Have you ever watched a K-drama that had you craving Korean food so bad? Well, that’s me, pretty much all the time actually.
One of my biggest k-food craving is gimbap, its Korea’s answer to Japan’s glorious sushi rolls.
The best thing about gimbap is that it’s so versatile and the only limit to your fillings is your imagination. For this gimbap, I used up the leftovers of my bibimbap ingredients so it was a speedy snack to make.
🕒 30 mins
👤 3-4 people
Ingredients
2 cups cooked short-grain rice
2tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 sugar
Fillings:
2 cups spinach
2 medium carrots – julienned
1⁄2 cucumber – julienned
11⁄2 cup bean sprout
2 garlic cloves
Pickled radish – julienned
Spam (or meat of choice)
Imitation crab meat
Plaint egg omelette - cut into thin strips
Kimchi
Others:
Nori sheets
Sesame seeds
Method
Rice: Cook your rice, the way you normally would. Once cooked, season with sesame oil, salt and sugar.
Carrots: In a pan, sauté your julienned carrots in medium heat with a 1 tbsp of gochujang and 1 tbsp sesame oil. Set aside
Cucumber: In a bowl, season your julienned cucumber with 1⁄2 tbsp sugar, salt to taste, 1 tbsp sesame oil, a splash of rice vinegar and toasted sesame seeds and combine evenly. We prefer to use cucumbers than courgettes because it adds a nice freshness to the dish!
Spinach: Sauté in a pan for 3 mins with 1 clove of minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste and 1 tbsp sesame oil
Kimchi: Cut your kimchi into small bite size pieces
To assemble your gimbap:
Place your nori sheets on a bamboo roller and evenly spread 1/3 cup of rice on the sheet.
Fill with your toppings and tightly roll using the bamboo roller
Before slicing, evenly coat each gimbap with sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds
Slice into 6-8 pieces, serve and enjoy!
