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Tuna Gimbap (참치 김밥)

Author: Chef Julie Yoon

Ingredients

For the rice

  • 6 cups cooked short grain rice
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • ½ tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt

For the tuna

  • 2 cans 5 to 6 ounces each tuna, drained well
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons Gochugaru Korean chili flakes
  • Pinch of salt and pepper to taste

For the other ingredients

  • 10-15 perilla leaves julienned (or more!)
  • 1 carrot peeled and julienned
  • 5 eggs or less if you want less egg
  • 5-6 strips pickled radish Danmuji 단무지
  • 10 long strips of imitation crab meat sticks
  • 5-6 sheets Gim Roasted Seaweed for Gimbap
  • Vegetable oil for the pan
  • Sesame oil for the pan and the Gimbap
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Cook the rice (make sure it’s freshly cooked and hot), and scoop out into a large bowl. While the rice is still hot, add the sesame oil, olive oil, and salt. Mix the ingredients by folding them into the rice with a rice paddle or spoon until evenly seasoned. This helps the rice to cool down too.
  • Drain the tuna well. Mix with the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and Gochugaru. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • In a large pan, add a little bit of sesame oil and the carrots. Sprinkle lightly with salt and saute for about 1-2 minutes, or until crisp tender. Remove to a plate. In the same pan, add some vegetable oil. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and pour into the pan. Make an omelet. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Flip the omelet so it’s cooked on the other side. Remove to a cutting board. Slice the omelet into strips. Prepare the other ingredients. Make sure that the crab sticks and pickled radish are dry. Pat with a paper towel if needed.
  • Put a sheet of Gim, shiny side down with the longer side towards you, on a bamboo rolling mat. Spread a thin layer of rice evenly over the Gim using a rice paddle and your fingers dipped in a bowl of water so the rice doesn’t stick to you. Do not cover the entire Gim with rice. Leave about a 1 ½ -inch border at the top.
  • Add a layer of all the ingredients in rows about halfway on the rice, making sure to leave about an inch border of rice on the bottom. Add a row of julienned perilla leaves, a row of tuna, a row of julienned carrot, 1-2 strips of egg, 1 crab stick, and 1 strip of pickled radish.
  • Lift the bottom edge with the bamboo mat, and roll over the filling away from you, bringing it to the other end of rice, and tucking in the filling with your fingers. Put firm pressure over the roll with the bamboo mat to close everything in tightly. Pull the mat away from you a little more, then continue to roll again, putting pressure evenly over the roll using both hands. If the Gim flap is not sealing, dip your finger in water and dab it to help close it. Pick up the roll in the mat and give it a squeeze all over to ensure it’s sealed. Rub a little sesame oil on the roll, to give it flavor and a sheen. Cut the roll into 1/2-inch pieces.

TIP: Gimbap is supposed to be eaten on the same day you make it. Once it’s in the fridge, the rice gets hard and it doesn’t taste as good. But no worries, here’s what to do with leftover Gimbap!