Gimbap – the Korean sushi. Kimbap, one of the most popular Korean snacks, can contain all sorts of fillings. This very classic version here completely vegan.
Korean kimbap is somewhat similar to Japanese sushi, but as you’ll see, it tastes different. In my opinion, Korean kimbap has a tastier and more subtle flavor than the traditional sushi rolls. Either way, kimbap is a popular picnic food in Korea and the perfect on-the-go meal. I like to take these little delicacies with me to work, if only because of the jealous looks from my colleagues 😂.
The kimbap fillings are only tied to your own imagination: you can find spinach, avocado, kimchi, vegetable and bulgogi kimbap. Basically, you can add whatever ingredients you like to the delicious rolls. For this recipe, I feature the most common ingredients for the classic Korean kimbap roll, including pickled radish (danmuji), braised burdock root, vegan egg, carrot, Korean spinach salad, and cucumber.
One of the biggest challenges for making kimbap in Europe is getting all the ingredients together. The pickled danmuji can be bought as a whole pickled radish in almost every Asian market. The pickled radish is also available in white and beige.
For the Asian mushrooms I use Shimeji mushrooms, which you can replace or fill with king oyster mushrooms and/or mushrooms.
Kimchi as a filling for kimbab is also traditional. The kimchi can also be fried in the pan. Kimchi comes ready-made in small jars, which I personally find far too expensive. Homemade kimchi isn’t difficult to make either. If you would like to try our vegan kimchi, then this way.
Storage and Conservation
Always store sliced kimbap in an airtight container and refrigerate. For just a few hours, this is easily possible without loss of taste and texture. However, if you store kimbap overnight, the rice will most likely be dry the next day.
So if you want to prepare and eat kimbab for the next day, store the rolls uncut and well-wrapped in the fridge. Before serving, leave the whole rolls at room temperature for about 30 minutes before slicing them. But even with the best storage, the rice can become dry, so I recommend doing everything on the day it is going to be eaten.
Koreans like to use a trick to hide the dry rice. Try dipping the kimbab in beaten egg and frying it in a pan. Incidentally, this also works with our vegan egg alternative .
if you like our Gimbap – the Korean sushi, you might also be interested in these dishes:
- Korean Kale Salad
- easy and vegan Korean spinach salad
- Korean cabbage pancakes baechujeon
- Sushi bowl on aromatic tea rice
- vegan cauliflower korma with tofu
- vegan sushi flavored salad
serve vegan kimbab
Usually serve kimbab with sliced yellow radish. You don’t need a dipping sauce for kimbab like you do with sushi rolls, for example. However, if you like, you can serve it with some soy sauce.
Gimbap or Kimbab – Korean sushi vegan
Equipment
Ingredients
for the kimbab rice:
- 500 grams sushi rice*
- 1 tsp kosher salt*
- 1 1/2 tbsp. Sesame oil*
- 1 1/2 tbsp. white sesame* roasted
Possible fillings combined according to your taste:
- 1 cucumber
- vegan omelet >>
- vegan bulgogi >>
- Korean spinach salad >>
- vegan kimchi >>
- 2 carrots
- pointed peppers
- 1 Danmuji* whole pickled radish
- spring onions
Anything else:
- 6 pc nori sheets* Korean Gim (Gimbap) 😉
- Sesame oil* For painting
- vegetable oil to grease the pan
Instructions
Preparation rice:
- Cook sushi rice according to package instructions.
- Mix the cooled rice with sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds and 1 teaspoon salt. Put aside.
Preparation of the fillings:
- omelet You can find the recipe for the vegan omelet here . For a vegetarian version, beat 3 eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt. Lightly grease a non-stick pan with vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat. Now add half of the beaten egg, tossing it so that the entire bottom of the pan is coated with egg. Fry until the egg has just set on top. Carefully loosen the egg with a pallet and set on a plate or work surface to cool. Grease the pan lightly if necessary and repeat with the remaining egg. Cut the egg lengthwise into thin strips. Put aside.
- cucumber Cut the ends off the cucumber, cut in half lengthways, scrape out the seeds from each half with a spoon and cut lengthwise into long strips. Place the cucumber strips on a plate, sprinkle with salt and toss them around. Set aside for about 10 minutes. Rinse the cucumber under cold running water. Then pat dry with paper towels, gently squeezing slightly to remove excess moisture. Lightly grease your pan with vegetable oil and place on stovetop over medium-high heat. Add cucumber and fry for about 1 minute. Set aside to cool.
- Carrots & Peppers Peel the carrots and cut lengthways into julienne. Wash the peppers, halve, deseed and also cut lengthwise into narrow Julien. Add the carrot strips to the pan with a pinch of salt and fry, tossing and stirring, until slightly tender but still crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Do the same with the pepper strips. Set both aside to cool. If you need more oil in the pan, you can always put it in.
- kimchi Kimchi can be put in the rolls pure or fried in a pan. Find the vegan kimchi recipe here .
- vegan bulgogi In Korea, bulgogi is made from marinated beef. In our vegan version of the Bulgogi, however, we use Asian mushrooms. You can find the recipe for the aromatic mushrooms from the oven here .
- Danmuji Is the yellow radish or also called yellow radish cucumber and is available in almost every Asian market. Simply cut Danmuji into long strips and you’re done.
- spring onions Wash the spring onions and halve or even quarter the thick ones lengthways.
- Korean Spinach Wash the spinach, cook briefly (about 1 minute) in boiling water and then rinse under cold water. Squeeze and season like this .
Roll the kimbab:
- Gather all the Kimbap ingredients at your “Kimbap Rolling Station”. This makes work and assembly easier. At the same time, you keep track and ensure that the ingredients are used evenly and are not neglected later.
- Place a kimbap or sushi rolling mat on your work surface. Place a sheet of nori on top (shiny side down). Spread the rice on the seaweed sheet evenly and thinly to cover about ⅔ of the seaweed sheet. Leave about 5 cm space at the top of the seaweed. Score a few grains of rice along the top edge as they will help glue the ends together.
- Arrange your filling in the middle of the rice. The combination of ingredients is entirely up to you.
- Roll the bamboo mat away from you, wrapping the nori sheet with the rice around the filling. Hold the filling with your fingers while rolling with your thumbs. Close the roll with the free part of the nori sheet. Once the roll is closed, gently pinch to slightly pinch the roll and seal the edge. If it doesn’t hold together well, you can dampen the end with some water at the seam.
- Repeat with the remaining seaweed sheets, rice and fillings.
- Brush all finished rolls lightly with sesame oil. Rub the blade of a sharp knife lightly with it.
- Place 2 kimbab rolls side by side and then cut them both into 1 to 1.5 cm thick pieces TIP: it’s easier to cut two rolls at the same time than one at a time.
- You can serve without a dip, as you know it from sushi. However, if you wish, you can serve it with some soy sauce.
Nutrition
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