Pork Belly Kimbap. Delicious, indulgent, packed with texture and taste! This kimbap is not your average kimbap and can serve as a meal!

I love kimbap. It's one of my favourite Korean foods to eat. There are so many variations of kimbap and I know my kimbap recipe is one in a million. However, this one is absolutely delicious with the savoury and tangy taste thanks to the pork belly and the pickled daikon. Paired with the fried egg, spinach and carrots.

My pork belly kimbap recipe is fairly simple to make. Perhaps the only challenging part is wrapping it so it doesn't fall apart but with enough practice, any kimbap beginner will get there!

What is a kimbap roll?

"Kim" means seaweed and "Bap" means rice in Korean. Kimbap and sushi are often confused with one another but they are totally different!

What's the difference between Kimbap vs Sushi?

Kimbap is a savoury rice roll that contains cooked and raw vegetable ingredients (not usually raw fish like sushi). The rice is usually only seasoned with sesame oil and salt, not with rice vinegar and sugar like sushi.

In addition, kimbap looks slightly different from sushi. With sushi, the seaweed is caught in the roll almost like a swirl shape. However, in a kimbap roll, the rice is wrapped in a perfect circle encompassing your ingredients which are also in the shape of a circle.

Moreover, there is a certain technique to perfecting your Korean pork belly kimbap so it looks like kimbap not like sushi.

Other recipes you may like!

SPICY TUNA KIMBAP
DECONSTRUCTED TUNA KIMBAP BOWL
KOREAN TUNA MAYO DEOPBAP
ONIGIRAZU (SUSHI SANDWICH)
JAPANESE TUNA ONIGIRI

Where can I buy some of these ingredients?

You may find Ssamjang paste is a fermented soy bean paste with a slight kick and it can be found at any Korean grocer.

Most Asian or Korean (sometimes Western grocers) carry nori or Kimbap seaweed sheets. Either can be used

Korean grocers will carry pickled daikon. Furthermore, this ingredient comes in circle medallions or in long strips. If you can find the long strips, that would be ideal for making kimbap. If you can't find the stripes, slice the pickled daikon rounds into strips that are 1 cm thick.

Most Korean grocers will carry Perilla leaves. If you can't find this ingredient, you may always omit it.

For this recipe

You will need the following ingredients for my Pork Belly Kimbap

Seasoned rice:
4 cups cooked short grain rice
2 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon salt

4 teaspoon sesame oil for brushing and sealing kimbap
Sesame seeds, garnish (optional)
4 seaweed sheets or nori

kimbap fillings:
8 perilla leaves, stems removed
3 eggs, whisked
2 teaspoon sesame oil
¾ cup carrots, cut into matchsticks
146 grams spinach leaves, washed
Pickled daikon radish, cut into strips
4 pork belly strips
4 tablespoon ssamjang paste
2 teaspoon cooking oil

How to make kimbap with pork belly

First season your cooked rice with sesame oil and salt. Mix well. Set aside and allow it to cool if it's still hot.

Secondly, in a pan set over medium heat, add 2 teaspoon oil. Whisk your eggs and pour into the pan. Allow the eggs to fill the pan completely like a pancake. Flip over once cooked on one side to cook on the other side. Transfer to a large plate. Slice egg pancake into long strips. Set aside.

Thirdly in the same pan set over low-medium heat, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and carrot matchsticks. Cook until they're soft, not browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

Next in the same pan set over medium heat, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and your washed spinach. Cook until softened and dark green. Remove and set aside.

Lastly in the same pan set over medium high heat, cook your pork belly until it's crispy and chewy on both sides and some of the fat has been rendered off. Place the pork belly on a plate with paper towel to soak up excess grease. Set aside.

Place all of your filling ingredients on a plate.

Time to wrap and roll:

On a flat surface, lay your seaweed sheet with the long side facing you.

Spread about ¾ cup of cooked rice on your sheet leaving 2 inches of the end of your sheet empty.

Place two perilla leaves in the middle, followed by two strips of the cooked egg and one strip of pork belly. Spread 1 tablespoon of ssamjang paste over your pork belly.

Then layer over top with cooked carrots, spinach and a stripe of pickle daikon.

Wrap your roll and before you reach the end, spread some sesame oil on the empty lot of seaweed to seal the roll.

Once the roll is sealed, let it rest and brush some sesame oil over your kimbap before slicing it.

Repeat process for remaining ingredients to make 3 more rolls of Pork Belly Kimbap.

Give it a try!

Well I hope you give my Pork Belly Kimbap recipe a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.

Thanks for visiting my blog! If you enjoyed this pork belly kimbap recipe, please share it with your family and friends or on social media! Take a picture if you've made my recipe and tag me on Instagram @christieathome in your feed or stories so I can share your creation in my stories with credits to you!

Made this recipe and loved it?

If you could leave a star rating, I would greatly appreciate it 🙂 Thanks so much!

Take care,
Christie

**This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also earn from qualifying purchases through additional affiliate programs*