Making vegetable kimbap, the classic Korean home-cooked lunch box

Vegetable kimbap reminiscent of picnics and lunch boxes

Vegetable gimbap is one of the most familiar home-cooked lunch box menu items in Korea. It is made by spreading a thin layer of fluffy rice on top of seaweed and rolling it up with colorful ingredients such as pickled radish, carrots, spinach, cucumber, burdock, and beaten egg. It's easy to cut into bite-sized pieces and goes well with picnics, hiking, packed lunches, and simple snacks. It is a Korean food that is easy to enjoy as it has the texture of vegetables and the fragrant scent of sesame oil even without meat.

vegetable kimbap ingredients

Gimbap Prepare 4 sheets of seaweed, 3 bowls of warm rice, 4 strips of pickled radish, 1 carrot, 1 cucumber, a handful of spinach, 4 strips of stewed burdock, and 3 eggs. To season the rice, lightly mix in 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, a little salt, and sesame seeds. Slice the carrots and stir-fry with a little salt. Blanch the spinach, squeeze out all the water, and season with salt and sesame oil. If you slightly remove the seeds from the cucumber and cut it lengthwise, you can reduce the gimbap from becoming soft.

Cooking order

1. Prepare rice and fillings

Let the rice cool so that it is not too hot, then season with sesame oil, salt, and sesame seeds. If the rice is dry, the steam will easily become soggy, so it is better to cook it slightly thicker than usual. If the length and thickness of the filling are similar, the cross section will come out beautifully when the kimbap is rolled.

2. Put rice and ingredients on top of seaweed

Place the seaweed with the rough side facing up and spread the rice thinly and evenly. The top end should be left about 2cm blank so it sticks well. Place pickled radish, carrots, spinach, cucumber, burdock, and egg slices side by side on top of the rice. If you add too much filling, it may explode, so it is safer to add it in moderation at first.

3. Roll tightly and cut.

Do not press firmly once to wrap the filling using a gimbal, but slowly roll it all the way to the end to take the shape. Once rolled, lightly apply sesame oil on the outside and sprinkle with sesame seeds. If you apply a little sesame oil to the knife or wipe it with a wet dishcloth while cutting, the rice grains will stick less and the cross section will be neater.

Tips for making it delicious

When making vegetable kimbap, it is most important to remove all moisture from each ingredient. If spinach and cucumbers have too much water, the steam will quickly become soggy and the taste of the rice will be dull. When preparing as a lunch box, let the kimbap cool completely before putting it in. If you need to store it for a long time, it is best not to leave it at room temperature for a long time. If you want to add a spicy taste, adding a little bit of pickled red pepper or spicy fish cake goes well.

How to enjoy Korean gimbap more

If you eat kimbap with ramen, tteokbokki, or fish cake soup, you can truly experience the atmosphere of a Korean snack bar. If you add tuna mayo, cheese, bulgogi, and spicy pork to basic vegetable kimbap, you can enjoy it like a completely different menu. If this is your first time making kimbap, start today with vegetable kimbap with simple ingredients. The color is pretty and the taste is light, making it an easy meal for anyone to eat.

When preparing a lunch box

Kimbap is most delicious right after making it, but when taking it as a lunch box, you need to allow the ingredients to cool sufficiently before rolling them so that the seaweed becomes less soggy. If you spread the rice too thick, the texture will become heavy, so spread it thinly and add it in a balanced way so that the color of the filling shows through. If you place the cut kimbap at intervals so that they do not stick together, it will retain its shape for a long time.