Kimbap, also romanized as Gimbap, is rice rolled in seaweed with various ingredients inside. Quick Korean lesson:
Kim/Gim is dried seaweed.
Bap is steamed white rice.
Kimbap is a hugely popular snack or light meal option in Korea. Common ingredients are carrots, pickled radish, spinach, egg, imitation crab & ham. Other types of kimbap include tuna with perilla leaf or donkas, fried pork cutlet.
Kimbap is such a great vessel for fusion. I was always surprised while living in Korea at how little variation there was for this food. At most, the roll might have cheese included or a different type of protein like shrimp. Still, kimbap can really be played with. So I’m going to share 5 different types of kimbap I’ve been experimenting with over the course of the rest of my 22 Days Korean Fusion.
First, breakfast kimbap, or more specifically, bacon egg & cheese kimbap.
This tasted delicious. However, it did roll a little thin. I might try this again with other breakfast foods or added vegetables in the future just to get the look of a beautifully rolled kimbap. Still, the flavor of bacon egg & cheese is all there! With the carbs from the rice & added taste of the seaweed, this is a fully loaded breakfast.
To make kimbap, you will need sticky white rice, preferably Korean rice or CalRose. You will also need dried sheets of seaweed (laver). Both of these can be found at Asian/Korean Marts.
A bamboo mat can be used for rolling kimbap & can likely be found at the store or mart. You can simply use saran wrap when in a pinch. I used saran & had no difficulty lifting & rolling the seaweed.
Check back tomorrow for more kimbap fun!
Also, check me out on SnapChat user name: friedgrnkimchi, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and/or Pinterest to keep up with all these exciting recipes!
Bacon Egg & Cheese Kimbap
Ingredients:
- 4 slices bacon, cooked
- 4 slices cheddar cheese, thickly sliced lengthwise
- 3 Cups glutinous rice, cooked & cooled
- 4 sheets of dried seaweed*
- 3 eggs
- Canola oil
- Sesame oil
Directions:
Drizzle the canola oil in a pan over medium heat. Beat the eggs together in a bowl. Pour the eggs in the pan and swirl so that they encircle the entire pan. Allow to cook on one side entirely then gently flip using a spatula. Remove the pan from the heat & allow the eggs to cook for another 4-5 minutes in the hot pan. Once the eggs are cooked slice them into 1/2 inch wide strips.
To assemble the kimbap, lay one piece of the dried seaweed on a long strip of saran wrap or a bamboo mat. Press about 3/4 cup of the rice onto the seaweed covering the entire sheet. Lay one piece of bacon, two strips of egg & two strips cheese in the center of the rice. Using the saran wrap or bamboo mat, begin to lift one side of the seaweed over the ingredients. Tuck it tightly & continue to roll sealing it tightly. Brush sesame oil over the top of the roll then slice into 1/2 inch size pieces.
*Be sure to buy long sheets of dried seaweed specifically for rolling into kimbap or sushi. Other types of dried seaweed might be sold as smaller sheets that won’t work for this recipe.
Fried Green Kimchi 
This sounds awesome, and easy enough that I can do it! I think for veggies you could add grilled red peppers. Adds a bit more colour and it owuld fill it out. My first year in Korea I ate SOOO much chamchi kimbap, I miss that stuff.
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Grilled red peppers sounds like a great idea! I actually used them iny Burrito kimbap but not grilled.
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