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What is Folded Kimbap?
The Folded Kimbap hack is a smart and quick way to have kimbap without going through the trouble of rolling it.
The Korean tortilla hack was inspired by the viral tortilla hack on social media, where people would make a slit into a tortilla and place filling ingredients in each corner and fold to enjoy.
The Korean version of this hack uses Korean ingredients so you can enjoy a regular kimbap more easily. Then years later, the Korean drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" featured this hack and made it even more viral!
My version features tuna mayo, kimchi, egg with leftover cooked rice and it really hits the spot! It's also a great meal to make when I am too lazy to make kimbap!
You can also use different ingredients such as spam, fried tofu, perilla leaves, fish cake, yellow daikon radish, baby spinach, crab meat and more!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Gim or Nori sheet: a sheet of dry roasted seaweed
- Warm Cooked short-grain rice: make sure to use sushi rice or calrose rice for this recipe. Avoid using sticky rice, long grain white rice or long grain brown rice or it'll fall apart. You can also use instant short-grain rice.
- Canned tuna: or substitute with spam if you're not a fan of tuna
- Japanese mayo: or substitute with American mayo
- Kimchi
- Egg
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
Expert Tips
- Work quickly and prepare ingredients before filling. The warm rice and egg softens the roasted seaweed so have your components ready to fill.
- Fry the egg and shape it into a square so it fits the quandrant.
- Place your seaweed sheet rough side up. This allows for the toppings, especially that rice to stick to your sheet.
- Don’t overfill the kimbap or the filling will fall out. I know it’s tempting to fill that kimbap to your heart’s desire to either use up the fillings or satiate that belly but if you do, it’ll be very difficult to fold your kimbap neatly. So just a thin layer of each topping will do.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make folded kimbap:
Make Tuna Mixture & Fry Egg
First, combine strained tuna and mayo and mix well. Set aside.
Heat vegetable oil in a small pan on medium heat. Fry your egg easy over for 3-5 minutes depending on how jammy you like your egg. Try to shape the egg so it fits into a 3 x 3 inch square. Set aside.
Prepare and Fill Seaweed Sheet
Place a sheet of nori rough side up vertically facing you. Using clean scissor a vertical slit halfway up the sheet.
Evenly spread the tuna mayo mixture in the bottom left quadrant. Place the fried egg in the top right quadrant. Spread kimchi in the top left quadrant. Lastly, evenly spread hot cooked rice in the bottom right quadrant.
Fold & Enjoy
Fold the kimbap starting from the bottom left quadrant upwards until you form a square. Enjoy immediately!
Storage
- Gimbap is best enjoyed fresh but leftovers will last up to 24 hours stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Freezer friendly? Unfortunately I don't recommend freezing folded kimbap as the rice will turn hard.
Pairing Suggestions
Folded kimbap serves well with other Korean side dishes like kimchi, Korean cucumber salad, beansprout salad, zucchini fritters, gamja jorim, or Korean spinach.
FAQ
Yes, feel free to sub the tuna mayo mixture with pan fried spam and the kimchi with cooked spinach sautéed with sesame oil and a bit of salt.
Kimbap should be eaten fresh at room temperature or warm.
It should be consumed immediately or within 24 hours and no longer because rice is a breeding ground for bacteria.
Sushi originates from Japan and is a rice seaweed wrapped roll containing mostly raw and sometimes cooked ingredients. On the other hand, kimbap comes from Korea and contains mostly cooked ingredients. Certainly, both are very delicious!
Other recipes you may like!
📖 Recipe
10-min. Easy Folded Kimbap
Ingredients
- 1 sheet nori or gim
- ⅓ cup cooked short grain rice
- ¼ cup canned tuna strained
- 1 tablespoon Japanese mayo or sub with American mayo
- ⅓ cup kimchi
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- First, combine strained tuna and mayo and mix well. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a small pan on medium heat. Fry your egg easy over for 3-5 minutes depending on how jammy you like your egg. Try to shape the egg so it fits into a 3 x 3 inch square. Set aside.
- Place a sheet of nori rough side up vertically facing you. Using clean scissor a vertical slit halfway up the sheet.
- Evenly spread the tuna mayo mixture in the bottom left quadrant.
- Place the fried egg in the top right quadrant.
- Spread kimchi in the top left quadrant.
- Lastly, evenly spread hot cooked rice in the bottom right quadrant.
- Fold the kimbap starting from the bottom left quadrant upwards until you form a square. Enjoy immediately!
Rosemary
Ooo you are so trendy! I've been wanting to make a folded wrap! Such a good idea to get more healthy seaweed in 😀
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I loved your idea to change up the wraps. These really serve up a totally fun flavor extravaganza!
Caleb - Never Ending Journeys
Mmmm this kimbap looks so good, and it was a great idea to use seaweed for the tortilla!