My Kimbap

Yoo hoo,

You guys noticed I have changed my Profile picture, rite? Thanks to a gentleman  – who was so kind and lovely and charming, in using not only his imagination, but mind and heart doing the pic for me! Muahhh

And to repay for this beautiful piece of art work, I thought I should make something nice for his brunch. Sushi? Kimbap?

As far as I know, both are made from short-grain rice, with its filling either stays inside or on top of the rice. All are ended up being rolled or wrapped by roasted seaweed.Differences? From 2 different countries haha. Nah, lets be serious.

Kimbap: is a warmer dish where rice is mixed with both sesame oil and sesame seeds. Kimbap’s filling is a combination of 2-3 items such as: veges, meat (beef, chicken, pork, seafood, etc..), tofu, cheese, kimchi, crab meat, eggs, fishcake, pickle parsnip. Kimbap’s veges are normally precooked before being rolled up, and then marinated also with sesame oil, especially for spinach. Kimbap can be served without any sauce, and perfect for lunch box

Sushi: is a cold dish while rice is mixed with vinegar. A typical sushi would contain fish only. But I see now people put also prawn, octopus, etc… Sushi serves with soya sauce, ginger, wasabi, and must be eaten fresh !!

Enough said, let’s find out my version of Kimbap:

WHAT TO HAVE:

–         Rice: after cook, leave to rest. When the rice is still warm, mix with 1/4 table spoon of vinegar + 1/2 table spoon of sugar + 1/4 table spoon of salt. Feel free to use the sushi version (only Vinegar) or real Korean Kimbap version ( sesame oil and sesame seeds). As long as it tastes right for you – but honestly, I feel these original versions are quite strong.

–         Eggs: fried, cut into long pieces

–         Sausage: cut into long pieces

–         Cucumber: cut into long pieces

–         Carrot: Cut into long pieces. Slightly cook in boil water with 1/4 table spoon of salt. Leave to rest.

–         Spinach: quick stir fried with sesame oil. Leave to rest

–         1 package of roasted seaweed

HOW TO TOLL:

–         Create a work station like this. Here I have 2 different fillings.

–         Placing seaweed sheet on a bamboo mat, with the shiny side down

–         Place your filling on the part that is not cover by rice. Place that part near to you. Then spread one layer of rice evenly on top of the seaweed like below.

–         Let’s rock and roll it: very slowly and nicely begin to roll over the side nearest you. While rolling, gently press so your Kimbap stays tight.

–         Carry on with rolling forward, remember to pull the bamboo mat up and out together

–         To finish up, wrap the bamboo mat around the roll and give a very gentle squeeze

–          Use a sharp knife, which already been rubbed with oil to cut your kimbap up

MY TIPS: Following above steps, my filling always will stay in the middle, and people can hand-pick my versatile Kimbap without having extra hassle dipping in any kind of sauce. And because I did not use vinegar, my Kimbap is good to go for brunch even, and in a lunch box

Again, different people will have different technique, so do feel free to adjust to your perfect standard. Yet, isn’t it just so friendly looking to you? ( and your stomach)

Bon Appétit!

Erin M. ❤