Korean Seaweed Rice ‘Sushi’ Rolls (Kimbap Recipe)

Kimbap recipe, also known as Korean rice rolls recipe is among my absolute favorite Korean snack foods. It appears like a sushi cut roll, but instead of being filled with fish it is traditionally designed to be a customizable dish depending on what you’ve got on hand or would like to eat.

It is common to see the fillings of kimbap, such as the crunchy yellow pickled radish fresh sweet carrots, cucumbers, crispy fish cakes, or beef seasoned with flavor, and many more, all wrapped in seaweed and sesame-seasoned rice.

What is Kimbap?

Kimbap can be described as the Romanized term for gimbap. It means seafood (gim) rice (bap) in Korean. It’s simply wrapped in seaweed and packed with a variety of fixings such as green radish with a yellow-colored pickle, spinach eggs, cucumbers and various protein sources.

While there are a number of theories on how kimbap got its name such as it being the result of Japanese impact on makizushi in Korea during the Japanese occupation in the early 1900s The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture mentions that wrapping banchan with seaweed and rice was a common practice in Korean culture from when it was the Joseon Era (1392-1910).

Kimbap rice

Do you need to use regular rice to make Kimbap? If you are using jasmine or long grain rice for regular consumption, then I’d suggest against it. Because jasmine rice or long grain is not as sticky, it’s difficult for kimbap to maintain its shape round, particularly when it is cut into pieces. It is also possible to make use of Korean red rice as well, as it has a sticky consistency.

See more: How to cook rice using a rice cooker

If you’d like your kimbap to maintain its structure and remain together, you must use white rice that is short-grain. It’s the same type as sushi rice. Just as the other types of roll ( spicy tuna rolls or California rolls) Short-grain rice has the perfect firm texture and a strong glue-like consistency that keeps all the fillings within the wrapper of seaweed. You can also make medium-grain rice since it’s still sticky consistency, as well.

My preferred varieties of short grain rice that I purchase include Tamaki Gold short-grain rice, Koda Farms Kokuho Rice (medium grain), and Koshihikari short-grain rice. These are available in your neighborhood Asian supermarkets like H-Mart, 99 Ranch, or Mitsuwa.

Kimbap is a great way to use seaweed

When you’re picking out seaweed to make kimbap you need to select seaweed that is dried and then roasted from the local Korean supermarket. There are a variety of Korean seaweed sheets that have been roasted and you should purchase the larger sheets (about 8×9 inches) which are unseasoned. It is also possible to use Japanese seaweed, which is also known as nori, which is more commonly available at American grocery stores today and there’s not much distinction between them.

Kimbap ingredients and filling suggestions

What makes kimbap so flexible is the ability to add any fillings you’d like to with what you have in your kitchen. There’s tuna kimbap, beef kimbap Kimbap, and much more! Here are some suggestions for what you can put in a Kimbap. I typically like to choose the protein of my choice, then pickles and two or three other vegetables. :

• Pickled yellow radish (or Danmuji) This is a staple ingredient in kimbap.
• Vegetables: cucumbers, carrots, blanched spinach
• Meat such as bulgogi, skirt steak Short pork rib, ham, or any other kinds of cooked meats
• Other protein sources: eggs and tuna. Other protein sources include spam, eggs and fish cake and kani (imitation crab)

Tips for rolling kimbap

We know that rolling anything (or nori) in rice can be difficult. Here’s how to go about rolling kimbap

1. Make use of the roll mat! This allows you to guide the gim to roll it effortlessly to create your Kimbap.
2. Put the gim (or nori) with the shiny side facing down. The opposite face of the GIM should have a rough texture that aids in you stick the rice.
3. Use around 1/4 cup cooked rice. Then sprinkle some oil of sesame on the palms to help even out and spread this rice onto the Gim. I like leaving about 1 inch of seaweed at high-end of the gim to assist to roll it out towards the end. The amount you leave behind will rise if you’ve got less ingredients or rice. Roll one first, before adjusting the rice amount or level to make room the next roll.
4. Make sure you fill your kimbap with the right amount of ingredients without becoming excessively extravagant Do not add excessive fillings, or else it’ll be difficult to roll. It is best to arrange the most flat and most compact ingredients first. This helps rolling and stacking the kimbap. For instance, you can add an orange pickled radish and then cucumbers, carrots, eggand fishcake vertically in the middle on the rice. It’s okay for the ingredients to extend over the edges that make up the GIM. You can then stack larger ingredients like meat, spinach or kani over with all the rest of your ingredients. The result should be an oblong shape in the middle the rice.
5. Begin by rolling the mat from bottom up. Utilize your thumbs and pointed fingers to raise the lower part of the gim as well as the roll mat upwards and above the filling mound. You’ll have to use your fingers to hold all the fillings firmly in place while you roll the sheet, and then ensure that you keep everything in place.
6. Make sure to keep it in place. Make sure the lower side of the gim is covered with rice and filling and touches the opposite part of the gim. The gim should now have an elongated log now.
7. Form and squeeze your roll. Take your left hand and place it in the top of the rolling mat and then gently move the mat upwards, while employing your left hand to pull the log down. This will help in tightening the roll.
8. End the rolling. Release your left hand, and then grab the lower edge of the mat to make an upwards movement to continue rolling the gim. Then, roll it upwards until you form the Kimbap. The kimbap should be set with the seam facing down so that it will seal when it is placed in the plate.

What is the difference between kimbap and Gimbap?

Kimbap can be described as the romanized variant of gimbap. Both are a reference to rice that is seaweed. Gimbap and Kimbap are employed interchangeably.

Why is kimbap not the sushi?

There are sushi as well as Kimbap, two distinct meals. Both are wrapped in rice and seaweed, they differ with fillings that are customized, the similarities stop. Sushi rice is generally spiced with salt, sugar as well as vinegar, Kimbap comes with sesame oil, salt and. Sushi is a meal of fresh or prepared fish while Kimbap is a mixture of protein and vegetables, including the yellow pickled radish eggs, spinach and fishcake. and much more.