Hi everybody!
Spring has come! It’s time for us to make something delicious, pack a lunch box, and go on a picnic.
I can’t fully enjoy any activity or event unless delicious food is on hand. Most Koreans are like this. I may spend one afternoon in Central Park here in New York, but before I do, I need to make gimbap. Packed with some water and an apple, my outing is more exciting knowing that it’s in my bag waiting for me. Oh, don’t forget some napkins and chopsticks!
If you do this, think about me when you unwrap your gimbap and sit down to eat! I’ll give you an imaginary compliment!
Basically, gimbap is a seaweed rice roll made of gim (a sheet of dried seaweed) and bap (rice). So as long as you can roll some rice in gim, you can say: “Check out the gimbap that I made!”
For fillings, you can use chopped kimchi if you’re in a hurry, or make a classic gimbap like I do in this video. This recipe uses many colorful ingredients: carrot, eggs, danmuji, spinach (or cucumber), and beef. It takes a little longer to prepare. You can replace spinach with salted cucumber sticks, carrots with imitation crab sticks (or sliced and sauteed red bell pepper), and beef with sausage or ham.
This recipe is a very authentic, classic style gimbap that I used to eat and make all the time. Gimbap can be made with all kinds of fillings, and I like almost all of them, except for a few like mayonnaise. I like mayonnaise in my potato salad and in my sandwich, but not in my gimbap. I just don’t like the greasy texture.
You may be wondering: “Maangchi, how come you didn’t post this classic gimbap sooner?”
Yes, years ago, I posted my tuna gimbap recipe with a tuna and avocado based filling. I’d been using this recipe for years, even before YouTube was invented, and every time I took it to a party, it was always a big hit. The filling is my own invention – tuna stir-fried with soy sauce, garlic, ground black pepper, and sugar.
So when I wanted to shoot a gimbap video, I chose it because I thought you guys would love it. But I always wanted to do a classic gimbap video too, so here it is!
I’ve been making and eating this classic gimbap for years, much longer than my tuna gimbap. It’s something that my mom used to make for me for my school picnic. Whenever the picnic was announced, the first thing to come into my mind was this delicious gimbap! On that day everyone brings gimbap from home, shares a bite with their friends, and tries to figure out which gimbap tastes better. We sat in the grass on the side of the mountain and shared our gimbap and other snacks like sweet candy, yang-gaeng, dried squid, peanuts, boiled chestnuts, and hard-boiled eggs with salt. Great times!
Many moms also send off their kids with an extra gimbap for their teachers, to express their thanks for the teacher’s hard work. You can imagine, some teachers end up with a lot of gimbap! Because it should be consumed that day, they usually share them with other teachers, or give them to students who didn’t bring their own gimbap. What a touching story.
All right, enough of the long introduction. My stories go on and on when I talk about certain food. : )
This is the recipe, let’s get serious!
Ingredients: (serves 2-3 : 5 rolls)
- 5 sheets of gim (seaweed paper), roasted slightly (sometimes called “nori” from Japanese)
- 4 cups cooked rice (the recipe is here, but make with 2 cups of short grain rice instead of 1 cup)
- ½ pound beef skirt steak (or tenderloin, or ground beef)
- 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks (about 1½ cup)
- 5 strips of yellow pickled radish (use pre-cut danmuji or cut into 8 inch long strips)
- 8 to 10 ounces spinach (1 small bunch), blanched, rinsed in cold water, and strained
- 3 eggs
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon brown (or white) sugar
- 1½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2½ tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- vegetable oil
Directions
Rice:
- Place freshly made rice in a large, shallow bowl. Gently mix in ½ teaspoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil over top with a rice scoop or a wooden spoon.
- Let it cool down enough so it’s no longer steaming. Cover and set aside.
Spinach:
- Combine the blanched spinach, 2 minced garlic cloves, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil in a bowl.
- Mix well by hand and put it on a large platter with the sliced yellow pickled radish.
Carrots:
- Combine the carrot matchsticks with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Mix well and let it sweat for 5 to 10 minutes. Heat a pan and add a few drops vegetable oil.
- Squeeze out excess water from the carrot, then saute for about 1 minute. Put it on the platter next to the spinach.
Steaks:
- Trim the fat from the skirt steaks and slice into ¼ inch wide, 3 to 5 inch strips. Put the strips into a bowl. Add 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1 minced garlic clove, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper,1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon brown (or white) sugar, and 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil.
- Mix well by hand.
- Set aside, and let them marinate while we do the egg strips.
Eggs:
- Crack 3 eggs in a bowl and add ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Beat it with fork and remove the stringy chalaza.
- Drizzle a few drops of oil on a heated 10 to 12 inch non-stick pan. Wipe off the excess with a paper towel so only a thin sheen of oil remains. Turn down the heat to low and pour the egg mixture into the pan. Spread it into a large circle so it fills the pan.
- When the bottom of the egg is cooked, flip it over with a spatula. Remove from the heat and let it cook slowly in the hot pan for about 5 minutes, with the ultimate goal of keeping the egg as yellow as possible, and not brown.
- Cut it into ½ inch wide strips. Put it next to the spinach on the platter.
Finish steaks:
- Heat up a pan over medium high heat and cook the marinated beef, stirring it with a wooden spoon until well cooked.
- Set aside.
Let’s roll gimbap!
- Place a sheet of gim on a bamboo mat with the shiny side down. Evenly spread about ¾ cup of cooked rice over top of it, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on one side of the gim.
- Place beef, carrot, yellow pickled radish strip, a few egg strips, and spinach in the center of the rice.
- Use both hands to roll the mat (along with gim and rice) over the fillings, so one edge of the rice and gim reaches the opposite edge. This centers the fillings in the roll, so they’ll be nicely in the middle when you slice it.
- Grab the mat with both hands and and press it tightly as you continue rolling the gimbap. Push out the mat as you roll, so it doesn’t get wrapped in the gimbap.
- Remove the roll from the mat at the end and set the finished roll aside with the seam down, to seal it nicely.
- Repeat 4 more times with the remaining ingredients.
- Put some toasted sesame oil on the finshed rolls and sprinkle some sesame seeds over top. Cut each roll into ¼ inch bite size pieces with a sharp knife, occasionally wiping it with a wet paper towel or cloth to clean the starch off and to ease cutting.
- Put it on a plate and serve immediately or pack it in a lunchbox.
Buy this recipe's ingredients online
I really like Weee! they deliver quality packaged and fresh Korean ingredients to the continental USA. Cheaper and better than Amazon! Check them out!
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. My entire family love it!
Great!
Hey Maangchi! I’m vegan and i was wondering how to enjoy gimbap this way. I followed your recipe, but instead of meat I’ve added fried tofu. I’ve used sesame oil pan fried carrot, cucumber, pickled radish and wilted spinach with garlic and salt. Can you tell me if this is still considered “korean food”? (I’ve seasoned my rice with sesame oil and salt al well)
Of course it is still Korean.
Try shiitake mushrooms instead of beef next time and tofu for the egg.
Buddhist temple food is delicious, but there are no peppers or any hot items in that diet. Still worth a try.
Inspired by you Maangchi
Hi Maangchi!
I made this Kimbap with Quinoa cooked in chicken stock instead of white rice for a healthier option! And it turns out good and delicious! (use hotdogs instead of beef as requested by the kids) haha!
It looks colorful and delicious!
Thanks Maangchi! My sister and I had a delicious Covid era meal of 김밥 because of you today. Hope you’re keeping well and staying safe.
You made awesome looking gimbap! Yum!
Thanks for your encouraging words, Maangchi! ☺️
Omg, this is amazing. I’m half korean, and my mom refuses to reach me how to cook the essential dishes (kimchi, soups, kimbap, mandoo, etc.) until I get married…So never. XD. But I made this, ate the end pieces after I packed the rest of it, and it totally reminded me of my mom’s kimbap! I just sent her some pictures, we’ll see what she thinks.
It looks so delicious! Your mom will be proud of you if she tastes it! : )
I’m half Korean and my mom also refuses to teach me anything!!! She tells me to just come home to eat, lol. She is having surgery so I’m actually going to be making this for her this weekend. I’ve learned all my Korean cooking skills from Maangchi.
On Gimbap, can this be frozen for use, say within a week?
Thanks for your awesome recipes maangchi :)
Wow! Lucky 7! Whoever eats your gorgeous 7 pieces of gimbap will have good luck!
Thankyou so much for the recipe, 망치님.
Based on your instructions, I made my version of kimbap today, just replace the content with 10-grain rice and crab sticks as my guests do not eat beef or white rice.
Just made this yesterday. My sister hadn’t had dinner yet and came into the kitchen while I was cooking. She was like “Oooh, what is that?!” and asked for one. I gave her one and she loved it! She was really disappointed when I told her that I needed for the rest of them for my school lunches since she gets lunch for free at school already.
I’m definitely going to make this again. :)
Not only did my sister love it, I love it too! I wrapped mine in aluminum foil and had my first one today along with some homemade kimchi from the local Korean grocery store. Yum!
Thank you so much for your recipes, Maangchi! I love them!
Your recipe was amazing, thank you! All my friends and family could not stop eating them hehe!
Good day,
Maangchi, I had made my Kimbap. My family loves it
Finally I got to trying to make Kimbap. Made three different kind; tuna, kimchi and crabsticks, and beef. Used some of your Tuna kimbap recipe but also just did the filling a little bit just how I felt to No danmuji available here in Iceland so I made my own from scratch. Unfortunately I couldn’t use your recipe since some of the ingredients are not available here. But I found another simple recipe and maybe it isn’t as good as yours, but my Kimbap turned out great. First time trying this, never even made Sushi, and I’m actually pretty pleased with myself Thank you so much for all your delicious recipes.
You must be a great cook! The presentation is awesome and most of all you made this with limited ingredients! I hope there are more Korean cooking ingredients available in Iceland soon.
Hi Maangchi!:) Thank you for sharing recipes with us. This is my second time making gimbap^^
Each piece of your gimbap looks very handsome! : )
Maangchi, is it okay if instead of yellow pickled radish, i will just use cucumber as an alternative?
I love it when hubby makes me Gimbap!
Wow looks great! I love the presentation!
Hi Maangchi! My friends and I made kimbap using your recipe and it turned out pretty yummy. Thank you for the recipe, we enjoye it!
Wow, the rice looks like top quality, well made rice. I can see each grain. Colorful and delicious-looking, congratulations!
Can I make this a night before and eat it the next day?
No, gimbap should be made the day you are eating it, because it’s best only for several hours. I always wake up early the day I make gimbap.
Hi maangchi! I tried making my own rice rolls.. it wasn’t perfect but my family enjoyed it I hope the next time I do it better!
Even though this photo is a little blurry, I know your gimbap was delicious! Congratulations!
For a Christmas party.
Gorgeous! I would eat your gimbap first, at any Christmas party!
hi maangchi is there any alternative for pickled radish?? or its optional??
I’m planning to make this recipe for my husband. I’ve been tried almost all of your recipe and my husband love it very much especially your traditional kimchi.
Me and my husband love korean food very much, i watched most of your video recipe and im so happy that my husband really like it..im looking forward to learn more of your recipe maangchi!
You can use cucumber. Cut cucumber into long strips and add some salt, sugar, and vinegar and mix well. Let it stand for about 10 minutes and dry them with paper towel and use them for gimbap.
Hi, I’m from philippines as well, what kind of rice did you use for making this delicious kimbap?? I tried mine with regular rice and it is a real mess, I want to try again and I want it to be perferct :) please reply thankyou
Hi Maangchi, I’ve been watching your videos for a while now and finally got around to making your gimbap recipe. I switched out the beef for tuna and it was very good! Thank you very much for teaching us how to make Korean food!
Wow amazing! It’s a huge amount of gimbap and it all looks beautiful and delicious!
Wonderful recipe Maangchi. We veganized it with completely animal cruelty free ingredients
It looks so pretty! What’s the filling?
Thank you very much !! We used instead of eggs japanese/chinese tofu skin yuba, it looks very similar instead of meat we used soy meat (texturized vegetable protein).
oh, I see it! Thanks!
These taste wonderful! My teen-age daughter and I made them together. We did not realize that we did not center the ingredients very well until we were all done rolling. Oh, well. Will try to do better next time. This was our first time buying pickled radish, and it is delightful, too. How about pickled radish in potato salad or chicken salad? And of course, we must make more gimbap!
You did a great job – a lot of colorful fillings. It looks delicious, and I can picture you working with your teenage daughter together. I’m sure you made some nice memories that day.
Hello, Maangchi!
I was looking for a recipe with rice that would fit my husband’s taste for his lunch box, and yet I have found this. It is my first time and honestly I enjoyed a lot making this…
I made only one roll since I ran out of cooked rice haha…
Your gimbap looks stunning! Great photo, too!
It’s so yummy and it sure made a lot too. I got quite a few compliments from a friend and my grandmother. I will definitely be making this again.
Wow your gimbap looks perfect! Plenty of fillings inside, perfectly centered, no wonder you got so many compliments! Happy cooking!
Hi maangchi, here’s my version of gimpab.. thank you for all your recipe’s and videos. This is actually my 1st time doing it and my 2nd korean dish that i have made. I just had a hard time rolling it. Its good nonetheless. I might be able to sell this and make money out of it..lol.. i have orders already.
I feel like making gimbap now after looking at your gimbap photo!
Hi Maangchi~
I habe tried your traditional kimchi and we love it! Now im back to try other recipe of yours!
can i replace beef with pork instead?
If yes, which part of pork will be good for this kimbap?
I cant find pickled radish here can i subsitue with japanese cucumbers as well?
Thank you for your recipe! My family and friends love my gimbap! Cheers to you and hope to see, know and read more of your delicious recipes! All the love! xx
Hi maangchi! My family loves it! My kids brought it at school and shared it. And they all love it. Thank you!
Dear Maangchi,
This has been my go-to kimbap recipe and I love it! Whenever I eat this, I tend to crave some kind of soup to go with it but I never know what would be good with kimbap. Do you have any recommendations for soups that would pair well with kimbap? Please share! And thank you for your delicious recipes!
Dear Maangchi!
I really love your receipes, but never made an account before today :)
I really want to make these gorgeous gimbap, but first i wanted to ask you how many days after preparation can you keep them in the fridge ? (i do not own a freezer, but anyways i’m sure this would be bad for the gimbap).
Have a great day!!!!!!!
Love the recipe, Maangchi! You made our night! We had great times with friends, great food, and great jokes from Maangchi! Xo
I made gimbap today, I didn’t follow your recipe I simply made it with some leftover shredded soy braised pork shoulder and made all the various things my husband and I eat with it. So my gimbap had pork, egg, danmuji, spinach side dish, lightly cooked carrots, onions cooked in leftover braising liquid from the pork that I keep in the freezer, lettuce and thin slices of Serrano pepper. I also completely misplaced my bamboo mat so I rolled my freehand. It was a lot of fun and it came out beautiful and delicious. I also added lime juice to my sushi rice. I love your website and YouTube channel and they always give me great inspiration to cook and handy idea for using leftovers.
Love rolling “sushi” rolls
Thanks Maangchi! I made 3 rolls of kimbap last week. However, I don’t know how to store the remaining seaweed paper and it turns not crispy and shinny as the first use. Could you please give me some advice? Many thanks.
You made gimbap! Congratulations! I always keep seaweed paper in the freezer.
Many thanks Maangchi. And do we have to toast it before use next time?
Hi, Maangchi
I have one question about seaweed, now I’m going to supermarket to get gimbap ingredients , if I bought roasted seaweed, still need to roasting it when I making gimbap?
There are 2 types of roasted (toasted) gim sold at a Korean grocery store. One is not oiled and the other is oiled. You should choose not oiled gim to make gimbap. Otherwise it will be too crispy to roll. “…still need to roasting it when I making gimbap?” You don’t need to toast gim again.
I always buy untoasted gim and toast it slightly before rolling gimbap.
Hi Maangchi! I’ve done my first gimbap. Inside was delicious but I think that my yaki nori was bad it was uneatable!. I’ve tried to eat it but it was like a chewing gum. Is it normal? or I’ve done something wrong?
Would had been better if you could distinguish gimbap from yaki nori. No gimbap isn’t chewy at all. I suppose your rice was too watery.
In Poland is really hard to find a proper gim but thanks for your reply.