Kimbap is your Korean PB&J -for you Americans, or your jambon-beurre -for you French people. When I studied abroad in Seoul for a few months, Kimbap were the n°1 choice for lunch if not eating at the cafeteria.
It consists in a rice roll, not unlike the Japanese makis, filled with a rainbow mix of veggies (either quickly cooked or pickled) and optionally some meat or fish.
Both the filling and the rice seasoning vastly differ though. The rice is seasoned with sesame oil instead of vinegar and sugar, which creates a different flavour profile. As for the filling, you can get so many different kinds in Korea ! I’d say the most popular are probably the bulgogi kimbap, the spam kimbap, and the tuna kimbap. I also remember fondly a spicy pork gimbap -heaven in a roll.
Just like for the Bibimbap, I know what you might think. Essentially, rice with lots of veggies ? Ok, boring !
But what a mistake, again ! The tastes are super-balanced, bold, and complex : the savoury, obviously ; the sweet, with the bulgogi, carrots and slightly sugary radishes ; the tang, with two kinds of pickles ; the egg, for this soft flavour and creamy texture ; and an earthy flavour from the burdock. Everything must be seasoned right, with much umami from the soy sauce, the sesame oil and the beautiful amount of garlic.
The beauty of this dish, as in the bibimbap and the japchae, lies in the process of cooking each ingredient separately, which allows each flavour to shine when you taste the final product. In a mouthful, you will get the very specific taste of garlicky, sesamey spinach, as well as the distinct taste of bulgogi beef, for example. Kimbap is definitely one of my favourite dishes, ever.
Classic Kimbap (Beef Bulgogi and/or Kimchi)- Recipe
Ingredients – Advice & key points
Some specific ingredients for this dish are basic will probably require you to visit a Korean store (especially for the pickled radish and pickled burdock) :
- If you’re in Paris :
- for my Korean items, I’m sure to find them (especially gochujang) at the K-mart near Opera (there are several others K-marts, check on Google) ;
- you can also go to Tang Frères in the 13th (they have other stores in Paris but be careful, some are small, this one is large) or Paris Store in the 10th ;
- If you’re in France :
- Paris Store has several shops across the country ;
- you can also order online ! There are several online Asian websites you can order from.
- For my foreign friends : I bet you can easily find some Asian shops around you or online, but if you can’t, message me with your location and I will try to find it for you !
Cooking – Advice & key points
- Don’t get intimidated by the rolling process. Simply keep in mind the following tips, and it will be a breeze !
- Put your nori sheet shiny side down. The matte side will grip the rice more easily ;
- Center your filling and don’t overfill ! This way, it should be quite easy to bring together the two edges of the rice rectangle ;
- See my video recipe to check out how to roll the gimbap ;
- To cut your gimbap easily, just pour some sesame oil all over your kitchen knife. Also wipe your knife with a wet towel to remove any excess starch, that will prevent you from cutting neat bite-sized pieces.
- I must admit it is quite time consuming to prep Kimbap. It’s worth it, though. I recommend making a large batch of fillings ; you can make fresh rice over a few days to use it up !
- You could skip pickled pickled burdock and/or egg, but I wouldn’t recommend skipping any other ingredient to get the traditional kimbap flavour.
- Of course, if you want to have fun with your fillings, feel free to ! I’ve seen many different Kimbap versions with ingredients such as salad, cheese, fish cakes, cucumber…
Got everything you need ? Let’s roll !
Classic Kimbap (Beef Bulgogi and/or Kimchi)
Description
Soft rice roll filled with delicious bulgogi beef, crunchy, garlicky and sesamey veggies, creamy eggs and tangy pickles. In terms of balance and complexity, I challenge you to cook a better lunch !
Ingredients
For the Beef Bulgogi
For the Spinach
For the carrots
Instructions
-
Start prepping
Wash your rice several times (4 to 5 usually) until the water gets almost translucent. Add your water (1:1 rice to water ratio), then let it soak.
Mince your garlic.
Peel and cut your carrot into matchsticks. Add to a bowl with 1/2 tsp salt ; set aside.
Wash well, then cut off your spinach roots.
Add water to a medium-large pot until half full. When the water boils, blanch your spinach 1 minute, then leave in the sink to drain.
-
Meat time
If not pre-sliced, slice your meat quite thinly, but not necessarily paper-thin (ideally, put your beef in the freezer around 1h to help slicing it more easily).
To a bowl, add all the other meat ingredients except for the neutral oil.
Mix well by hand; let it marinate while you carry on prepping.
-
Finish your carrots and spinach
Using a clean kitchen towel or paper towels, drain well your carrot matchsticks ; there should be a small pool of water in the bowl where you left them.
Put your pan on medium-high heat with your neutral oil. Add your carrots ; cook around 1 minute and a half, then remove from heat.
Squeeze your spinach well (this should last around 3-5 minutes !), then cut your spinach ball in 3 to 6 parts. Add the spinach seasonings, then mix well, using a wooden spoon or your clean hands.
-
Cook your egg
Crack 3 eggs in a bowl and add half a teaspoon of salt. Beat it with a fork and remove any stringy parts if existent
Pour a teaspoon neutral oil on a large non-stick pan on low heat. Wipe the pan with a paper towel so that a thin, even layer remains.
Pour the egg into the pan and turn it around so that it spreads into a large circle.
When the bottom part is cooked, flip it over with a spatula. Remove from the heat and let it finish cooking, without heat, for a few minutes.
Remove and cut into long, thin strips (1 or 2 cm wide).
We're heating it up on low heat so as to obtain a very yellow egg (not brown). -
Cook your beef
Bring a pan to medium-high heat. Add your marinated beef, then cook for a few minutes until done to your liking. -
Let's roll !!
Place a small glass of water on your countertop. Get your sushi mat ready.
Place a nori sheet, shiny side down, on your sushi mat. Dip your fingers in water, and spread some of your rice in a thin layer, using a wooden spoon and your wet fingers. Leave an uncovered layer on top of your nori sheet (around 5cm).
Place your fillings towards the center :
- Beef filling : Carrot, spinach, beef, 1 or 2 egg strips, 1 danmuji strip, 1 fernbrake strip ;
- Kimchi filling : Carrot, spinach, kimchi, 1 or 2 egg strips, 1 danmuji strip, 1 fernbrake strip.
Quickly roll so as to make the start of your rice layer meet the very end of the rice layer. When they meet, press tightly. Keep pressing tightly as your roll.
Once rolled, put some toasted sesame oil on your kimbaps using your fingers. Optionally, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.
Put some sesame oil over a sharpened knife.
Cut each roll into around 2cm bite-sized pieces. Wipe occasionally with a wet paper towel ; this will help removing the starch, which makes for a cleaner cut.
Et voilà !! You're done !