A New Way to Kimbap

Author: Sharon Li

Photographer: Elena Zhang

A delicious blend of rice, savory meats, pickled vegetables, and crunchy roots bound tightly by a layer of soft seaweed—kimbap, or 김밥, is a well-known Korean dish that has been enjoyed throughout  many generations. The literal translation of kimbap is “seaweed rice,” a dish that is usually rolled for the family lovingly by a pair of familiar hands and eaten immediately. Kimbap is widely regarded as a quick snack or street food, but the preparation process can be a bit lengthy, from pickling carrots and radishes to making a large batch of fried eggs. It is certainly a hard dish to make for one person and must be enjoyed immediately because kimbap is not as tasty after sitting for a day in the fridge. Cold, hard, re-microwaved rice in soggy seaweed ruins the experience and  deliciousness that can only be found in  freshly  prepared kimbap. 

Now, the age-old joys of kimbap can be shared with a modern twist (or should we say a fold).  Although this new technique of making kimbap has received criticisms for being slander and nothing more than a mere TikTok fad, it still upholds all the same flavors of traditional rolled kimbap while also making  it fast and personalized for busy, working people like you and me. 

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Recipe

Servings: 1 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 egg

• 1 cup short-grain rice

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

• 1 can spam

• 1 sheet nori 

• 1 cucumber, julienned 

• 1 carrot, julienned

Instructions

1) First, make the rice in a rice cooker or on the stovetop. It is recommended to use short grain rice to achieve a fluffier texture. After the rice is done cooking, add in one tablespoon of sesame oil and one tablespoon of rice vinegar. 

2) Second, prepare your toppings. For this particular hack, you can choose up to three toppings for each side of the seaweed paper. Even though the toppings are totally up to your personal taste, it is recommended to choose one protein (with or without sauce), one vegetable, and an omelet-style egg to maintain the original flavors of kimbap. 

3) Thirdly, lay out your sheet of nori and fold into quadrants. Then, cut along one seam until you reach the middle of the sheet of nori. 

4) Lastly, place your rice and various other toppings on each quadrant taking care not to overload the nori. Then, fold the squares over each other until you are left with a structure resembling a sandwich. Now you can enjoy your easy, fast, personalized kimbap without the worry of having too many leftovers!

Enjoy!