Kimbap (Korean style sushi)

This one is a little bit exotic but is one of my most favorite healthy foods ever!

After having lived in Korea I get occasional cravings for seaweed rice roll its SO good! (I made the video for another post last summer while experimenting with my new mac!)

Basically each roll makes about eight pieces minus the end’s. Kimbap stores ok wrapped in foil and kept refrigerated. but It's best eaten right after it is made.

Good kimbap has about 7 different fillings- which ingredients I can not find here! For one simple roll kimbap you will need:

a bamboo mat to roll sushi with

1 sheet sushi nori (seaweed)

1 parboiled carrot cut into strips length wise but not too cooked, you want it with some chew to it!

1 cucumber cut strips length wise

2 fish (crab) sticks sliced in half longways

1 egg beaten lightly with a fork and fried, then cut into strips

1 smoked sausage and/or 4 crabsticks

1tsp sesame oil for brushing (tastes great and helps sesame seeds stick)

1/2tsp toasted sesame seed’s to garnish

Soy sauce to acompany

You need rice that is sticky, you can use sushi rice or.. what I do- a MUCH cheaper alternative- use pudding rice instead I wouldn’t even know the difference really after even having eaten loads of it in Korea. Rice cookers can cook the rice to perfection, otherwise I think two cups of water to every cup of rice about does it. Once rice is cooked you can mix in some rice vinegar (optional) then put the rice aside and let cool.

meanwhile parboil carrots, and slice all vegetables, smoked sausage, fishsticks, thinly scrambled eggs (whatever your filling) in long slender strips (not too chunky) I also make another one using just processed cheese and tuna that kids often prefer.

Put the seaweed on bamboo mat shiny side down and spread rice on about 1cm thick careful not to cover the edges (wetting your fingers with water will stop the rice sticking to them and make rice easier to spread!)

Put the fillings in the center of the layer of rice

Roll using the bamboo mat (this can take some practice first)

Wet the inside of the edge being rolled towards with water and roll firmly over it to seal

Before slicing, brush top with sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds

serve with a small accompaniment of soy sauce.

For more on how to roll with bamboo mat see video below.

Enjoy!