Spam Kimbap Roll

What is Spam Kimbap?

Spam Kimbap is a delicious seaweed wrapped rice roll that contains spam, carrots, pickled daikon, lettuce, and egg. Commonly served as a light meal, snack or breakfast so it's great as a packed lunch box or picnic food since it doesn't require reheating.

Many Korean convenient stores and restaurants in South Korea will sell kimbap with a variety of fillings! Since it's a tasty, affordable, handheld food item, it's perfect for hungry commuters, office workers or students to grab, go and enjoy.

In Korean translation, "kim" means "seaweed" and "bap" means "rice". Kimbap is made of cooked ingredients with some raw vegetables or pickled ingredients and seasoned with sesame oil. On the other hand, Japanese sushi usually contains raw fish and raw vegetables.

In Korean cuisine, Kimbap is also made with leftover side dishes or "banchans" sitting in the fridge, like sautéed spinach or kimchi and more. A fantastic way to reduce food waste and clean out the fridge.

Ingredients & Substitutes

Please scroll down to the recipe card below for full measurements.

• Gim (or Nori): these are dry roasted seaweed sheets and many Asian grocery stores or select Western grocers sell this ingredient. It's popularly used for making sushi-style rolls.

Seasoned Rice

• Cooked Short-Grain Rice: this is also known as sushi rice or Calrose rice. I don't recommend using medium to long grain rice for this recipe as it won't be sticky enough to hold together.
• Sesame oil: to season the rice giving it a nutty flavor. If you're allergic, omit completely.
• Salt

Filling Ingredients

• Spam: a mixed pork ingredient that comes canned. Or substitute with cooked kimbap ham or pork belly, cooked sausage or hot dogs, imitation crab meat or canned tuna mixed with mayo, more egg, cooked bulgogi beef, or pan fried extra-firm tofu.
• Large Eggs
• Yellow Radish Pickled Daikon Strips: many Korean grocery stores sell this ingredient in the refrigerated section and they're meant for kimbap making. Or substitute with round pickled radish sliced thinly, pickled burdock strips or chopped kimchi.
• Green Leaf Lettuce: such as romaine lettuce, Boston lettuce, or even red green lettuce. Ice berg lettuce could work too. Or substitute with cooked spinach, sliced cucumbers, or strips of ripe avocado.
• Carrots
• 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.
• Salt
• Toasted sesame seeds: to garnish the rolled kimbap rolls. If you're allergic, omit it.
• Sesame oil: to flavor the gim or nori after the rolls are assembled but if you're allergic, omit.

Note: Most Korean or Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients or check Amazon.

Expert Tips

• Freshly cooked rice works best but if you have leftover rice in the fridge that is no more than 2 days old, you can microwave it covered for 2-3 minutes until hot and use that.
• Season the rice while it's still piping hot, so the seasoning can absorb into the rice better.
• Use a spatula to help you roll the eggs into a log.
• Don't over cook the carrots and only sauté for 1-2 minutes until softened.
• Don't over cook the spam! Just fry until slightly golden brown, otherwise it'll dry out.
• Use gloved hands, clean wet fingers or a wet rice paddle to evenly spread the seasoned rice across the gim to prevent it from sticking to your fingers.
• Neatly place the filling ingredients in the center of the rice and organize it so the ingredients don't mix into each other - this is purely for aesthetic.
• Firmly roll and tuck in the the ingredients as you roll so the filling stays inside.
• Allow the kimbap to rest for a few minutes before slicing.
• Oil the knife with sesame oil before slicing for a clean cut.

Instructions

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make spam kimbap:

Prepare Filling Ingredients

1. First in a large mixing bowl, season hot cooked rice with 2 teaspoon sesame oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix well. Keep covered and warm at room temperature to preserve the moisture in the rice and set aside.

2. Then in a small bowl, beat eggs with ¼ teaspoon salt. Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a small non-stick pan (around 7-8 inches wide) on medium heat, pour in half of the beaten eggs to create a thin pancake.

3. Allow the eggs to set until 75 % cooked and roll the pancake into a 1-inch wide roll.

4. Remove the egg roll from the pan and slice into two equal strips. Repeat process for remaining egg mixture. You should have 4 long strips of cooked egg.

5. Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil on low-medium heat and sauté carrots with ⅛ teaspoon salt until vibrant and softened, about 1-2 minutes. Remove and set aside.

6. Slice spam into ¼ inch-thick rectangular shape pieces. Then slice each piece into half so you have two 1-inch wide strips equal in size. Fry the spam on medium heat without oil until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.

Assemble Kimbap

1. Lay out 1 sheet of gim or nori vertically with rough side up on a clean working surface. Evenly spread out ¾ cup of seasoned rice into a thin layer with gloved hands, clean wet fingers or with a wet rice paddle. Leave 1-inch borders at the end of the seaweed sheet.

2. In the middle of the rice, neatly place an equal portion of cooked carrots, a strip of pickled daikon, a strip of egg, two strips of spam into a pile and a folded piece of lettuce on top of everything.

3. Firmly roll the kimbap away from you tightly tucking in the ingredients. Then hold the roll until it’s set and doesn’t fall apart, about 10 seconds. Let the kimbap rest for a few minutes. Repeat this for the remaining three kimbap rolls.

4. Then place kimbap on a cutting board and brush ¼ teaspoon sesame oil all over each kimbap.

5. Evenly sprinkle sesame seeds over the kimbap.

6. Lastly, brush sesame oil onto the sides of a sharp knife and slice kimbap into ¾-inch thick pieces. Enjoy immediately or at room temperature.

Storage

• Kimbap is best consumed fresh or within 12 hours because rice is a breeding ground for bacteria.
• Leftovers can be stored for up to 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
• To reheat kimbap, either microwave the kimbap for 2-3 minutes but keep in mind, it won't taste as good when made fresh because the lettuce will have wilted. A better but longer way to reheat the kimbap is by:
  1. Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat lightly greased with neutral oil.
  2. In a separate bowl, beat an egg and dip each slice of kimbap into the egg so it's coated with egg on both sides.
  3. Place coated kimbap into the pan and fry on both sides until golden brown and the egg covered with a lid to steam the rice again. When the kimbap is hot through out, you can enjoy it.

Pairing Suggestions

Spam kimbap serves well with other types of kimbap or with Korean side dishes like:

• kimchi
• Korean cucumber salad
• beansprout salad
• zucchini fritters
• gamja jorim
• Korean spinach
• japchae
• gyeran mari
• fish cake stir fry
• chamchijeon (tuna pancakes)

FAQ

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