Samgak-gimbap is a triangular shaped gimbap which is designed to keep the seaweed fresh by putting it between 2 thin sheets of plastic. So you can eat it hours later, and it will still be crispy. It was invented by a Japanese company. I think whoever thought of this was pretty clever!
To make this, you will have to buy seaweed (gim) that was made specially for samgak-gimbap. You should also get a mold for making the triangle shape, but if you can’t get one, watch the video to see how to do it without it, just using plastic wrap.
In my recipe I’m going to show you 2 kinds of filling: kimchi and tuna, but you can use your own favorite ingredients to make delicious fillings.
Ingredients
(for 3-4 servings, or 8-9 samgak-gimbap)
- 4-5 cups cooked rice, still warm
- 1 tbs vinegar
- 2 ts white sugar
- ¼ ts kosher salt
- seaweed sheets for samgak-gimbap
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- a can of tuna
- 2 ts soy sauce
- 2 ts brown sugar
- 1 ts and 1 ts toasted sesame oil
- 1 ts and 1 ts roasted sesame seeds
- ¼ ts black ground pepper
- ¼ cup kimchi
- 1 ts gochujang (hot pepper paste)
Ok, let’s start!
Directions
Prepare rice:
- Mix vinegar, white sugar, and kosher salt in a small bowl until the mixture looks clear.
- In a large bowl add the warm rice and pour the clear liquid over top. Mix it and let it cool down.
Make filling:
Make the tuna filling
- Open a can of tuna and squeeze out the water through a cheesecloth.
- In a heated pan, put 1 ts vegetable oil.
- Add garlic, tuna, soy sauce, and brown sugar into the pan and stir fry it for a few minutes.
- Turn the heat off and add 1 ts toasted sesame oil, 1 ts roasted sesame seeds, and black ground pepper.
Make the kimchi filling
- Chop the kimchi and put it in a small bowl.
- Add gochujang, 1 ts of toasted sesame oil, and 1 ts of roasted sesame seeds to the kimchi and mix it up.
Put the rice and filling in the mold:
- Fill ⅔ of the mold with cooked rice.
- Place your filling in the center, then top up the mold with rice, put on the lid, and press it down.
Wrap it up:
- Take out a piece of gim from the package. Don’t remove the plastic wrap, we need this! We’re going to wrap this sheet of gim with the plastic around your rice and fillings. The plastic will keep both rice and gim fresh until you are ready to eat the gimbap.
- Look for the numbers on the sheet. The numbers side of the sheet goes down, and #1 should be pointing away from you.
- Take the lid off your mold, and place the mold face down on the middle of your sheet, with the rice facing down. The tip of the triangle should be pointing away from you, towards #1. Let the rice packet gently slide out of the mold and land on the gim. Remove the mold.
- Fold the sheet over the rice, away from you and towards #1. Then fold up the sides. Keep the sides in place with the sticker that came with the gim.
Eat:
- When you’re ready to eat it, look for #1 on the side of the packet. Pull that tab and the plastic will peel off.
- Gently remove #2 and then #3, putting the gim back into place each time.
- Take a bite. Crispy, isn’t it?
These look delicious and are so inventive. Do you have any suggestions for other fillings? I can think of a few Japanese-style ones, but not enough!
Thanks so much for all your work.
Your expression “not enough” sounds cool!
You can use mushrooms (chopped and sautee with seasoning), chopped bulgogi, chopped yellow pickled radish (danmuji), …
LOVE YOUR RECIPES. IF YOU EVER COME TO LOS ANGELES. I WOULD LOVE TO GO TO ONE OF YOUR COOKING CLASS. YUMM YUMM…
sure, we can meet up there. Thank you!
If I make them the night before, will they still taste ok for the next day’s lunch? Should they be put in the refridgerator?
Rice gets hard at cold temperature, it won’t be tasty if you refrigerate it. But tuna fillings can be made in advance and refrigerated. I always wake up early in the morning to make kimbap for lunch.
How long can you keep the cooked tuna filling (in the fridge)?
not longer than 1 day.
I can’t wait to try making this!
When I went hiking during my trip in Korea I loved taking kim-bap with me, and eating it at the top of the mountain – kind of like a reward. Samgak kimbap is also great for lunch-on-the-go because it’s so easy to transport and doesn’t spoil easily.
Thanks for the recipe and in instructions – I’m off to the market now…..
Oh, very nice recipe! I think I’ll buy the ingredients and try to do it myself, only it won’t be triangular, haha! Bye!
another snowman! : )
Did you say you found these molds and kim wrappers in Toronto? I couldn’t find them at T&T. Where did you get yours?
Are you living in Toronto? If so, check this link:
http://toronto.cityguide.ca/pat-korean-supermarket-on-bloor-015910.php
I used to go shopping at the store.
Thank you so much!
You can also try a Korean store close to steeles and yonge, just a bit north of steeles. It’s called galeria supermarket
Hi:
I’m in NYC, where can I buy these things! They’re so innovative!
Thanks!
Bit late, and not sure what part of NYC you’re in, but if it helps, there are H-Marts (as linked above, here’s the store list) and other markets all over Flushing. Not sure where to go on Manhattan but there must be something.
can i use another kind of vinegar?. i really loves your website,cause my husband is a korean, i try to make korean special food by my self, not only enjoy in restaurant. thank you from indonesia.
yes, of course, you can use another kind of vinegar. Indonesia!
I had no idea you could get the prepared seaweed in stores! How fantastic. I first had a Japanese version of this at the Amsterdam airport and couldn’t believe how well the packaging worked! The plastic keeps everything clean and peels away in the most ingenious manner! Leave it to the Japanese!
Great! Last week i happen to have the triangle shape wraps and mold in my hands, but i didn’t know how to work these, now i know and i can’t wait to try them soon.
One question though, can you maybe use some water to stick the kim together so the kims don’t get undone when unwrapping?
Great video again Maangchi!
Reinier! wow, you will love this recipe! No need to use water! It will make your samgak kimbap soggy.
Good luck with making your samgak kimbap!
Yay, so this is how you use a mold, I can’t wait to get one.
Again and Again I say, thank you.
If you can’t get a mold, as I showed in the video, use plastic wrap. It works!
WOW! I’m going to a Korean market tomorrow to buy the seaweed and trianglular mold. I can’t wait to try this. Thanks for showing us how to make this. It’s so easy and I know I will love it. Maangchi, I always look forward to watching your cooking videos.
i loveeee what you make it’s absolutely delicious! I’m looking forward to more korean dishes that you are going to show us!
O-N-I-G-I-R-I-:D my soul food, gotta try this version 4sure…thanks, maangchi, for posting it :8
wow it’ll Great For Lunch Box I love Onigiris