
  • 1 ts sesame oil
  • salt to taste - about 1/4 ts
  • 2 medium carrots, julienned (or 1/2-inch thick long strips)
  • 4 strips pre-cut pickled radish (danmuji) strips, bright yellow
  • 4 strips prepared burdock roots (ueong)

Ingredients for the Egg

  • 2 large eggs

Ingredients for the Fish Cake

  • 1 sheet fish cake (eomuk)
  • 1 ts soy sauce
  • 1/2 ts sugar
  • 1/2 ts sesame oil

Directions

  1. Cook the rice using a little less water than usual. (Freshly cooked rice is best for gimbap). Keep it warm until all the filling ingredients are ready.
  2. Cut the beef into thin strips (about 1/2-inch thick). In a bowl, mix well with the seasoning ingredients. Set aside.
  3. Crack and beat the eggs, in a bowl with a spoon or a fork. Stir in a pinch of salt. Heat a small non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Add the eggs to the pan. When the bottom is set but the top is still runny, flip it over 1/3 way and again to make a thick omelette. Transfer to a cutting board and let it cool. Cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick strips.
  4. Julienne the carrots. Heat a lightly oiled pan over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the carrots until softened. Lightly season with a pinch of salt. Transfer to a plate.
  5. Cut the fish cake lengthwise into about 3/4-inch thick strips. Heat the pan with cooking oil (about 1 teaspoon) over medium heat. Stir-fry the fish cake with the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil until softened, about 2 minutes.
  6. Stir-fry the beef over medium-high heat until cooked through, 2 - 3 minutes.
  7. Arrange all the ingredients together on a plate.
  8. While the rice is still hot/warm, add the sesame oil and salt. Mix well by lightly folding with a rice paddle or large spoon until evenly seasoned. Add more salt to taste if needed.
  9. Put a seaweed sheet, shiny side down and longer side towards you, on a cutting board or a bamboo mat if available. Spread about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of rice evenly over the seaweed, using a rice paddle or your fingers preferably. Leave about 1.5 inch space at the top.
  10. Lay the prepared ingredients on top of the rice, leaving some uncovered rice at the top for sealing.
  11. Lift the entire bottom edge with both hands and roll over the filling away from you, tucking in the filling with your fingers. Put firm pressure over the roll with the help of the bamboo mat (or aluminium foil), if using, to close everything in tightly. Then, continue to roll again, putting pressure evenly over the roll using both hands.
  12. Rub or brush the roll with a little bit of sesame oil for extra flavor and shiny look. Apply a little bit of sesame oil to a sharp knife. (This will keep rice from sticking to the knife. Repeat as necessary after each cut. Wipe the knife with a damp towel as needed.) Cut the roll into 1/2-inch thick bite sizes.