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Tuna gimbap

Chamchi-gimbap 참치김밥

Hello everybody!

I’m excited to share my recipe for tuna gimbap (chamchi-gimbap: 참치김밥) with you today. The flaky, salty, and sweet tuna tastes delightful and goes well with rice and the other fillings: avocado, yellow pickled radish, and crab sticks. The various tastes and textures make for a lot of variety in one bite!

I’ve been making tuna gimbap this way for a long time. All my friends and family loved this gimbap so it was one of the first recipes I posted to YouTube in 2007. Since then I’ve refined the recipe a bit and I remade the video in HD to share with you all.

Enjoy the recipe and if you like gimbap check out some of my other gimbap recipes, too!how to make tuna kimbap

Ingredients

Makes 4 rolls (Serves 2 to 4)

For rice:

For tuna filling:

  • 1 (5-ounce) can of tuna, preferably oil-packed
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon honey (or sugar), optional

For gimbap:

Directions

Prepare the rice:

  1. Put the freshly made steamy rice into a large bowl. Add salt and vinegar and gently fold it in with a rice scoop or a wooden spoon.
  2. Set aside and let the rice cool down.

Prepare the tuna:

  1. Heat a small pan over medium high heat. Add the tuna, garlic, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, soy sauce, and ground black pepper.
  2. Stir the mixture for about 2 minutes with a wooden spoon until the tuna turns a little flaky. Remove from the heat.
  3. Stir in the honey (or sugar) if you use. Set aside.chamchi gimbap

Prepare the artificial crab sticks:

  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Swirl the skillet around so the oil evenly coats it.
  2. Add the crab sticks, white side down. Cook for about 1 minute until the bottoms turn soft and light brown.
  3. Turn them over with a spatula and cook for another 30 seconds.
  4. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large platter.

Prepare the danmuji (yellow pickled radish) and avocado:

  1. Put the 4 strips of danmuji on the platter, next to the crab sticks.
  2. Cut the avocado in half lengthwise and remove the seed. Slice it lengthwise while it’s still in its shell.
  3. Scoop the slices out with a large spoon and transfer them to the platter. Squeeze the lemon over the avocado to prevent it from going brown.Kimbap making

Roll the gimbap:

  1. Divide the rice into 4 portions. Place a sheet of gim on a gimbal (a bamboo mat for making gimbap), with the shiny side down. Evenly spread 1 portion of rice over the gim, leaving a 1-inch margin uncovered along the top edge.chamchi kimbap
  2. Divide the tuna mixture into 4 portions. Spread one portion across the middle of the rice, in a strip lengthwise. Add a strip of danmuji, some avocado, and a crab stick.
  3. Use both hands to pick up the bottom edge of the mat. Use it to roll the gim up and over the fillings so the rice surrounds them.tuna kimbap
  4. Squeeze the mat gently and then continue rolling the gim in the mat, squeezing the mat regularly to get a tight roll.
  5. Unroll the mat and remove the roll from the mat. Set the roll aside, with the seam down.
  6. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 3 more rolls.
  7. Gently brush the rest of the 2 teaspoons sesame oil over the rolls by hand or with a basting brush.
  8. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over top.Kimbap
  9. Cut each roll into ⅓ to ½-inch slices with a sharp knife. For easier slicing, wipe your knife with a wet paper towel (or kitchen cloth) as you go.kimbap

Serve:

Arrange the slices on a plate or pack in a lunchbox. The gimbap will keep for several hours at room temperature.

Posted on Sunday, August 26th, 2007 at 8:43 pm. Last updated on May 4, 2022.
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203 Comments:

  1. Anonymous
    Posted September 2nd, 2007 at 11:50 pm | or create a profile.

    Hello! I really love your videos and I was hoping you’ll make some dolsot bibimbap and make videos on how to make side dishes (my favorite is the small potatoes with sweet sauce)

    Thanks!

  2. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted September 2nd, 2007 at 11:38 pm | or create a profile.

    hi,agasuka,
    I use apple vinegar to make sauce for kimbab.

  3. Agasuka
    Posted September 2nd, 2007 at 11:00 pm | or create a profile.

    Maangchi,

    Thank you so much for the video.

    I made the tuna kimbap for supper tonight.
    It is very tasty.
    May I suggest that an extra lamp/ light to be place at front during the making of your videos so that the objects will be clearer to the audiance?
    The cooked tuna reminds me of the chinese ‘pork sung’ which usually serve with rice porridge. I think the tuna will be great as a side dish alone if the amount of soy sauce to be reduced to 1 tbs. I use the rice vinegar which you mentioned. I am not brave enough to use the Korean apple vinegar yet.
    http://www.sunnymaid.com/site/img/food/food1.jpg(image of pork Sung)

  4. james
    Posted September 2nd, 2007 at 10:58 pm | or create a profile.

    I’m in the US. I had a shopping spree at the international market last weekend. The squid is the packaged dry variety but sauteed in soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and pepper flakes. It’s chewy, sweet and spicy. So good! Thanks for dropping by.

  5. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted September 2nd, 2007 at 10:49 pm | or create a profile.

    hello,James,

    I checked out your blog and saw your pictures displaying making kimbab. Wonderful!
    You must be getting korean ingredients easily. Where are you living now?

  6. james
    Posted September 2nd, 2007 at 6:31 pm | or create a profile.

    hi maangchi, it’s me james(himasf).
    I made 김밥 today. I couldn’t decide so I made 1 kimchee, 1 tuna, and 1 spicy cuttlefish. They’re all delicious! Thanks!

    p.s. I posted a picture of me making them.
    http://www.yakap.org

  7. Agasuka
    Posted September 2nd, 2007 at 4:34 pm | or create a profile.

    Hello Maangchi, I bought a bottle of Sa Gwa Cho/ Korean Apple Vinegr yesterday.

    Can I use it for the kimbap sauce?
    What can I do with it other than making salad?

  8. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted September 2nd, 2007 at 8:41 am | or create a profile.

    Hi,patricia,
    My next one will be Ddeukbokkie(hot and spicy rice cake).
    I learned the recipe from an old lady selling her ddeukbokkie in a big market in Seoul. She was using very simple method.
    Traditional way of making ddeubokki was made without using hot pepper paste. But I prefer hot and spicy ddeuk bok kie. : )

  9. Anonymous
    Posted September 1st, 2007 at 8:59 pm | or create a profile.

    Thank you for the recipes. Can you do Tteokbokki sometime? -patricia

  10. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted August 28th, 2007 at 6:31 pm | or create a profile.

    Andreas,
    hehe, yeah,kimchi kimbab will be tasty as long as you like kimchi. : )

  11. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted August 28th, 2007 at 6:29 pm | or create a profile.

    Thank you paul.
    You must love sesame leaves(Kkaen nip) dish!
    ok, sure I will put your request in my cooking video list.
    Where do you live in France? I went to Paris February this year.

  12. Anonymous
    Posted August 28th, 2007 at 3:41 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi, your videos are GREAT and very useful. I’m a korean born in France and i love korean food. Do you know how to prepare Kean-Nip (a sort of kimchi with Sesame leaves) ? Can you show it by video ?
    Thank you for all these cooking videos !
    Paul

  13. Andreas
    Posted August 28th, 2007 at 12:23 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi.Great recipe, thanks alot. Gotta try the Kimchi Kimbap. Looks so yummy..

  14. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted August 28th, 2007 at 12:14 pm | or create a profile.

    yes!
    Healthful and tasty food is the best. : )

  15. Anonymous
    Posted August 27th, 2007 at 10:26 pm | or create a profile.

    Heee you made sushi!! That was awesome! I bet all kinds of stuffing would work in there. I have bamboo placemant, I don’t think those would work wuite as well. ;)

    Wonderfull as always. The best part is always the tasting!

    Z

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