Foodie Goodie | Gimbap (Korean Sushi Rolls).

If we're friends in Facebook or in real life, then you probably know how much I love gimbap aka Korean sushi rolls. I especially love the gimbap from Gwangjang Market for many reasons - they're cheap, very filling, and exceptionally good! It's no surprise that they're called 'mayak gimbap'. 'Mayak' means narcotic in Korean, and yes, you can easily get addicted to those flavorful sushi rolls.

I've tried the gimbap of some of the Korean restaurants here in my area, and although some of them were quite good, they were still a bit lacking to my palate. Why, you ask? Well, most of them don't use danmuji (Korean yellow pickled radish). It's one of the basic ingredients of the traditional gimbap, and makes your gimbap a lot more flavorful because of its sweet/sour flavor and crunchy texture. 

As such, I finally decided to just make my own gimbap, complete with danmuji and all. Thankfully, I easily found danmuji strips, along with many other Korean sauces, condiments, and cooking ingredients on Shopee. (Will do a separate blog post about this later.)

And with that - because you asked for it - here's my version of Yachae Gimbap or vegetable gimbap. This gimbap uses very simple ingredients, making it the most basic among all the gimbap varieties. 

Easy Gimbap (Korean Sushi Rolls)

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice (Japanese short-grained rice)

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 pack Aji Savor on Rice (or any furikake of your choice)

5 sheets gim (dried seaweed/nori)

Filling:

1/2 carrot, julienned

1/2 cucumber, cut into strips

5 crab sticks, cut into half lengthwise

5 danmuji strips

2-4 ham slices, cut into strips

2 eggs, beaten

Procedure:

1. In a small bowl, mix the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Mix well, and make sure that both salt and sugar are completely dissolved. 

2. Pour the mixture over the rice and toss until the rice is well-coated.

3. Sprinkle the Aji Savor on the rice and mix well.

4. Preheat a pan/skillet. Add a dash of cooking oil and let it spread around the pan. Add the beaten egg, cook both sides over medium heat. Once cooked, slice the egg into long strips.

5. In the same pan, cook the carrots, ham slices, and crab sticks for about a minute each, separately.

6. Arrange all your gimbap ingredients in a plate (or two) and prepare to roll.

We're ready to roll!

7. Place a sheet of gim on top of a bamboo mat, with the shiny side of the sheet facing down. Place a scoop of rice on the gim and spread evenly so that the rice covers about 1/3 of the gim. Add more rice if needed.

8. Arrange the filling on top of the rice close to the side towards you. Place one danmuji strip, one cucumber strip, and 2 crab sticks. Then add the egg strips, ham strips, and carrot sticks. 

9. Lift the entire bottom edge of the gim with both hands and roll over the filling away from you. Put pressure on the roll using the bamboo mat. 

10. Repeat steps 7-9 for the rest of the gim and the other ingredients. 

Get it, let it roll!

11. Place all of the gimbap on a chopping board. Brush each roll with some sesame oil and sprinkle with some roasted sesame seeds. 

12. Using a sharp knife, slice the gimbap into bite-size pieces. 

13. Squeeze some Japanese mayonnaise on top of each piece, and serve with some light soy sauce on the side. 

Gimbap + brownies :)

 Here's a list of ingredients that you can also use as filling for your gimbap:

• Spinach
• Canned tuna
• Bulgogi
• Kimchi
• Sliced cheese 
• Eomuk (fish cake)
• Tonkatsu
• Luncheon meat 

Enjoy! :)