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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. Niemamiejsca Poznań, Poland joined 2/12 & has 6 comments
    Posted June 30th, 2012 at 7:33 am | or create a profile.

    I just made a two bars of this Kimbap. It’s SO delicious! I can’t cut it well, so i ate this like a bar.

  2. She-Ryn Malaysia joined 12/11 & has 10 comments
    Posted December 11th, 2011 at 4:58 am | or create a profile.

    Hi!
    May I know what can make the rice didn’t stick together?cos when i tried to slice it,all the rice seems to fall apart :(

  3. ZatyAziz Malaysia joined 10/11 & has 2 comments
    Posted October 6th, 2011 at 12:14 am | or create a profile.

    Can I use other than “kim”??
    it’s hard to find here…
    what can i use to wrape it???

  4. mrigell N/a joined 9/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted September 10th, 2011 at 11:09 pm | or create a profile.

    Just made kimbap for the first time! My non-Korean roommate and boyfriend were really impressed. Thanks for the recipe!

  5. baldwian Tacoma, WA joined 5/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted August 16th, 2011 at 1:45 am | or create a profile.

    Oh my goodness Maangchi! These totally remind me of the Onigiri that I ate as a child in Japan except my mom never tried tuna. YUM! I could not believe how spectacular these were.

  6. kitty-kat United States joined 8/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted August 9th, 2011 at 4:20 pm | or create a profile.

    Living in Hawaii I would eat whole sheets of “Kim”! Now I know there’s a greater purpose to them than snacking! Can’t wait to make this, kimchi version style :)

  7. ceegee012 none joined 7/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted July 29th, 2011 at 4:16 am | or create a profile.

    @Jane–I don’t think there is any difference, but you can prepare the rice different. If Japanese sushi takes sugar and vingar in their rice, ususally Korean gimpa doesn’t have to have sugar or needs for vingar. This version is different from how my mom makes it. I would advise anyone to stay away from Korean market sushi. The market over here puts fish cake in their gimpa and it’s gross. I had to pluck them out, and will never buy gimpa from them. I only bought it because I didn’t feel like making gimpa because it can be a long procees the way I make it lol. Whoever taught these auhjumas how to cook needs to give them better guidences. They need to improve their Kimchi and Kkak Do Gi (Radish Kimchi) better too.

    You can add raw fish. Some gimpa are made with bulgogi, galbi without the bones lol, hot dogs, spam. You can add spinach (misspelled), carrots, eggs with green onions, dashi (little bit mix with the eggs), little bit of japanese vingar, black pepper etc.) and make it like a egg pancake and cut it to make strips. You can make thin carrot sticks and fry it with black pepper and salt (I omit salt out of my food because salt not good for you).

    Roll the way you want Korean or Japanese style. If you want the gim (seaweed)showing out or inside, it doesn’t matter the taste will still remain the same. =]

  8. lingpanda01 Fairfax, VA joined 5/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted May 23rd, 2011 at 10:03 pm | or create a profile.

    Just to double-check – all the ingredients should be cold, right? You have to wait for both the rice and the tuna to cool down before putting the kimbap together and rolling it?

  9. chai Philippines joined 2/11 & has 3 comments
    Posted May 10th, 2011 at 9:52 am | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi,

    This was another recipe of yours that I made. It was really great! Loved it. I am looking forward to checking out the other fillings to make the kimbap but so far this tuna one is a winner with my family.

    I also featured this in my blog at:

    http://www.bisayainmanila.com/2011/05/my-foodie-experiments-tuna-kimbap.html

    Cheers,

    Chai

  10. Neny Lily Lao Philippines joined 5/11 & has 12 comments
    Posted May 5th, 2011 at 1:45 am | or create a profile.

    Kimbap is the best preparation I used to make especially when we have picnics. Since avocado is a seasonal fruit, I use ripe mangoes as they are always available whole year round. My recipe only include crabs. So, for next time I would like to try with tuna as well. How about that? I got another recipe from you. Thanks a lot. Really you are a great help Maangchi. Your column is something that I have been spending the whole day, making notes and copying your recipes for my file.

  11. yangyura joined 3/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted March 22nd, 2011 at 12:10 pm | or create a profile.

    I absolutely love this recipe! My friends birthday is coming up, and I was thinking about making this for her! Thanks Maangchi! :D
    <3

  12. oksipak California joined 1/11 & has 72 comments
    Posted February 1st, 2011 at 10:45 pm | or create a profile.

    2/1/11 Tuesday: Made Kimchi Kimbap (because I have plenty of Kimchi left)today. It sure is delicious Maangchi, thanks to your recipes.

  13. iLovePochi joined 2/11 & has 2 comments
    Posted February 1st, 2011 at 9:26 pm | or create a profile.

    will this recipe still taste good without the crab meat?

  14. ravi Queens, NY joined 9/10 & has 10 comments
    Posted January 25th, 2011 at 10:56 am | or create a profile.

    The tip about wiping the knife with a wet paper towel really works. I was a little worried when I started cutting it and it fell apart. Then I checked your blog and saw the tip, and it worked well. I use a sharp knife and I cut very slowly in a saw-like fashion. Cleanly-cut kimbap awaits… Thanks again for the recipe, Maangchi!

  15. hanul Germany joined 1/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted January 16th, 2011 at 12:59 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi, what kind of vinegar are you using?
    I really love your recipes!!!! I am sooooooo glad I found your website!!! You’re so sweet! :)

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