Meet Kimbap, the Unfussy Cousin of Japanese Sushi Rolls
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Photograph: Gabriele Stabile
By Peter Meehan and the editors of Lucky Peach
Kimbap
Makes 4 servings
Kimbap are an unfussy and more robust cousin of Japanese sushi rolls. Dave Chang brought them on a train ride we took to Washington, D.C., and since then they’ve always been “train food” to me, though they are equally good on road trips, plane trips, and picnics.
4 cups freshly cooked short- or medium-grain rice
1 teaspoon sesame oil, plus more as needed
½ teaspoon rice vinegar
+ kosher salt
4 sheets nori
+3 to 4 of the following, cut into matchsticks
~½ cup carrots
~½ cup cucumber
~½ cup pickled daikon
½–1 cup ham, imitation crab, or any appealing leftover meat
1 egg crepe/omelet (cook 2 beaten large eggs in a large skillet without stirring until set in a thin sheet)
Mix the rice, sesame oil, vinegar, and a sprinkle of salt in a medium bowl. Lightly toast a sheet of nori by waving it seven or eight times a few inches above a gas burner. Lay the nori on a sushi mat and spread 1 cup of the seasoned rice across the end closest to you (the rice should cover one-third of the nori with the empty space farthest from you).
Arrange one-quarter of the fillings ½ inch in from the edge of the rice closest to you in an even pile that runs the width of your nori. Pick up the edge of the mat closest to you and roll away from your body, pressing down evenly across the log as you go, encasing the filling in a snug sleeping bag of rice and nori. Repeat for the remaining nori, rice, and fillings. Moisten a paper towel with a bit of sesame oil and use it to wipe the blade of a sharp knife before slicing.
Reprinted with permission from Lucky Peach Presents: 101 Easy Asian Recipes by Peter Meehan and the editors of Lucky Peach (Clarkson Potter).
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