Image: bryan..., CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Gimbap resembles sushi but uses sesame-seasoned rice and fully cooked fillings. The rolls are ideal for lunchboxes, picnics or cooking together.
Ingredients
- 300 g Korean short-grain or sushi rice
- 4 nori or gim sheets
- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 large carrot, cut into long strips
- 150 g spinach
- 1/2 cucumber, cut into long strips
- 4 strips yellow pickled radish (danmuji)
- 4 crab sticks or 150 g fried tofu
- 1 tsp neutral oil
- Sesame seeds to finish
Method
- Cook rice, cool for 10 minutes and mix with sesame oil and salt. It should be warm, not hot.
- Cook eggs as a thin omelette and cut into strips. Stir-fry carrot briefly. Blanch spinach, squeeze dry and season lightly.
- Place a gim sheet rough-side up on a rolling mat. Spread one quarter of the rice thinly, leaving 3 cm clear at the top.
- Lay egg, carrot, spinach, cucumber, radish and crab stick or tofu across the rice. Roll firmly and seal the edge with a little water.
- Brush the outside lightly with sesame oil. Slice with a sharp lightly oiled knife and sprinkle with sesame.
Tips and variations
- Do not mash the rice and keep the layer thin.
- Keep fillings as dry as possible for a stable roll.
- Traditional gimbap does not depend on raw fish.
