Kimbap Recipe

Kimbap, or “seaweed rice,” is often mistakenly referred to as sushi, but it is a popular Korean dish with its own unique flavors and history. These rolls can be simple, with just a single sheet of seaweed wrapped around cooked rice, or complex, with entire restaurants dedicated to serving variations of kimbap. This recipe uses traditional fillings, like a mix of vegetables, egg and meat, but other popular fillings include cucumber, imitation crab, bulgogi or canned tuna. It’s very adaptable, and it does well with substitutions. Leftover kimbap can be kept in the refrigerator, but the rice will lose some of its moisture, so to serve a second time, soak each piece in beaten egg, then pan-fry them until golden.

Easy Kimbap

Easy kimbap / gimbap recipe. Learn how to make Korean style sushi rolls at home! It’s a popular picnic and party food.

Prep: 25min

Total: 45min

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: calories 259 kcal, Carbohydrate 36 g, Protein 6 g, Fat 9 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 82 mg, Sodium 332 mg, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 4 dried seaweed sheets ((gim / sushi nori))
• 120 g spinach ((4.2 ounces), regular or baby spinach)
• 2 eggs (, beaten)
• 1/2 carrot ((120g / 4.2 ounces), julienned)
• 2 to 4 imitation crab sticks ((depending on the length), cut in half length ways)
• 4 sticks BBQ Kimbap ham (, cut into long strips if you didn’t buy the pre-cut version (available at a Korean grocery store))
• 4 yellow radish pickle
• 12 strips seasoned edible burdock root
• 2 1/2 cups steamed short grain rice
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil (, divided)
• 3/8 tsp fine sea salt ((or more to taste), divided)

Instruction:

1. Rinse the spinach and parboil it in rapidly boiling water (30 seconds to 1 minute). Drain the water away and run some cold water over the spinach. Gently squeeze the spinach to remove any excess water. Put the spinach into a bowl. Add 1/8 tsp salt and 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil then mix them well.
2. Pre-heat a pan/skillet. Add a small dash of cooking oil and spread it around the pan. Add the beaten egg and cook both sides well over medium heat. Place the egg omelette on a cutting board and cut it into long strips.
3. In a heated pan, lightly cook the carrots, crab sticks and kimbap ham (about 1 min per ingredients), separately, and over medium heat. (Some people use these raw, but I prefer cooking them first for my kimbap.)
4. Place the cooked rice into a mixing bowl then add 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil and 1/4 tsp fine sea salt (or more to taste). Mix them well with a rice spatula.
5. Gather all the kimbap ingredients at the ‘kimbap rolling station’. This makes it easy to assemble.
6. Place one dried seaweed sheet on the bamboo mat (shiny side down). Put the rice on the seaweed sheet then spread it evenly and thinly to cover about 2/3 of the seaweed. (Leave about 5cm / 2 inches gap at the top of the seaweed).
7. Now fill the seaweed with the filing ingredients. Make sure you evenly use the ingredients so that you’re not short of them later.Here’s how I do it. (A short video instruction within the post above.) Place one yellow radish pickle at about 1/3 point of the seaweed then add three burdock strips, one ham strip, one crab stick around it. Then pile up a few eggs strips, carrot sticks, and some spinach. Then roll the seaweed.If the seaweed doesn’t stick, paste some water on the gap you left in step 6. You can also use a few grains of cooked rice in this gap. Set the rolled kimbap aside.
8. Repeat the step 6 and 7 with the remaining ingredients.
9. Line up all kimbap on a cutting board and paste some sesame oil (1 Tbsp) around the seaweed surface. Slice kimbap into bite size pieces. Serve.

Kimbap (Korean Seaweed Rice Roll)

Kimbap is Korean seaweed rice roll including rice, vegetables, and seaweed. It serves as a perfect finger food. This easy to follow recipe help you make beautiful Korean kimbap at home.

Prep: 20min

Total: 90min

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: calories 370 kcal, Carbohydrate 62 g, Protein 11 g, Fat 9 g, Saturated Fat 2 g, Trans Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 109 mg, Sodium 650 mg, Fiber 3 g, Sugar 7 g, unSaturated Fat 6 g, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 9 seaweed sheets (gim)
• 2 cups (480 ml, about 450 g) uncooked short grain white rice
• 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) water
• 2 tbsp Korean plum extract (maeshil cheong)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 strips pickled radish (danmuji), 1/2 inch thick (drained )
• 6-12 strips braised burdock root (Oeong) (drained )
• 6 strips imitation crab meat
• 2 tbsp oil (divided)
• 10 oz (283 g) package shredded carrot
• 2 tbsp water
• 4 eggs (beaten)
• 3 sheets flat fish cake (sliced thinly)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp sweet rice wine (mirim)
• 1 tbsp corn syrup
• 1 bunch (12 oz, 340 g) spinach
• 2 pinches salt
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• dashes toasted sesame seeds

Instruction:

1. {‘@type’: ‘HowToStep’, ‘text’: ‘For the rice: Rinse rice several times and drain. Soak rice in 2 1/2 cup water for 10 minutes. Cook rice until soft. Put hot rice in a large mixing bowl, add plum extract and salt; toss well. Cover rice with a kitchen towel and set aside to cool.’, ‘name’: ‘For the rice: Rinse rice several times and drain. Soak rice in 2 1/2 cup water for 10 minutes. Cook rice until soft. Put hot rice in a large mixing bowl, add plum extract and salt; toss well. Cover rice with a kitchen towel and set aside to cool.’, ‘url’: ‘https://www.beyondkimchee.com/kimbap/#wprm-recipe-13824-step-0-0’}
2. {‘@type’: ‘HowToStep’, ‘text’: ‘For the egg: Beat eggs and cook in a skillet in 3 batches. Roll them up and slice thinly’, ‘name’: ‘For the egg: Beat eggs and cook in a skillet in 3 batches. Roll them up and slice thinly’, ‘url’: ‘https://www.beyondkimchee.com/kimbap/#wprm-recipe-13824-step-0-1’}
3. {‘@type’: ‘HowToStep’, ‘text’: ‘For the carrot: cook shredded carrot in a little oil over medium high heat with some salt. Add 2 tbsp of water to create a steam and cover with a lid. Cook for 2 minutes until crisp but tender.’, ‘name’: ‘For the carrot: cook shredded carrot in a little oil over medium high heat with some salt. Add 2 tbsp of water to create a steam and cover with a lid. Cook for 2 minutes until crisp but tender.’, ‘url’: ‘https://www.beyondkimchee.com/kimbap/#wprm-recipe-13824-step-0-2’}
4. {‘@type’: ‘HowToStep’, ‘text’: ‘For the fishcake: slice fishcake sheets thinly and stir-fry in a little oil for 1 minute over medium high heat. Mix together soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine in a bowl, and add the mixture to the fishcake. Continue to stir-fry for another minute.’, ‘name’: ‘For the fishcake: slice fishcake sheets thinly and stir-fry in a little oil for 1 minute over medium high heat. Mix together soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine in a bowl, and add the mixture to the fishcake. Continue to stir-fry for another minute.’, ‘url’: ‘https://www.beyondkimchee.com/kimbap/#wprm-recipe-13824-step-0-3’}
5. {‘@type’: ‘HowToStep’, ‘text’: ‘For the spinach: blanch spinach in a pot of boiling water with some salt. Drain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze out the excess water. Place the spianch in a mixing bowl and season with salt, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Toss well.’, ‘name’: ‘For the spinach: blanch spinach in a pot of boiling water with some salt. Drain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze out the excess water. Place the spianch in a mixing bowl and season with salt, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Toss well.’, ‘url’: ‘https://www.beyondkimchee.com/kimbap/#wprm-recipe-13824-step-0-4’}
6. {‘@type’: ‘HowToSection’, ‘name’: ‘To assemble Kimbap’, ‘itemListElement’: [{‘@type’: ‘HowToStep’, ‘text’: ‘Cut 3 sheets of seaweed in half and set aside.’, ‘name’: ‘Cut 3 sheets of seaweed in half and set aside.’, ‘url’: ‘https://www.beyondkimchee.com/kimbap/#wprm-recipe-13824-step-1-0’}, {‘@type’: ‘HowToStep’, ‘text’: ‘Place a full sheet of seaweed, shiny side down, longer side toward you, on a bamboo rolling mat. Spread about 1 cup of rice (1/6 amount) evenly on the seaweed leaving 1 inch of space at the end. Lay a half seaweed sheet in the middle of rice.’, ‘name’: ‘Place a full sheet of seaweed, shiny side down, longer side toward you, on a bamboo rolling mat. Spread about 1 cup of rice (1/6 amount) evenly on the seaweed leaving 1 inch of space at the end. Lay a half seaweed sheet in the middle of rice.’, ‘url’: ‘https://www.beyondkimchee.com/kimbap/#wprm-recipe-13824-step-1-1’}, {‘@type’: ‘HowToStep’, ‘text’: ‘Put filling ingredients on top of the half seaweed sheet in a contrasting color pattern.’, ‘name’: ‘Put filling ingredients on top of the half seaweed sheet in a contrasting color pattern.’, ‘url’: ‘https://www.beyondkimchee.com/kimbap/#wprm-recipe-13824-step-1-2’}, {‘@type’: ‘HowToStep’, ‘text’: ‘Lift the entire end of mat from your side with both hands, roll over to cover the fillings, tucking in the filling with your fingers. Put firm pressure on the roll and continue to roll again as you roll away the mat until it reaches to the end.’, ‘name’: ‘Lift the entire end of mat from your side with both hands, roll over to cover the fillings, tucking in the filling with your fingers. Put firm pressure on the roll and continue to roll again as you roll away the mat until it reaches to the end.’, ‘url’: ‘https://www.beyondkimchee.com/kimbap/#wprm-recipe-13824-step-1-3’}, {‘@type’: ‘HowToStep’, ‘text’: ‘Place the finished kimbap on a platter, seam side down, while you are making another. Cut kimbap into 1/2 inch thick slices with a sharp knife.’, ‘name’: ‘Place the finished kimbap on a platter, seam side down, while you are making another. Cut kimbap into 1/2 inch thick slices with a sharp knife.’, ‘url’: ‘https://www.beyondkimchee.com/kimbap/#wprm-recipe-13824-step-1-4’}]}

Kimbap (or gimbap)

Kimbap is the most popular on-the-go meal in Korea! Learn how to make the classic version at home with this kimbap recipe with a step-by-step guide!

Prep: 25min

Total: 50min

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked short grain rice (standard measuring cup not the cup that comes with a rice cooker)
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• salt to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon)
• 8 ounces lean tender beef, cut into 1/2 inch-thick long strips ((or bulgogi meat or ground beef))
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice wine ((or mirin))
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 bunch spinach, about 8 ounces
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• salt to taste – about 1/4 teaspoon
• 2 medium carrots, julienned (or 1/2-inch thick long strips)
• 5 yellow pickled radish (danmuji, 단무지) strips, 1/2-inch thick
• 1 sheet fish cake – eomuk (어묵)
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 eggs
• 5 gimbap gim (김밥용 김), seaweed sheets

Instruction:

1. Cook the rice using a little less water than usual. (Freshly cooked rice is best for gimbap.)
2. Cut the beef into thin strips (about 1/2-inch thick). Mix well with the next 5 seasoning ingredients. Stir-fry over medium-high heat until cooked through, 2 – 3 minutes.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and prepare an ice bath. Blanch the spinach, place immediately in the ice bath, then squeeze out water. Season with the sesame oil and salt.
4. Julienne the carrots. Heat a lightly oiled pan over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the carrots until softened. Lightly season with a pinch of salt.
5. Cut the pickled radish lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick strips (unless you bought a pre-cut package).
6. Crack and beat the eggs, in a bowl with a spoon or a fork. Stir in a pinch of salt. Heat a small non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Add the eggs to the pan. When the bottom is set, flip it over. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut lengthwise into 3/4-inch thick strips.
7. Cut the fish cake lengthwise into 3/4-inch thick strips. Heat the pan with a little bit of oil over medium heat. Stir fry with the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and a little bit (about 1 teaspoon) of vegetable oil over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes.
8. Arrange all the ingredients together on a plate.When all the other ingredients are ready, remove the rice from the rice cooker.
9. While the rice is still hot, add the sesame oil and salt. Mix well by lightly folding with a rice paddle or large spoon until evenly seasoned. Add more salt to taste. The rice will cool down during this process and be ready to be used.
10. Put a gim sheet, shiny side down and longer side towards you, on a cutting board or a bamboo mat if available. Spread about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of rice evenly over the seaweed sheet, using a rice paddle or your fingers preferably.
11. Lay the prepared ingredients on top of the rice.
12. Lift the entire bottom edge with both hands and roll over the filling away from you, tucking in the filling with your fingers.
13. Put firm pressure over the roll with the help of the bamboo mat, if using, to close everything in tightly. Then, continue to roll again, putting pressure evenly over the roll using both hands.
14. Rub or brush the roll with a little bit of sesame oil for extra flavor and shiny look. Apply a little bit of sesame oil to a sharp knife. (This will keep rice from sticking to the knife. Repeat as necessary after each cut. Wipe the knife with a damp towel if the rice still sticks.) Cut the roll into 1/2-inch thick bite sizes.

How to make gimbap (aka kimbap: 김밥)

FAQ

What is the difference between kimbap and gimbap?

Is gimbap same as sushi roll?

How to make kimbap simple?

1. Place the cooked rice into a mixing bowl then add 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil and 1/4 tsp fine sea salt (or more to taste). Mix them well with a rice spatula.
2. Gather all the kimbap ingredients at the ‘kimbap rolling station’. This makes it easy to assemble.
3. Now fill the seaweed with the filing ingredients.

Is kimbap Korean or Japanese?