Tuna and Sausage Kimbap
The perfect meal to take anywhere!I love kimbap. I remember making kimbap for some of my friends who never had it before. They said it was pretty good but it lacked some flavor, needing some type of sauce. Generally kimbap isn’t eaten with sauce, but it would be occasionally dipped into things that are usually eaten with kimbap like tteokbokki!
Ingredients
makes 12-13 rolls
3 cups uncooked rice (I believe I ended up using 1 more cup of rice)
2 large carrots
1 small head red cabbage
~1.5 pounds spinach
1 package of pork sausage (I used a brand called ARABIKI that had around 14 pieces)
6 eggs
1 package of pickled radish (단무지 danmuji)
4 cans tuna
Kewpie mayonnaise
1 package of toasted seaweed (김 gim)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Rice
-Cook 3-4 cups of rice. It’s easiest to make in a rice cooker. However, my household doesn’t use one, so we cook our rice on the stovetop. Use equal parts rice to water and bring the rice to a hard boil over med-high heat. Give the rice a vigorous stir with a wooden spoon, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot. Cover with a lid and lower the heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes then turn off the heat and rest for 10-15 minutes. Fluff the rice once ready.
-Once the rice has cooled down a bit, season it with a drizzle of sesame oil and some salt. Mix.Carrots
-Julienne 2 large carrots and sprinkle generously with 2 pinches of salt.
-Mix then set it aside to sit for around 15 minutes.
-Squeeze out any excess water and drain.
-Cook the carrots on a frying pan over medium heat. It shouldn’t take took long. Just until they get tender and paler in color (around 3-5 minutes?).
-Place in a bowl to cool and set aside.Sausages
-Prep the sausages by placing them in a broiler for around 20 minutes. Make sure to flip the sausages halfway through cooking.Eggs
-Crack 6 eggs into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix.
-Ladle a scoop of the eggs onto an oiled frying pan over med-low heat. Spread the eggs around using gravity.
-Once cooked flip the eggs then proceed with the rest of the eggs.
-Cut eggs into long strips.Spinach
-Blanch the spinach in a pot of boiling water for around 30 seconds. I’m too lazy to do an ice bath but you can here haha.
-Once the spinach cools down a bit, squeeze the spinach to drain it of excess water.
-Season the spinach with a drizzle of sesame oil, salt, and a scoop of minced garlic. Mix thoroughly.Pickled Radish
-Cut the pickled radish into long strips.Tuna
-Empty 4 cans of tuna into a bowl. Add three generous squeezes of Kewpie mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper.
-Mix everything together thoroughly.Assembly
-Start with the toasted seaweed. Make sure that the glossy side is the side touching the surface (facing down).
-Add a scoop of rice onto the seaweed and spread it all over. Leave a bit of space on top. I don’t like my kimbap to have too much rice so I am a bit conservative with the rice here.
-Add the egg, pickled radish, tuna, spinach, sausages, and carrots in whichever order you like.
-Starting from the bottom, lift the seaweed up to create a roll. Apply even pressure and squeeze the roll firmly. Using a bamboo rolling mat makes things much easier!
-Brush some sesame oil on top and sprinkle some sesame seeds. Cut the rolls using a knife and enjoy! Kimbap is delicious the day it is made and doesn’t last so well in the fridge since the rice gets hard.
What’s your favorite kimbap filling?
