Another famous Korean street food – Kimbap (김밥). Unfortunately when I was in South Korea with my family we did not try this as most of the kimbap sold contains ham/spam. Sad. We did try the mini kimbap though at one of the market. But, it is not the same as the original, big ones.
I actually just recently started to make these. All because I was watching a Korean entertainment/cooking show on TV. This episode in particular is the push factor for me to start making kimbap. Of course the one in the show is way more enticing than mine. That’s a given.
Hope you are inspired to make this as well. Do give this a try and let me how you like it.
Kimbap: Korean Rice Roll
Description
Seasoned rice wrapped in seaweed packed with fillings of choice. Customize the fillings based on your preference to make your own unique kimbap.
Makes 6-7 rolls.
Ingredients
Rice
Basic Fillings
Optional Fillings
Garnish
Steps
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Cook rice
Wash rice thoroughly until water runs clear. Add in water according to packet instruction. Cook the rice.
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Season rice
Once the rice is cooked and still warm, season with salt and sesame oil. Mix well. Taste the rice and add more salt and sesame oil if needed. Set aside.
You can also season the rice with soy sauce. Replace salt with 3-4 tablespoon of soy sauce. -
Prepare raw ingredients
Sausages - slice lengthwise into quarters.
Cucumber - slice lengthwise into quarters. Remove seeds, then halves each of the slices, lengthwise.
Carrot - remove the end and grate.
Eggs - break four eggs into a bowl. Season with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Beat well.
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Make egg roll
Heat up pan on low heat and coat the pan with a little bit of olive oil.
Pour in just enough egg to cover the bottom of the pan. Let it cook until the egg mixture is firm and has dried up slightly. Then roll the egg onto itself.
Place the rolled egg to once side of the pan and add in another thin layer of egg. Ensure the raw egg combines with the cooked egg roll at the seams. Once again, roll the egg once it is slightly cooked.
Repeat until all egg mixture is used up.
For the final layer, fry the egg until golden brown and remove from heat.
Refer to Cook egg roll segment of the video for more details. -
Cook the rest of the ingredients
Sausages - shallow fry in the pan until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
Carrot - Shallow fry for 2-3 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Once the carrot has wilted, remove from heat and set aside.
Crabsticks - Boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
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Final preparation
Rolled egg - slice into 6 pieces, lengthwise.
Crabsticks - slice into halves, lengthwise.
Pickled radish - cut into thin slices, lengthwise.
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Make kimbap
Take a piece of seaweed. Place the shiny side down on the bamboo mat/your work surface (if not using bamboo mat).
Add rice and spread it evenly and thinly across the seaweed, covering 3/4 of the seaweed.
Add the fillings towards the center of the rice. Add some rice the end of the seaweed to seal the kimbap.
Then roll the kimbap. Once the roll is nice and tight, brush generously with sesame oil and sprinkle some sesame seeds.
I find it easier to just roll the kimbap by hand, without the bamboo mat. -
Cut and serve
To cut the kimbap, use a sharp knife. Wet the knife slightly before cutting.
Slice each roll into 10-11 pieces and serve. Enjoy!
