Kimbap - Seaweed Rice Roll (2024)

Kimbap is Korean Seaweed Rice Roll that is made with seasoned rice and various veggies and meat that’s rolled in dried seaweed (kim). This is the most authentic and classic Kimbap recipe that was my childhood favorite.

So what does Kimbap – Seaweed Rice Roll remind me of? Picnics (소풍 sopung)!!! School picnic was probably my most favorite day of all my school days when I was little. When it was time for school picnic, I could hardly sleep the night before because I was so excited. Now, mind you, the excitement had nothing to do with any of the fun(?) games that were played at these picnics. Actually, I hated the games because I was terrible at them and I was always the slowest. I usually came in last for every race or game. But just the thought of sitting under a tree with all my friends and eating all the yummy foods was exciting enough to keep me awake.

Kimbap (김밥) or Gimbap, Yubu chobap(유부초밥), myeolchi bokkeum ( 멸치볶음)and jangjorim (장조림)were all.. oh so perfect.. for picnics. But now that I think about it, I liked my brother’s picnics even BETTER because then I could just go with mom, eat Kimbap for lunch, relax and do nothing else. No stressing out about having to play games which was a must at my own school picnic. Drop the Handkerchief (손수건 돌리기 sohnsugeon dolighee) was one game we ALWAYS played and I HATED IT!!! I was always the slowest runner in the class… I was never any good at these games and often times, when I lost, they made me sing in front of the class which was simply mortifying. Wow.. this brings back memories..

Enough..Let’s get back to Kimbap!

What is Kimbap

So some people think Kimbap or Gimbap is Korean version of a sushi roll because it uses the same bamboo mat and looks similar to sushi. But there are records in the history books from Joseon dynasty (which is before Japan’s invasion of Korea) that mention wrapping rice with Korean gim/kim. I guess no one can say for sure.

Kimbap variations

The ingredient that goes into Kimbap totally varies from family to family but I’d say these 3 are the most common versions that I ate throughout my childhood.

1. our family version: ground beef + spinach + carrots + egg + danmuji
2. burdock root version: ground beef + burdock root + carrots + cucumber + egg + danmuji
3. quick and instant version: ham/fish cake+ carrot + cucumber + egg + danmuji

I like version 1 and 2. I don’t like 3 because it uses instant meat and also it just does not taste as good. Since then there are now so many new combinations – some that include pork bulgogi and even American cheese.

During my stay in Korea, my favorite Kimbap place was Kim seon saeng (김선생). It’s a franchise but they had one of the best kimbap and used organic ingredients, so it was even better. Recipe below has ingredients enough to make 2 kinds of kimbap. You can omit burdock root and cucumber OR omit spinach instead.

• Rice variation – Season rice with just sesame oil and salt instead of vinegar+sugar
• Use bulgogi, pork bulgogi instead of ground beef

Tips for Serving, Storage and Reheating

• Serve with some miyeok guk or miso soup
• Kimchi, myeolchi bokkeum, jangjorim all go great with Kimbap!
• Store leftover in the fridge within a few hours
• REHEAT for Burnt Rice flavor!
  • Method 1 – Pan-fry it with some sesame oil. Fry each side on med heat until things become nicely brown and crispy. This way it becomes crusty and nutty on the outside and warm and soft on the inside.

How to make Kimbap

Servings 4 Prep: 30 min Cooking Time: 30 min Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients are listed in Recipe Card below

Step-by-Step instructions

1. Wash rice and cook (use less water than usual to make drier rice).
2. Wash, peel burdock root and cut into lengths of the kimbap/Sushi bamboo mat.

Fold both sides (1/3 width) into the center.

If this is too much trouble, you can also just use a smaller pan and make thicker round omelette without folding over. The reason for folding here is twofold :), one to make it into a rectangular shape and the other is to make it thicker.

Here’s my video on how to make Gimbap-