Authentic Kimbap Recipe South Korea, Asia
JUMP TO RECIPEWe strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though
Introduction & history
Often nicknamed “Korean sushi”, kimbap is a dish consisting of rice filled with vegetables, meat and/or seafood, wrapped in seaweed, and cut into round, bite-sized slices. Although it resembles sushi in appearance, its preparation is quite different, the main difference being the fact that the ingredients are always cooked or fried. The preparation starts with cooking or steaming short-grain white rice, which is typically seasoned with salt and soy sauce, and sometimes with a combination of vinegar, sugar, and salt. The vegetables – usually carrot, cucumber, burdock roots, and pickled radish – are cut into thin sticks, and then stir-fried shortly on oil. Kimbap can be prepared with meat, which is most commonly stir-fried or grilled beef, or various seafood such as tuna, salmon, surimi sticks, fish cake, or squid. Other popular fillings include fried eggs and kimchi, but the dish itself can also ... Read more
Cooking tips
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rice
Short-grained white rice (bap) is the best choice for a kimbap, and it can be either cooked or steamed. Preferably, the rice should be soaked and washed before cooking or steaming to make it less sticky. Some recipes suggest seasoning it with salt and sesame oil, while others use vinegar with some sugar and salt, which was adopted from the Japanese sushi technique. When assembling the kimbap, the ... Read more -
seaweed
Very similar to Japanese nori, laver is a type of dried algae (kim or gim) used for kimbap. It usually comes in the form of dried sheets, which are elastic enough to be rolled without breaking. The seaweed for samgak kimbap come in slightly smaller packagings than the ones used for classic kimbap, because they are meant for wrapping individual portions. Usually, samgak kimbap sheets are covered with ... Read more -
vegetables
When it comes to vegetables, kimbap is traditionally filled with carrots, cucumber, pickled radish and burdock roots. The vegetables are usually peeled and julienned (cut into thin sticks), seasoned if necessary, and stir-fried shortly. Other options include spinach, romaine lettuce, pickled daikon, perilla leaves, avocado and kimchi, a popular Korean side-dish of salted and fermented spicy cabbage.... Read more -
meat
Typically, kimbap is filled with beef, which can be minced, seasoned, and stir fried; or cut into thin strips, marinated and fried, in which case it’s called bulgogi. Thinly sliced cold cuts or even spam – canned cooked pork meat originally from the USA, but very popular in Korean cuisine – are also a common option. -
fish
Kimbap is very often filled with fish which, unlike Japanese sushi, is rarely raw. Popular options include canned tuna, smoked salmon, surimi sticks, fish cake (odeng), and squid. -
eggs
Eggs, another common kimbap filling, are usually whisked, seasoned with salt, and fried on both sides in a little hot oil into an omelet. Avoid stirring – the fried eggs should resemble a pancake. Then, the eggs are cut into thin strips and arranged on top of the rice with the rest of the ingredients. -
tools
The basic tool for wrapping the classic kimbap is a bamboo mat, which should be put on a working surface in front of you, so the bamboo sticks lie horizontally. On the other hand, samgak kimbap is prepared in special triangular molds, which should be slightly oiled before adding the rice and fillings. Alternatively, the ingredients for samgak kimbap can be arranged on a plastic wrap, formed into a ... Read more -
rolling
To roll a kimbap, place a bamboo mat on a working surface and put the seaweed sheet on top. Arrange a layer of rice evenly on the lower two-thirds of the seaweed sheet, leaving a 1-inch (2.5 cm) strip on the bottom free. Then, arrange the fillings on top of the rice and start rolling away from you, helping yourself with the bamboo mat. You can moisten the edges of the seaweed with a little water to ... Read more -
cutting
Use a very sharp knife to cut the kimbap into 1,5 to 2-cm-thick (1/2 to 1-inch) slices. Wipe it with a wet cloth after each slice – this will prevent the rice from sticking to the knife and tearing the seaweed wrap.
Recipe variations
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Samgak Gimbap
Ready in 1h 15minThe following recipe shows how to make a triangle-shaped samgak gimbap with either a tuna or a kimchi filling. Triangular shaping molds help in forming the individual samgak kimbaps, but they can be replaced with plastic foil. Also, this version of kimbap is wrapped in specifically prepared laver seaweed, which usually contains wrapping instructions inside. The recipe is adapted from the website of Emily Kim, also known as Maangchi, a South Korean-born American YouTuber and author that The New York Times has proclaimed "YouTube's Korean Julia Child."
Classic Kimbap
PREP 35min
COOK 50min
RESTING 50min
READY IN 2h 15min
This recipe was adapted from visitkorea.or.kr, the official site of the Korea Tourism Organization, and Hansik.org, the official site of the Korean Food Foundation. It describes how to make a classic kimbap with stir-fried beef and vegetables.
Ingredients
Classic Kimbap
RICE
360g (2 cups) non-glutinous rice
500g (2 1/2 cups) water
3g (3/4 tsp) salt
13 ml (1 tbsp) sesame oil
VEGETABLES
50g (1/4 piece, 1.75 oz) carrot
50g (1/4 piece, 1.75 oz) carrot
80g (1/2 piece, 2.8 oz) cucumber
50g (1/4 piece, 1.75 oz) carrot
70g (2.45 oz) pickled radish
100g (3.5 oz) burdock roots
13 ml (1 tbsp) edible oil
DILUTED VINEGAR
17 ml (1 tbsp) vinegar
200 ml (3/4 cup + 4 tsp) water
SEASONING SAUCE 1
27 ml (1 1/2 tbsp) soy sauce
15 ml (1 tbsp) water
6g (1/2 tbsp) sugar
5 ml (1 tsp) refined rice wine
MEAT
80g (2.8 oz) minced beef
SEASONING SAUCE 2
12 ml (2 tsp) soy sauce
2g (1/2 tsp) sugar
2.3g (1/2 tsp) chopped green onion
1.4g (1/4 tsp) minced garlic
2g (1 tsp) sesame salt
2g (1/2 tsp) sesame oil
0.1g (a pinch of) ground black pepper
EGGS
2 eggs
1g (1/4 tsp) salt
OTHER INGREDIENTS
6g (4 sheets) dried laver
26 ml (2 tbsp) edible oil
Preparation
Classic Kimbap
Start with washing the rice thoroughly, and soak it in water for 30 minutes. Transfer the rice into a strainer and leave it to drain for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. Peel the carrot and the burdock roots, wash the cucumber and remove the seeds from the middle, and prepare the pickled radish. Cut all vegetables into 20-cm-long (8-inch) and 0,7-cm-thick (1/4-inch) sticks. Sprinkle the carrot and the cucumber with 1/4 tsp salt each, and leave it for 5 minutes. Wipe the cucumber with a kitchen towel to remove the water. Soak the burdock roots in diluted vinegar for 2 minutes.
Using a cotton cloth, soak up blood from the minced beef if necessary. Mix the ingredients for seasoning sauce 2, and use it to season the beef.
Whisk 2 eggs with 1/4 tsp salt.
Now, prepare the rice. Put 360g (2 cups) of rice into 2 1/2 cups (500 ml) water, bring to a boil, and cook over high heat for 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for another 3 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and steam for 10 minutes. Season with salt and sesame oil and set aside.
Lightly oil and heat a frying pan. First, stir-fry the carrot and then the cucumber for 30 seconds each over high heat. Then, stir-fry the burdock roots over medium heat for 3 minutes, add seasoning sauce 1, and stir-fry over low heat for another 10 minutes. Next, stir-fry the beef over medium heat for 2 minutes. Finally, fry the beaten egg on low heat for 3 minutes, then turn it over and fry for 2 more minutes. Remove the egg from the pan and cut it into 20-cm-long (8-inch) and 0,7-cm-thick (1/4-inch) stripes.
Lightly toast the laver over low heat and transfer it onto the rolling mat. Apply an even layer of steamed rice on top. Place carrot, cucumber, burdock roots, pickled radish, beef, and fried eggs in the middle. Roll gently into a log.
Slice into 1,5-cm-wide (1/2-inch-wide) pieces and serve. Clean the knife with a wet towel after each slice.
Other Variations
-
Samgak Gimbap
Ready in 1h 15minThe following recipe shows how to make a triangle-shaped samgak gimbap with either a tuna or a kimchi filling. Triangular shaping molds help in forming the individual samgak kimbaps, but they can be replaced with plastic foil. Also, this version of kimbap is wrapped in specifically prepared laver seaweed, which usually contains wrapping instructions inside. The recipe is adapted from the website of Emily Kim, also known as Maangchi, a South Korean-born American YouTuber and author that The New York Times has proclaimed "YouTube's Korean Julia Child."
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