Hello, everyone!
Today, I'm sharing a recipe for one of the most iconic Korean foods: Gimbap (Korean seaweed rice rolls). We'll cover three classic variations: Vegetable, Tuna, and Cheese.
This recipe, inspired by the YouTube channel "맀μΌλ§λ delicious day," is full of great tips on how to prepare the ingredients and roll them beautifully. Let's get started!
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π Ingredients
[Base]
Cooked Rice (warm)
Gimbap (dried seaweed sheets)
Eggs
Salt
Sesame Oil & Sesame Seeds (for finishing)
[Vegetable & Common Fillings]
Spinach
Carrot
Cucumber (or use Spinach only)
Pickled Daikon Radish (danmuji)
Braised Burdock Root (ueong)
Gimbap Ham
Fish Cake (eomuk)
Imitation Crab Sticks
[Tuna Filling]
Canned Tuna (drained)
Mayonnaise
Perilla Leaves
[Cheese Filling]
Sliced Cheddar Cheese
Perilla Leaves (optional)
π³ Instructions
Part 1: Preparing the Ingredients
Rice: Season warm (not hot) rice with a little salt only. Do not add sesame oil to the rice; this keeps the color bright and prevents the roll from tasting oily.
Eggs: Beat eggs with a pinch of salt. Pan-fry into a thin sheet (jidan). Let it cool, then roll it up and slice it into thin strips.
Spinach: Blanch the spinach in boiling salted water for 30 seconds. Shock in cold water, squeeze out all moisture, and season with a little salt, sesame seeds, and sesame oil. (No garlic needed for gimbap).
Cucumber (Optional): Slice the cucumber, removing the seed core. Julienne the slices, salt them for 15 minutes, then rinse gently and squeeze out all moisture.
Ham: Cut the ham into long strips and pan-fry until lightly golden.
Fish Cake: Julienne the fish cakes. Stir-fry them in a pan with 1 Tbsp of soy sauce and ~0.7 Tbsp of oligo syrup (or corn syrup/sugar).
Carrot: Julienne the carrot. Stir-fry in a lightly oiled pan with a pinch of salt until just tender.
Crab Sticks: Tear the crab sticks into thin strips by hand.
Radish & Burdock: Cut the pickled radish into 4 long strips. Cut the burdock root to a uniform thickness.
Tuna: Drain the canned tuna thoroughly. Mix with about 1 Tbsp of mayonnaise.
Part 2: Rolling the Gimbap
Spread the Rice: Place a sheet of gimbap (shiny side down) on a bamboo mat. Take a small handful of warm rice and spread it thinly and evenly, leaving the top 10% (about 1.5 inches) of the seaweed sheet empty.
Tip: Use lukewarm rice for the easiest spreading. Pinch off rice from thick areas and patch any empty spots.
Add Fillings: Layer your ingredients on the rice. A good order is to start with a colorful base like carrots.
For Vegetable Gimbap: Layer carrots, spinach, crab sticks, ham, radish, burdock, and fish cake.
For Tuna Gimbap: Place 3 perilla leaves on the rice. Add a generous amount of the tuna-mayo mixture. Add other fillings like egg, carrot, cucumber, radish, and ham (use less egg and carrot than in the vegetable version).
For Cheese Gimbap: Place 2-3 perilla leaves (optional). Cut a slice of cheese in half and lay it down. Add carrots, egg, and the other fillings, similar to the tuna gimbap.
Roll: Just before rolling, dab a few grains of cooked rice on the empty top edge of the seaweed to act as glue.
Carefully lift the mat and roll the gimbap away from you, using your fingers to keep the fillings tucked in. Apply gentle, even pressure to make a firm roll.
Finish: Remove the roll from the mat. Brush the outside of the gimbap with a thin layer of sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Slice: Use a sharp knife to cut the roll into bite-sized pieces.
This recipe and its techniques are an adaptation based on the 'How to make Korean Gimbap' video by the YouTube channel "맀μΌλ§λ delicious day". All photos in this post are my own.
You can watch the original video here: