Fish Cake Kimbap. A delicious fish cake kimbap roll containing a simple fried rice with fish cake, bell pepper, green onion, sesame oil, oyster sauce and soy sauce. The taste of the bouncy fish cake with the fried flavourful rice accentuated with the red bell peppers and green onions is incredible! This roll is simple to make and delicious to eat for dinner or lunch. Ready in just 30 minutes if you have some cooked rice at home.
I love kimbap or aka gimbap. It is absolutely satisfying and delicious and it is a great meal to have if you have leftover ingredients, like fish cake, rice and some vegetables that are about to expire soon. It is a great way to make a simple kimbap roll without preparing 10 billion different ingredients (okay I am exaggerating) before you make the roll.
Now there many different kimbap recipes that you can find online but there are few kimbap with fish cake aside from the traditional kind. So, I thought why not create a version where the fish cake is fried with a seasoned rice.
Easy to make!
This fish cake gimbap recipe is easy to make at home. You are basically slicing up your ingredients finely and then frying them in a pan with some cooked rice, oyster sauce, sesame oil and soy sauce. Once everything is well combined you then want to quickly, add a cup of the fried rice onto your roasted seaweed sheet to roll up. Once you have rolled it up, brush more sesame oil on the roll and on your sharp knife. Slice it up and enjoy!
Tips for making Korean Fish Cake Kimbap
Below are tips on making fish cake kimbap recipe:
- Use short grain or sushi rice and when you cook it, add a couple more of tablespoons of water to make it slightly stickier. Do not use jasmine or basmati rice because it will not stick well especially after you fry it.
- Buy the fish cake sheets. You can use fish cake balls but it is going to take much longer to slice them into fine little pieces.
- Dice your ingredients finely! This is important. The finer the better to ensure it incorporates into the rice and mixes into it so the kimbap filling does not fall apart.
- You only want to fry your rice until the ingredients all come together. If you fry it for too long, the rice will become less sticky and moist.
- Immediately begin rolling your kimbap with the hot rice. I would recommend covering your fried rice to keep it warm.
- Make sure to place your roasted seaweed rough side up so the rice sticks better.
- Spread your rice across the sheet leaving ½ inch at the end of the sheet empty.
- Pack the rice down firmly so it sticks together better.
- Tuck and roll. Tuck and roll. This is the key to rolling kimbap, so it does not fall apart.
- Roll tightly with a firm grip.
- Make sure to brush some sesame oil on the kimbap to make cutting more easier and this seasons the roll too.
- To slice, wet and oil your knife with the remaining sesame oil. This helps your knife cut through the roll more easily.
- Use a sharp knife.
FAQ
Below are frequently asked questions about this fish cake kimbap recipe:
What is fish cake made of?
It's usually made of cuttlefish or a blend of white fish meat and then blended together with flour, starch, sugar and salt to create a bouncy cake.
Where to buy Korean fish cake?
Look for fish cake for kimbap that come in a sheet format, not the kind that comes in tube or balls as it will be much harder to dice finely. This ingredient can be found packaged and sold at most Korean grocers in the refrigerated aisle.
Can I use any vegetables?
Sure, but do not go wild here. The bell peppers help to balance the seafood taste of the fish cake in a way. You can experiment with carrots or another coloured bell pepper. And avoid vegetables that contain a lot of water like cucumber, etc.
Can I omit oyster sauce?
You may and substitute with soy sauce.
Can I use tamari sauce because I am gluten free?
Yes.
Where can I buy roasted seaweed sheets?
They can be found at Korean or Western grocers. It is also known as Nori.
Why do I need to brush the kimbap with sesame oil?
This flavours the roll and makes the roll easier to cut. Slicing seaweed can be tricky business if your knife is not sharp.
How to pronounce kimbap in Korean?
Kimbap is pronounced as “gim-bap”. Gim means seaweed. Bap means rice.
Other recipes you may like!
If you enjoyed this fish cake kimbap recipe, you may enjoy these other recipes:
BEEF BULGOGI KIMBAP
CHEESE KIMCHI KIMBAP
KOREAN EGG ROLL KIMBAP
FOLDED KIMBAP
PORK BELLY KIMBAP
SPICY TUNA KIMBAP
DECONSTRUCTED TUNA KIMBAP BOWL
SPICY TUNA SUSHI BAKE
For this recipe
You will need the following fish cake kimbap ingredients:
- 200 grams fish cake sheets, finely diced
- 1 stalk green onions, finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 2 cups short grain rice, cooked
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1.5 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 sheets roasted seaweed
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- Optional: sesame seeds for sprinkling over kimbap
How to make Fish Cake Kimbap
- In a pan set over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Then add finely diced fish cake, green onions, and bell pepper and mix. Fry rice cakes for 3-4 minutes.
- Then add rice, oyster sauce, soy sauce and only 1 tablespoon of sesame oil (reserving the ½ tablespoon for later). Mix everything together JUST until well combined and no more. Remove off heat immediately and cover to keep warm.
- Lay a sheet or roasted seaweed on your working surface, rough side up and horizontally facing you. Scoop 1 measuring cup of fried rice into the middle and spread it out leaving ½ inch of the sheet empty.
- Grab the end closest to you and begin rolling. Tightly tuck and roll the filling as you go until you reach the end. You can use brush some water to seal the roll here or just let the steam from the hot filling do the job. Allow the kimbap to sit as your work on the remaining rolls.
- Brush the rolls with remaining sesame oil as well as your sharp knife. Slice your kimbap, firmly holding the roll with your non-dominant hand. Sprinkle sesame seeds over top and enjoy!
Give it a try!
Well, I hope you give my fish cake kimbap recipe a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.
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Made this recipe and loved it?
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Take care,
Christie
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Fish Cake Kimbap
Ingredients
- 200 grams fish cake sheets finely diced
- 1 stalk green onion finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper finely diced
- 2 cups cooked short grain rice
- 1.5 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce (not dark soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 sheets gim or roasted seaweed sheets
- sesame seeds optional for garnish
Instructions
- In a pan set over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Then add finely diced fish cake, green onions, and bell pepper and mix. Fry rice cakes for 3-4 minutes.
- Then add rice, oyster sauce, soy sauce and only 1 tablespoon of sesame oil (reserving the ½ tablespoon for later). Mix everything together JUST until well combined and no more. Remove off heat immediately and cover to keep warm.
- Lay a sheet or roasted seaweed on your working surface, rough side up and horizontally facing you. Scoop 1 measuring cup of fried rice into the middle and spread it out leaving ½ inch of the sheet empty.
- Grab the end closest to you and begin rolling. Tightly tuck and roll the filling as you go until you reach the end. You can use brush some water to seal the roll here or just let the steam from the hot filling do the job. Allow the kimbap to sit as your work on the remaining rolls.
- Brush the rolls with remaining sesame oil as well as your sharp knife. Slice your kimbap, firmly holding the roll with your non-dominant hand. Sprinkle sesame seeds over top and enjoy!
Katherine | Love In My Oven
These just have me daydreaming on sitting on a sunny patio with a cold beer! My kids would probably even give them a try! Bite-sized and delicious!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I am really liking both the flavors and simplicity of this recipe... and I always love a dinner that can prepared in 30 minutes or less!