Kimbap: Korean Rice Rolls filled with Vegetables and Meat

Making Kimbap is probably my favorite activity when it comes to cooking. It looks like alot of work and hours spent in the kitchen, but let me tell you this: once you get the hang of rolling, making Kimbap is a piece of cake! I love the way I can fill in almost anything I want and in the end it still turns out pretty and colourful! What would Kimbap be without colours?! Seriously, it’s all about the looks here… Inner qualities are of great importance too, don’t get me wrong!

But speaking of “colourful”, have you ever imagined how uuugly black and white Kimbap would look like?!? I just did… Look at that! So much better in colour… Do I see nodding faces?

Ingredients

(makes 4 rolls)

• 1 medium sized carrot
• 2 egg whites
• 2 egg yolks
• 300g fresh spinach, quickly blanched, salt, sesame oil
• 4 slices of Danmuji, korean pickled yellow raddish
• 1/2 can of spam, or any other sausage ( I used Cervalat)
• 12-16 perilla leaves (optional)
• 2 cups plain white steamed rice
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 2-3 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 4 sheets of dried seaweed for Kimbap or Sushi
• Kimbap bambus rolling mat

Preparation

1. Cut your carrot into long stripes with 1/2cm diametres. Cut your pickled raddish and sausage into 1cm diametre stripes.

2. Quickly blanch your spinach in boiling water (10 seconds). Immediately drain and rinse off with cold water. Squeeze out all excess water from the spinach with your hands. Marinate the spinach in a large bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Mix well using your hands.

3. Separate eggs into two small bowls. Add a pinch of salt into each and mix with a fork. Heat some drizzles of oil in a small round frying pan on medium high heat. Pour in the eggwhite mixture and tilt the pan so that the egg mixture covers the whole bottom of the pan. Wait for 2 minutes and flip over to fry the other side aswell. Take away from pan and place on a plate to cool down. Proceed in the exact same way with the egg yolk mixture!

4. Steam 2,5 cups of rice in a rice cooker. Scoop the cooked rice out into a bowl and marinate with 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds, 2-3 teaspoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Mix well with a wooden spoon until the flavours have combined. Cover the bowl with wrap and let the rice cool down to room temperature.

Let’s rock and ROLL!

Place your Kimbap mat on a flat surface and place a sheet of dried seaweed onto the mat. Spread a layer of rice onto the middle of the seaweed (1/2cm – 1cm thick), leaving 3-4cm of space on the top and bottom side of the seaweed. Press the rice down with your hands to even it out.

Add the vegetables onto the rice beginning with the perilla leaves, if you’re using them. Then, carefully fold over the bambus mat and press the seaweed down firmly with your hands to make a sausage like shape. Spread some rice onto the end of the seaweed to help stick and roll it up all the way to the end to make your kimbap! Squeeze the Kimbap roll in the bambus mat a little to make sure the ingredients and the rice will not spill out while slicing!

This needs practise… It’s not easy in the beginning but you’ll get the hang of it once you start making Kimbap regularly!

Once your rolls are made, use a kitchen brush to brush some sesame oil over the seaweed before slicing. Slice the Kimbap using a sharp knife into 1,5cm thick pieces. Make sure you don’t press the knife into the Kimbap… move the knife back and forward to slice, not squash!

You can serve Kimbap as an appetizer or as a meal. I usually eat 1,5 rolls of Kimbap when I’m hungry!

Have a go at it! It’s easier than it sounds… I promise!