This nutritious and customizable kimbap is delicious and perfect for meal prepping!

Kimbap or Gimbap is a gluten-free, Korean-style sushi roll commonly stuffed with colorful ingredients including carrots, egg, daikon, and more. I put a lot of effort into making a traditional-style kimbap in a previous recipe here, but the beauty of kimbap is that you can put any ingredients you desire and choose simple or complex ingredients to work with. I watched a Korean Youtuber makes endless flavors of kimbap and the flavors ranged from cheddar cheese to tuna salad kimbap. That inspired me to make kimbap more often, using leftover ingredients I have in my fridge. Have 6 baby carrots left? Make kimbap. Have leftover rotisserie chicken? Make kimbap. It’s as simple as that.

In addition to being delicious and nutritious, making kimbap is often a group activity. Invite friends and family over to make kimbap and have fun throughout the whole process! It has been a tough year, but making food is rather relaxing and therapeutic to me. To make kimbap, make sure you use a Sushi Mat, which helps shape and roll tightly so that the ingredients don’t fall out. They are usually made of bamboo and are very durable.

Kimbap is meant to be a mess-free food that is ideal for a packaged lunch or picnic. The ingredients in the roll are supposed to be flavorful enough so that no additional sauces are needed. It’s delicious and colorful, making it a great dish overall!

Ham and Vegetable Kimbap

yield: 3 rolls (8 in. each)

Ingredients:

total cook time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

For rice:

• 475 g. or 3 c. cooked sushi rice
• 14 g. or 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 3 g. or 1 tsp. white sesame seeds

For wrapping and filling:

• 6 sheets Seaweed (Nori)
• 6 thick strips of SPAM meat, approx. 1/2 can
• 170 g. or 1 1/2 c. shredded carrots
• 1 small cucumber (thinly sliced)
• 112 g. or 3/4 c. kimchi, roughly sliced
• 1 small avocado, sliced

Directions:

1. Combine the rice ingredients and set aside for later use
2. Pan fry the SPAM meat for about 5 min on medium heat, flipping on all sides so that each side is lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
3. To assemble the kimbap, press down about 3/4 c. rice on one nori sheet placed over a sushi mat. On another nori sheet, add some kimchi, carrots, cucumbers, avocado, and ham. Place edge of the rice nori under the filling nori sheet. Roll up the filling nori tightly, and then roll the rice nori along with the filling nori sheet. Use the sushi mat to help keep the ingredients intact. Watch here for kimbap assembly visualization.
4. Use an oiled knife to cut the kimbap.
5. Repeat this process for the other 2 rolls.

*Nutrition facts are estimates. Label contains facts for cake without chestnuts.

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