Gimbap (Korean Seaweed Rice Roll)

Korea’s most iconic portable food — colorful fillings wrapped in rice and seaweed.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked short-grain rice, seasoned with 1 tbsp sesame oil and 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 sheets gim (roasted seaweed)
• Fillings: 1 cup seasoned spinach (blanched, squeezed, seasoned with sesame oil+soy), 1 carrot julienned and sautéed, 3 eggs fried into thin sheets then cut in strips, 1/2 lb bulgogi (or fish cake), yellow pickled radish (danmuji)
• Sesame oil for finishing

Directions

1. Prepare all fillings. Each should be at room temperature.
2. Place one gim sheet on a bamboo rolling mat, shiny side down.
3. Spread a thin, even layer of seasoned rice, leaving 1 inch at the top edge.
4. Lay fillings in a line across the middle of the rice.
5. Roll firmly from the bottom, pressing the mat around the roll to maintain shape.
6. Press the empty top edge (no rice) to seal. Brush outside with sesame oil.
7. Slice into 1/2 inch rounds with a sharp, wet knife.

Notes

The rice layer must be thin — thick rice makes rolls hard to cut and unbalanced to eat. Wet knife prevents sticking. Gimbap uses sesame oil-seasoned rice, not sushi vinegar.