Today I will show you how to make tuna kimbap called “참치 김밥” in Korean. I already posted common kimbap and beef kimbap before. So if you are interested in them, please check them out. There are many similarities between different kinds of kimbap, with the ingredients only being slightly different. In this recipe, the unique flavor of perilla leaves combines well with the tuna and other ingredients. Try this delicious kimbap someday.
Yield: 8 Rolls
Short Korean Lesson
- BalTop (발톱) = Toenail
- SonTop (손톱) = Fingernail
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 8 Sheets Dried Laver for Kimbap or Sushi
- 1 Cup (6 oz) Canned Tuna (2 Tbsp Mayonnaise + 2 Pinches Black Pepper)
- 4 Eggs (4 Pinches Salt)
- 8 Strips Crab Sticks
- 8 Perilla Leaves
- 8 Strips Yellow Pickled Radish
- 1 Cup Carrot (⅛ tsp Salt + Some Cooking Oil)
- 4 Slices American Cheese (Optional)
For the Spinach
- 6 oz Spinach
- 6 Cups Water + ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Garlic, Minced
- ½ tsp Sesame Oil
- ⅛ tsp Salt
For the Rice
- 5 Cups Cooked Short Grain Rice
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
Directions
Break 4 eggs in a small bowl and add 4 pinches of salt. Whisk well.
Preheat an 8-inch nonstick pan with some oil. Pour the egg into the heated pan. Cook for about 5 minutes on medium.
When the surface of the egg starts to become cooked, flip the egg and cook for 2-3 more minutes, or until the egg is completely cooked.
Cool down the egg on a cutting board a little and then cut it into ½-inch strips. I like my egg a little thick.
While you are cooking the egg, boil about 6 cups of water with ½ tsp of salt.
Add 6 oz of spinach into the boiling water and cook for 30 seconds on medium-high. It is important not to over cook the spinach, or you will lose too much of its nutrition and green color. If you use baby spinach, turn off the boiling water right after you add the spinach. Stir the spinach for about 5 seconds.
After the spinach is done cooking, rinse it in cold water right away two times. Squeeze out the water. You will get about 1 cup of cooked spinach.
Mix the spinach, ½ tsp of minced garlic, ½ tsp of sesame oil, and ⅛ tsp of salt in a mixing bowl.
Cut 1 cup worth of carrot in very thin strips.
Fry the carrot in a heated pan with little bit of oil and ⅛ tsp of salt for about 3 minutes on medium-high.
Add 1 cup of canned tuna, 2 Tbsp of mayonnaise, and 2 pinches black pepper in a bowl. Drain any oil or water from tuna before using it.
Mix it well.
Wash 8 perilla leaves carefully and wipe away the water from them. Remove the stems and then tear them in half. You will need 1 perilla leaf per 1 roll of kimbap.
Cut some yellow pickled radish into strips the same length as the dried laver and about a ⅓-inch thickness.
Obtain 8 crab sticks. Korean crab sticks are longer and thinner than American crab sticks. You can find them in a Korean or Asian grocery store. Depending on your tastes, you can use one stick per roll or you can divide each stick in half.
Obtain 4 slices of American cheese. Divide each slice into 4 strips. We will use 2 strips for 1 kimbap roll. It is optional, although I personally think the cheese is a great match with the tuna and perilla leaves.
Combine all the ingredients for the rice: 5 cups of cooked short grain rice, 1 Tbsp of sesame oil, 1 Tbsp of sesame seeds, and ½ tsp of salt. Mix everything gently.
Place 1 sheet of dried laver on top of a bamboo mat, shiny side down. Spread about ½ generous cup of rice over ⅔ of the top of the laver.
Place 2 perilla leaf halves on top of rice at the end. Then place 2 pieces of cheese on top of the perilla.
Put some tuna on top of the cheese – about the same width as the cheese.
Put 1 crab stick, some spinach, and some carrot next to tuna.
Put 1 strip of egg and 1 strip of pickled radish on top of crab stick and spinach.
Roll up the kimbap. Put some pieces of rice along the end of the laver. This will help to seal the kimbap tightly.
Finish rolling with your hands – without the bamboo mat. Put the rolled kimbap back in the bamboo mat again. Squeeze the bamboo mat evenly to help the kimbap stick together and stay firm.
Slice the kimbap.
This kimbap makes me want to go on a picnic with loved ones. Enjoy!
Looks delicious! I was wondering if someday you can post a video on how to make soondooboo stew, but not the spicy kind. I had it one time but it was white. There was no spiciness.
Blessings!
Hi Becky,
I will add it to my list. thanks 🙂
aeri, can you please tell me the amount of rice when you cook with the amount of water? I cooked my short grain rice 2 times and it always turn out really sticky and wet.. I hope u can reply my as soon as possible TT TT thank u so much!!
What we do in korea is.. wash the rice in the cooking pot (pressure cooker.. rice cooker ..or just pot..) and pour some water.. about 1 cm above the rice.. hope this help..
Hi Aeri, wondering how many gram is the 5 cups of cooked rice? and 1 cup of carrot equal to?
Thank you so much for the confirmation 🙂
I just googled it for you…it said.. 1 cup cooked short grain rice = 186 g… 1 cup carrot = 128 g.. thanks
Hi Ms Lee! I made this Kimbap today for a picnic I attended and it was a big success! Literally everyone loved it 🙂 I’m gonna make it for my boyfriend next cuz he hates to eat veggies but I think he might eat them if they were in kimbap form. haha 🙂
Its my first time leaving a comment here, but I want to thank you for teaching and sharing your recipes! I love how you make the instructions so concise and easy to understand. And your short Korean lessons are so cute! haha 🙂 I recently became a Korean food fanatic and I find your website to be one of the best Korean food websites around! Hope I find enough time to try some more of your recipes in the future 🙂
This type of sushi is super oishi. 🙂
hi anni i want to know about seaweed for do kimbab is crispy or not?
hi rathana,
Seaweed for kimbap is called dried laver..and it is not seasoned..but it can be slightly toasted (roasted)..but it shouldn’t be too crispy.. because it will break easily then.. thanks
hi, thanks for the video 🙂
i just want to ask.. i have seen somewhere someone put vinegar to the rice..is it okay? what makes vinegar to the rice?
thank you, oh and is that your son? 귀엽당~헤헤..
hi Soeun,
I don’t add vinegar to my kimbap..but some people do.. so you can try it. it is more like Japanese sushi type… yes it is my son.. thanks 🙂
Aeri,you are so awesome! Thank you!
Hi!,
I’m from Malaysia, is there any substitute for perlila leaves, as i couldn’t find any perlila leaves here. Thanks.
hi Yong,
I don’t know much about Malaysian cuisine..but I believe that there will be many good vegetables and ingredients over there.. so.. You can be creative and use some kind of leafy vegetable that your country use for your cuisine instead of perilla leaves. 🙂
Hi, is this recipe how they make it at all the 24 hr orange kimbap restaurants in Korea? It seems really similar but it’s been so long since I’ve been to Korea that I can’t remember if they use American cheese.
hi John,
I don’t know that 24 hour orange kimbap restaurant..but many people in Korea use cheese in tuna kimbap.. so try it someday.
Your recipe for the triangle samgak bimpap is fantastic. I am from Singapore and and intend to sell in my shop selling the triangle Samgak Kimbap. Please be kind enough to let me know where I can order from the wholesaler or manufacturer of the disposal plastic wrapper in Korea. I would like to order in bulk. Appreciate if you can furnish me the company name, email address and telephone Nr.
Do you know how much is the plastic wrapper?
Thank you.
Hi Janet,
I’m sorry but currently I’m living in USA.. and I bought the kit here. Of course you can buy them in Korea too. I don’t know how you can purchase things from Korea.. I searched the company for you…and here is a link of that company. I payed about 6 dollar.. they seem much cheaper there in Korea.
http://www.samhae.com/front/php/category.php?cate_no=62
On the bottom of the page, you can see the phone number and email to contact the company. Good luck.
Thanks for the recipes! I’m looking at this to add to my own collection of great Korean Food Recipes. Very useful with all the images! Good idea and it definitely makes it easier for viewers to cook and learn.
hi Korean Food Recipes,
Nice to meet you. You have a nice website too. 🙂 Thanks.