A delicious seaweed rice roll stuffed with a savory ham and vegetable omelette. This quick and easy Korean Egg Roll Kimbap is a great meal, snack or breakfast in 30 minutes with cooked rice!
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What is Korean Egg Roll Kimbap?
Korean Egg Roll Kimbap is a Korean style seaweed rice roll that contains "gyeran mari", which is a Korean rolled omelette packed with ham, carrots, garlic chives or green onions. It's absolutely delicious and made of simple ingredients!
Gyeran Mari on it's own is actually a very popular Korean side dish. With innovation, the Koreans took this popular egg roll and stuffed it into kimbap to make it a complete meal.
In translation, "Kim or Gim" means seaweed and "Bap" means rice. Kimbap (or gimbap) is a popular Korean food sold in many Korean restaurants and convenient stores.
There are many variations of kimbap such as tuna mayo, spam, bulgogi, crab meat and more! It's also the perfect food for commuting, travel, as picnic food or in a lunch box since it conveniently packaged and can be eaten handheld.
I love making this version of kimbap when I have a lot of eggs and sliced ham in the fridge. It's so hearty and satisfying!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Gim (or Nori): these are roasted dried seaweed sheets that are sold at many Asian and even Western grocers or online.
- Sesame oil: to season the gim after the kimbap has been rolled.
- 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.
Kimbap Rice
- Cooked Short-Grain Rice: aka sushi rice or calrose rice. Avoid long white rice because it's not sticky enough. Medium grain rice could work but it won't stick as well.
- Salt
- Sesame oil: to add a nutty flavor to the rice. If you're allergic, omit it.
Egg Mixture
- Large Eggs
- Garlic chives: or substitute with green onions
- Ham: or substitute with finely chopped spam.
- Carrots
- Salt
Expert Tips
- Use fresh hot rice for best results or use cold day old rice (stored in an airtight container in the fridge) and reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes or until hot through out.
- Finely chop your ham, garlic chives and carrots into very small pieces. This is so important to ensuring that your egg roll doesn’t fall apart.
- Add egg mixture ingredients into a large measuring cup so you can easily control how much you need to pour into the pan.
- Use a non-stick pan to make things easier.
- Only pour a thin layer of the omelette into the pan and don't over pour.
- When the omelette forms a crispy edge and lifts away from the pan, it's time to roll.
- Mold the egg roll using a bamboo mat or plastic wrap so you get that circular shape.
- Evenly spread rice across the gim for best taste and structure of the kimbap.
- Oil the knife before slicing the kimbap so the rice won't stick to the knife.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Korean egg roll kimbap:
- To hot cooked short grain rice, add sesame oil and salt and mix with a rice paddle. Cover and keep warm.
- In a large measuring cup with a lip or a large bowl, beat eggs and add finely chopped ham, carrots, garlic chives and salt. Mix well.
- Then in a large nonstick pan set over medium-low heat, lightly grease it with vegetable oil using a clean paper towel. Pour a very thin layer of the egg mixture and quickly spread it into an egg pancake by rotating the pan and using your chopsticks to spread the chopped ingredients evenly. The egg pancake should reach the edge of the pan.
- Pan fry until the omelette is mostly cooked and the edges lift away from the pan. Gradually roll it 75% of the way and gently flatten the egg roll with two spatulas so the layers can stick together.
- Push the egg roll to the midway point of the pan, then fill the pan again with another thin layer of the egg mixture to the round side of the egg pancake. Cook this layer until the edges lift away from the pan.
- Then roll the egg roll all the way through so the flap sticks to the rest of the roll.
Assemble the Kimbap
- Transfer to the rolled omelette to a bamboo mat or plastic wrap. Roll it tight to mold it into a circular log. Set aside as you work on making the remaining two egg rolls.
- On a bamboo mat or sushi mat (or plastic wrap set on a cutting board), place your a sheet of nori horizontally rough side up, shiny side down. Evenly spread 1 cup of seasoned rice leaving a ½ inch border at the ends.
- Place the rolled omelette in the center of the rice. Begin firmly rolling it away from you until you reach the end ensuring the seaweed border sticks to the rest of the kimbap.
- Brush sesame oil onto the gim of the kimbap and onto the blade of a sharp knife.
- Slice each kimbap into 8 pieces that are ¾-inch wide. Repeat process for remaining rolls. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Storage
- This dish is best consumed immediately or same day.
- However, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. To reheat, microwave for a few minutes. Or dip the kimbap in beaten egg and pan fry until golden until the rice is hot through out.
- Freezer-friendly? I don't recommend freezing kimbap as the rice will turn hard even after reheating.
Pairing Suggestions
Korean egg roll kimbap serves well with other Korean side dishes like:
FAQ
This is best enjoyed fresh but it can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, microwave until hot through out. Or dip the kimbap pieces into beaten egg and fry them in a pan on medium heat on both sides, covered, until they're hot through out.
I actually recommend making the rolled omelettes and rice in advance and storing the different components into separate containers. Then on the day of serving, you can assemble the rolls.
Kimbap originates from Korea and usually contains cooked ingredients and the gim is brushed with sesame oil and garnished with sesame seeds.
On the other hand, sushi comes from Japan and is stuffed with mostly raw ingredients and sometimes cooked ingredients. The nori is not seasoned with sesame oil or sesame seeds.
Kimbap and gimbap are the same Korean dish featuring a seaweed rice roll. The only difference is in the spelling.
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📖 Recipe
Korean Egg Roll Kimbap
Ingredients
- 3 sheets gim or nori
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil for brushing gim
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil for frying the egg rolls
Egg mixture
- 9 large eggs
- ½ cup garlic chives or green onions, finely chopped
- ⅔ cup ham finely diced into ¼-inch pieces
- ¼ cup carrot finely diced into ¼-inch pieces
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Rice:
- 3 cups cooked short grain rice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- To hot cooked short grain rice, add sesame oil and salt and mix with a rice paddle. Cover and keep warm.
- In a large measuring cup with a lip or a large bowl, beat eggs and add finely chopped ham, carrots, garlic chives and salt. Mix well.
- Then in a large nonstick pan set over medium-low heat, lightly grease it with vegetable oil using a clean paper towel. Pour a very thin layer of the egg mixture and quickly spread it into an egg pancake by rotating the pan and using your chopsticks to spread the chopped ingredients evenly. The egg pancake should reach the edge of the pan.
- Pan fry until the omelette is mostly cooked and the edges lift away from the pan. Gradually roll it 75% of the way and gently flatten the egg roll with two spatulas so the layers can stick together.
- Push the egg roll to the midway point of the pan, then fill the pan again with another thin layer of the egg mixture to the round side of the egg pancake. Cook this layer until the edges lift away from the pan.
- Then roll the egg roll all the way through so the flap sticks to the rest of the roll.
- Transfer to the rolled omelette to a bamboo mat or plastic wrap. Roll it tight to mold it into a circular log. Set aside as you work on making the remaining two egg rolls.
- On a bamboo mat or sushi mat (or plastic wrap set on a cutting board), place your a sheet of nori horizontally rough side up, shiny side down. Evenly spread 1 cup of seasoned rice leaving a ½ inch border at the ends.
- Place the rolled omelette in the center of the rice. Begin firmly rolling it away from you until you reach the end ensuring the seaweed border sticks to the rest of the kimbap.
- Brush sesame oil onto the gim of the kimbap and onto the blade of a sharp knife.
- Slice each kimbap into 8 pieces that are ¾-inch wide. Repeat process for remaining rolls. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Ellie
Made this for a quick lunch for my toddler and they were a HUGE hit! I just made mini versions using the snack pack size seaweed you can buy. I had the left overs my self and it was perfect 👌
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Ellie! I am so happy they were a huge hit for you and your toddler!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I loved your idea to use pork belly. That would be so tasty good!