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 !
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.
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.
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.
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).
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 :
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 !
Thank you for trying out this recipe ! Do not hesitate to leave some feedback. I hope it brightened your day.