How To Make Kimbap
INGREDIENTS
Most of the ingredients for kimbap are easy to find in most grocery stores, with the exception of just a few of the ingredients. All of them can be found in Asian grocery stores like H-Mart or 99 Ranch. I encourage you to take a trip to your local Asian supermarket and seek them out. If you aren’t able to find one of the filling ingredients, you can always add something else in its place or simply leave it out.
- Short-Grain Rice: Also labeled sushi rice. This is the most common type used for kimbap because its starchiness makes it ideal for rolling up.
- Spinach: I find using fresh baby spinach is best. Frozen spinach is often too water-packed and will add too much liquid to the rolls.
- Eggs: Thin strips of eggs are common in kimbap, so that’s how I cook them here. I like the softness and extra protein they add to the rolls.
- Kosher Salt: You’ll need to season different parts of kimbap with salt, and kosher is my forever go-to because it helps enhance the flavors without being overly salty.
- Carrots: Carrots add a nice sweetness, crunch, and beautiful color to the rolls.
- Spam: You can use the regular kind or the low-sodium version, depending on your preference. Any meat could be used in its place, but ham is the obvious substitute if you can’t find spam.
- Gochujang: This is a spicy red pepper paste that is found in most grocery stores. I love the mild spiciness it adds to the spam, but feel free to skip if you really don’t like spice.
- Fish Cakes: Also labeled as eomuk in Korean (or sometimes odeng in Japanese, though they refer to the same thing). This will come as a flat sheet and is usually unflavored. If you find the seasoned kind, you can use that—just skip the syrup and soy sauce.
- Oligodang Syrup: This is a Korean oligosaccharide syrup used to sweeten the fish cakes. It’s definitely worth seeking out, but you should be able to substitute with a little bit of honey or corn syrup if you can’t find any.
- Reduced-Sodium Soy Sauce: I always prefer to use reduced-sodium soy sauce, so I have more control over the saltiness of the dish, but you can use regular if you are mindful when seasoning with salt.
- Sesame Oil: I love the nutty flavor it adds to the rice and seaweed. Heads up: A little goes a long way with sesame oil!
- Nori Sheets: This is dried seaweed and can commonly be found in most grocery stores. It’s also labeled as sushi nori.
- Pickled Yellow Radish & Braised Burdock Root: These can often be found packaged together. They are conveniently often even labeled as “for kimbap”. I love the crunch the daikon radish adds, but if you can’t find it, swap it out for kimchi. There isn’t a good substitute for the burdock, so it can just be left out.
