Tiny Anchovy KimBap

Today, I want to share one of my kids’ favorite recipes using dried tiny anchovies. Tiny anchovies are called “janmyeolchi” in Korean. They are mainly used for side dishes in Korean cuisine. You can make a very simple, healthy, and tasty kimbap with this side dish in 30 minutes. The small size of kimbap is perfect for kids. Our children loved it very much. Try this savory kid friendly kimbap someday.

Yield: 48 Pieces

Short Korean Lesson

• Salm (삶) = Life
• JukEum (죽음) = Death

Video Instructions

Kimbap Ingredients

• 1 Generous Cup Tiny Anchovy Bokkeum
• 3 Cups Cooked Short Grain Rice
• 3 Sheets Dried Laver
• 3 tsp Sesame Oil
• 3 tsp Sesame Seeds
• 6 Pinches Salt

Tiny Anchovy Bokkeum Ingredients

• 1 Cup Dried Tiny Anchovies (2.5 oz)
• 2 Tbsp Green Hot Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Green Onion
• 2 tsp Garlic
• 1 Tbsp Cooking Oil
• ½ Tbsp Soy Sauce
• ½ Generous Tbsp Sugar
• ½ Tbsp Sesame Seeds

Directions

Obtain about 1 cup of dried tiny anchovies. You can buy them at a Korean or Asian grocery store. Sempio’s are good quality. You can check for them at Amazon too.

Heat a pan with 1 Tbsp of cooking oil. Add the tiny anchovies and fry for about 5 minutes on medium high.

Meanwhile, finely chop the vegetable ingredients: 2 Tbsp green hot pepper, 2 Tbsp green onion, and 2 tsp garlic.

5 minutes later, the tiny anchovies will be slightly golden brown with a nice crunchy texture.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped vegetables into the pan.

Then quickly add ½ Tbsp soy sauce, ½ generous Tbsp sugar, and ½ Tbsp sesame seeds. Mix everything together. Since sugar and soy sauce can burn easily, make sure that you do not cook them on too high of a temperature.

Fry for 2 minutes, and then turn off the heat. We will use this as a kimbap filling. You will get about 1 generous cup. You can also eat this as a side dish without making kimbap.

Option 1: Mix the 3 cups cooked rice, 3 tsp sesame oil, 3 tsp sesame seeds, and 6 pinches salt for the kimbap in a mixing bowl.

Option 2: This recipe makes about 48 pieces of kimbap. If you want to make a smaller amount, divide the kimbap ingredients in 3 to make 16 pieces kimbap. To do that, mix 1 cup of cooked rice, 1 tsp of sesame oil, 1 tsp of sesame seeds, and 2 pinches of salt.

I used option 2 above today, so I only used 1 sheet of dried laver this time and divided it into 4 pieces.

Place a bamboo mat on a cutting board or flat surface. Put a piece of laver on top of the bamboo mat and spread some of the rice (about ¼ cup) on it. Leave about ½ inch of space empty at the end.

Put about 1 generous Tbsp of the fried tiny anchovies on the rice as a line across the front.

Roll the kimbap with your hands until you get to the point of the empty space on the dried laver.

Put little pieces of rice at the end of the empty to help to seal it together.

Finish rolling the kimbap. Then take it out and roll it again with the bamboo mat. Squeeze the rolled bamboo mat few times so that the kimbap ingredients will stick together well and not break apart when you cut it later.

1 cup of rice and 1 sheet of dried laver will make 4 rolls of kimbap. Each kimbap roll will make 4 pieces of kimbap. So, you will have 16 bite sized pieces of kimbap. This recipe can make about 48 pieces of kimbap.

Cut both ends of the kimbap roll and cut the rest into 4 pieces.

 

I kept the left over tiny anchovy side dish in the refrigerator. The next day, I simply seasoned more cooked rice and made some more kimbap with the leftovers when our son asked it for his lunch. 🙂 He gave mommy a big thumbs up. This can also be a good idea for a lunch box or picnic with some kimchi and fruits. Enjoy!