Kimbap (literal translation – seaweed rice) is a Korean version of the California roll that contains yellow pickled radish, spinach, carrot, imitation crab meat, fish cake and usually some sort of meat, whether it’s bulgogi, seasoned beef, or sausage. In this particular case, it’s tuna! Not the expensive kind; the canned kind will do just fine.
Kimbap is definitely not something you would find in a formal Korean meal setting. Instead, it’s considered more of a snack that you’d grab from a street cart. Kimbap is a must-have lunch item for any kind of field trip. This is a super easy version, only containing 3 main ingredients!
Recipe: Spicy tuna kimbap
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients:
2 sheets of seaweed (sushi kind)
1 package of yellow pickled radish, sliced into long strips
1 cup of cooked white sushi rice
1 can of tuna
1 teaspoon of gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
1/2 teaspoon of mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon of Sriracha sauce (optional)
Hint of sesame oil
Sprinkle of black pepper
Procedure:
1. Put 1 cup of cooked rice into a bowl and give it some time to cool. As long as the rice is warm to the touch and not hot, you’re good to go.
2. Place seaweed on a sushi mat (if you have one). Spread about 1/2 cup of rice evenly across 2/3 of the way.
3. Drain juices from the can of tuna. Add gochujang, Sriracha sauce, mayo, sesame oil, and pepper.
4. Add radish and tuna in a line, making sure that it’s distributed evenly.
5. Smear some rice across the edge to use as an adhesive and roll the entire thing toward that edge.
6. Slice into pieces, about 7-8 pieces for each roll.
No soy sauce is necessary for this and is a bit easier than making California rolls. It’s cheap, quick and yummy!
This was so good but it would have been even better with some sesame seed leaves!
I love how we can all relate to each other on that level!!
April 13, 2009
canned tuna??? and lots of radish? interesting…you’re going to have to make that for me sometime.