Kimbap: 김밥

People in the UK call this roll Sushi sometimes but it is not Sushi because there is no raw fish inside. It is basically a seaweed rice roll made of gim(a sheet of dried seaweed) and rice with different cooked meat or fish and various vegetables. In Korea, people eat often them like sandwiches in Western, we buy them from a takeaway restaurant for a short and simple lunch. It is also popular for the picnic food because you easily eat it with your hands. I have a good memory that my mum made kimbap rolls in the early morning for my school picnic when I was young.

Preparing Kimbap ingredients is very time consuming, but once you made them, you can keep in the fridge 1-2weeks and as long as the rice is hot and warm, Kimbap should be delicious as it is. But once you roll it out, you should it in 24 hours (10 hours if the weather is really warm). Try this rainbow roll and leave comments if you have any questions!

 

 

For the rice:

Dried seaweed (nori)- 4 sheets
2 cups cooked rice (always use sushi rice or risotto rice)
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp salt and a pinch of pepper

For the filling:

2 carrots, julienned
1 cucumber, cut into long strips, removed the seeds in the centre
2 eggs
4-6 instant crab meat
4 long thin and long sausage or ham, cut into long strips
1 pickled radish, cut into strips

 

Preperation

1. Stir fry carrots briefly with a pinch of salt
2. Cut cucumber into long strips and remove the seeds in the centre. In a bowl, put the cucumber with 1 table of sea salt and mix well and leave for 30 mins. Wash under the water and drain them. (Squeeze with your hands and remove the liquid as much as you can)
3. Crack 2 eggs in a bowl and add a pinch of salt tsp. Beat it with a fork. Drizzle a few drops of oil and wipe off the excess with a paper towel so only a thin sheen of oil remains. Pour the eggs mixture into the pan and spread it into a large circle like a flat omelet. Do not brown them. Cook in a low heat for both side and cut into long strips.
4. Cut the long and thin sausage or ham into strip and cook in a low heat
5. Remove the package and cut into 2-3 strips (you can use your hands)
6. When the rice is cooked and still hot, mix with sesame oil and salt. Mix with a spoon.
7. Prepare the picked radish and cut into the strips and drain. Remove the liquid as much as you can ( you can buy them in any Asian supermarkets).

Roalling

1. Place a sheet of dried seaweed(gim) on a bamboo mat and Evenly and thinly spread about 3/4 cup of cooked rice over the seaweed but leave about 2 inches space on the top side.
2. Place sausage, pickled radish, egg strips, carrots and cucumber one by one from the bottom of the seaweed
3. Grab the mat with both hands and roll it from the bottom. Press it tightly as you continue rolling ( but not too tight as the seaweed would be ripped off). Push out the mat as you roll. Leave the roll in the bamboo mat when you reach the end for a few second so that the roll can be in the perfect round shape.
4. Repeat 4-5 more times with remaining ingredients.
5. Brush some sesame oil on the finished rolls and cut each roll into bite-size pieces with a sharp knife. Sprinkle the sesame seeds(if available) over the top