Pork Belly Kimbap. A delicious Korean seaweed rice roll packed with savory pork belly, ssamjang, eggs, vegetables and pickled daikon. The perfect meal or snack and ready in 30 minutes!
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What is Pork Belly Kimbap?
Kimbap, or also known as Gimbap, is a delicious seaweed rice roll that contains a variety of cooked ingredients and originates from Korea. "Kim" means "seaweed" and "Bap" means rice in Korean.
Kimbap is usually made with leftover cooked ingredients and it's perfect for a lunchbox or picnic food since it can be eaten at room temperature. You can also serve it as a meal in Korean cuisine since it's got carbs, protein and vegetables all rolled into one!
My delicious pork belly kimbap contains pork belly, eggs, carrots, spinach, pickled daikon, perilla leaves and ssamjang. It's personally one of my favorite Korean foods to eat as it's portable and really hits the spot! I also share many kimbap recipes on the blog so check them out below.
This Korean dish is really simple to make at home and the only tricky part is rolling the kimbap but with enough practice, you'll get the hang of it!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.Â
- Sesame oil: for brushing the finished kimbap roll
- Sesame seeds: for garnishing the roll
- Gim: aka dry roasted seaweed or nori
Seasoned rice
- Cooked short-grain rice: aka sushi rice or Calrose rice. Avoid using long-grain rice for this or it won't stick together in the roll.
- Sesame oil
- Salt
Kimbap Fillings
- Fresh perilla leaves: this is a point spade-shaped green leaf that you can find at most Korean grocery stores in the produce aisle
- Thin pork belly strips: these come pre-sliced at most grocery stores. You can also get the pork belly slabs and ask the butcher to slice them into ¼-inch thin pieces.
- Large eggs
- Sesame oil
- Carrots: sliced into matchsticks
- Spinach leaves: baby spinach or regular spinach with the roots trimmed off will work
- Pickled daikon radish: these come in long strips precut for kimbap making. They're submerged in a pickled liquid and you can find them packaged in the refrigerated section at the Korean market. Or substitute with the ones that are circular and cut them into 1-cm wide pieces like how I did in the visuals below.
- Ssamjang: this is a fermented soybean paste that contains a mild spice. It comes in a green tub at the Korean grocery store in the sauce aisle or where you'd find gochujang.
- Neutral oil:Â like avocado oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil or any heavy scented oils with a low smoke point.
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
How to make Pork Belly Kimbap
Season hot cooked rice
First season hot cooked rice with sesame oil and salt. Mix well with a rice paddle. Set aside and keep covered so it stays moist and doesn't dry out.
Make Egg Strips
In a small bowl, crack and beat your eggs until smooth. Heat 2 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Pour eggs into the hot pan and swirl the eggs around the pan into a thin pancake.
Flip the egg pancake over to cook through on the other side until golden. Transfer to a cutting board and slice egg pancake into ¾-inch wide strips. Set aside.
Sauté Carrot Matchsticks
Next reduce to low-medium heat, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and carrot matchsticks. Cook until they're softened, 1-2 minutes. Remove and set aside on a large plate.
Sauté Spinach
Next in the same pan set over medium heat, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and add baby spinach. Cook until softened and dark green. Remove and set aside.
Fry Pork Belly
On medium-high heat, cook your pork belly until it's no longer pink and some of the fat has rendered off, about 4-5 minutes. Remove and place the pork belly strips on a plate lined with paper towel to soak up excess grease.
Spread Rice on Gim
On a clean working surface, lay out a sheet of gim or nori in a vertical position. Spread about ¾ cup of seasoned rice on your sheet leaving a 1.5-inch border at the end of the sheet.
Add Fillings
Place two perilla leaves in the middle of the rice, followed by two strips of the cooked egg and one strip of pork belly. Use a knife and spread 1 tablespoon of ssamjang paste over your pork belly. Then layer with sauteed carrots, spinach and a strip of pickled daikon).
Roll Kimbap
With the end closest to you, begin rolling the kimbap keeping the filling ingredients inside the roll, until you reach the very end. Let the roll sit on the empty border so the heat seals the edge.
Garnish
Evenly brush enough sesame oil all over the roll and garnish with sesame seeds.
Slice
With a oiled knife, slice the kimbap into ½-inch thick pieces and enjoy!
Storage & Reheating
Gimbap is best consumed same day as the rice will go hard when stored in the fridge. However if you have leftovers can last 1-2 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
If you have leftover kimbap that have been sitting in the fridge, you can enjoy them again by reheating them on the stove top:
- Heat a non stick pan on medium heat lightly greased with neutral oil.
- In a separate bowl, beat an egg and dip one piece of the kimbap into the egg so it's coated with egg on both sides.
- Place coated kimbap into the heated pan and fry on both sides until golden brown and the egg is cooked through.
- To speed up the reheating process, cover the kimbap with a lid so the steam can reheat and soften the rice again.
FAQ
Kimbap, aka gimbap, is a savoury rice roll that comes from Korea. It contains cooked and mostly cooked vegetables with some pickled ingredients. Then seasoned with sesame oil and sesame seeds. On the other hand, sushi is from Japan and contains mostly raw and some cooked ingredients. It's usually dipped in soy sauce, wasabi or paired with pickled ginger unlike kimbap.
Other kimbap recipes you may like!
- Spicy Tuna Kimbap
- Spam Kimbap
- Cheese Kimchi Kimbap
- Beef Bulgogi Kimbap
- Egg Roll Kimbap
- Folded Kimbap
📖 Recipe
Easy & Simple Pork Belly Kimbap
Ingredients
- 4 sheets gim or nori
- 4 teaspoon sesame oil for garnish
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds for garnish
Rice
- 3 cups cooked short grain rice (see below Notes section to know how much uncooked rice is needed for this recipe)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
Kimbap Filling
- 8 perilla leaves stems trimmed
- 3 large eggs beaten
- ¾ cup carrot cut into matchsticks
- 5 oz baby spinach packed
- 4 pork belly strips thin kind
- 4 strips pickled daikon radish or sub with the circular shaped ones and cut into 1-cm thick pieces
- 4 tablespoon ssamjang paste
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil for cooking carrots and spinach
- 2 teaspoon vegetable oil to cook the eggs
Instructions
Season Rice
- First season hot cooked rice with sesame oil and salt. Mix well with a rice paddle. Set aside and keep covered so it stays moist and doesn't dry out.
Cook Filling Ingredients
- In a small bowl, crack and beat your eggs until smooth. Heat 2 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Pour eggs into the hot pan and swirl the eggs around the pan into a thin pancake.
- Flip the egg pancake over to cook through on the other side until golden. Transfer to a cutting board and slice egg pancake into ¾-inch wide strips. Set aside.
- Next reduce to low-medium heat, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and carrot matchsticks. Cook until they're softened, 1-2 minutes. Remove and set aside on a large plate.
- Next in the same pan set over medium heat, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and add baby spinach. Cook until softened and dark green. Remove and set aside.
- On medium-high heat, cook your pork belly until it's no longer pink and some of the fat has rendered off, about 4-5 minutes. Remove and place the pork belly strips on a plate lined with paper towel to soak up excess grease.
Assemble Kimbap
- On a clean working surface, lay out a sheet of gim or nori in a vertical position. Spread about ¾ cup of seasoned rice on your sheet leaving a 1.5-inch border at the end of the sheet.
- Place two perilla leaves in the middle of the rice, followed by two strips of the cooked egg and one strip of pork belly. Use a knife and spread 1 tablespoon of ssamjang paste over your pork belly. Then layer with sauteed carrots, spinach and a strip of pickled daikon).
- With the end closest to you, begin rolling the kimbap keeping the filling ingredients inside the roll, until you reach the very end. Let the roll sit on the empty border so the heat seals the edge.
- Evenly brush enough sesame oil all over the roll and garnish with sesame seeds.
- With a oiled knife, slice the kimbap into ½-inch thick pieces and enjoy!
Dennis Yannakos
I'm so addicted to this dish!
Cool Kitchen Utensils
Des | itsbetterinheels
Wow, very cool. I never knew the difference between kimbap and sushi! Thanks for the information and your recipe! It looks delicious and I'm totally bookmarking this page to try!!
Thanks for sharing doll!
Des | https://www.itsbetterinheels.com
Julia
As I love so much pork belly, this recipe has cought my eye and have to try it. It must be so delicious with savoury rice!
Mark
This was so good. I made it at home and it was pretty easy.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I love all of the fun flavors in the kimbap fillings... and the perfect round shape would make these so perfect to serve as a party appetizer this holiday season!! 💕