← Nouns Cooking · Korean

Ingredients

• 450 g cooked short-grain rice, warm
• 2 tsp Toasted sesame oil
• ⅓ tsp Salt
• 170 g Spinach
• 1 tsp sesame oil, for the spinach
• 1 large carrot, cut into fine matchsticks
• 1 tsp Vegetable oil
• 4 strips of pickled yellow radish (danmuji), each cut into 4 thin sticks
• 4 sheets gim (nori) sheets, each cut into quarters
• 1 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Rice vinegar
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Dijon or Korean hot mustard (gyeoja)
• 1 tsp Water
• 1 tbsp Sesame seeds, finely ground

Method

1. Season the warm rice with the sesame oil and salt and let it cool to room temperature, covered with a cloth.
2. Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds, rinse in cold water and squeeze dry. Toss with the sesame oil and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry the carrot in the oil with a pinch of salt for 1–2 min, until just soft.
3. Whisk the dipping sauce ingredients until the sugar dissolves.
4. Lay a quarter sheet of gim shiny side down, spread a thin layer of rice over two thirds of it, and lay a little spinach, carrot and a radish stick along the edge nearest you. Roll up tightly; the bare edge seals the roll. Repeat to make 16.
5. Brush the rolls with a little sesame oil and serve whole, with the mustard sauce for dipping.

Tips

• Damp fingers keep the rice from sticking while you spread it.
• Eat on the day; gimbap rice hardens in the fridge.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Korean Bapsang Kimchimari