This Spicy Tuna Kimbap is one of my favorite types of gimbap. It’s extremely easy to make and uses everyday ingredients. From the tuna filling, to boiled carrots, and sushi rice, there are a few different components to prepare, but the recipe comes together very quickly.
Canned tuna is very ecoconimical so I've been trying to incorporate it into more of my meal rotations. For example, I did a canned tuna rice bowl not too long ago, and recently I made eggs benedict with canned tuna instead of ham. The recipe for the spicy tuna filling is actually derived from my tuna rice bowl recipe which I linked in the previous sentence.
My absolute favorite part of this recipe is the texture from the crunchy vegetables. I chose to use carrots, burdock root, and yellow pickled radish, but you could really use any vegetables you want. They don't necessarily have to be crunchy either. Some popular options I've seen are cucumbers, boiled spinach, and perilla leaves.
Key components
Spicy tuna: You will need canned tuna, sriracha, Japanese mayo, and toasted sesame oil. The most important step is to squeeze the tuna dry with your hands to prevent the filling from becoming too wet. When the filling is wet, the sriracha and mayo will bleed into the rice and give it an unappealing look.
Sushi rice (short grain rice): For the rice, I used a rice cooker and then I seasoned it with salt and toasted sesame oil. You can also cook the rice on the stovetop but I wouldn't be able to tell you how to do it. I grew up with a rice cooker and that's the only way I know how to make rice.
Crunchy vegetables: I used carrots, burdock root, and yellow pickled radish. I boiled the carrots for about 30 seconds to get rid of their raw taste. I got the burdock root and yellow pickled radish from my local H-mart (Korean grocery store). You can find them in the refrigerated section and they usually come in a combo pack.
How to wrap kimbap
Spicy Tuna Kimbap
Ingredients
For the tuna filling
- 2 cans tuna
- 5 tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise
- 2 ½ tablespoons sriracha
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
For the sushi rice
- 4 cups cooked sushi rice
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the rest
- 4 pieces dried seaweed sheets (same one used for sushi)
- burdock root
- yellow pickled radish
Instructions
For the tuna filling
- Open the cans of tuna and drain the liquid. Use your hands to squeeze out the remaining moisture. The dryer you can get the tuna, the better. Transfer to a small bowl along with the rest of the filling ingredients and mix well.
For the sushi rice
- While the rice is warm, mix it with toasted sesame oil and salt. Let the rice cool to room temperature before spreading on the seaweed (this will prevent the seaweed from shrinking).
For the boiled carrots
- Cut the carrot into thin matchsticks.
- Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the carrots and cook for only 30 seconds. Drain and set aside.
To wrap the kimbap
- Place a seaweed sheet on a bamboo rolling mat. Spread 1 cup of rice on the seaweed, leaving 1 inch of empty space at the top.
- Add 2 big spoons of the tuna filling, lots of carrots, 4-5 pieces of burdock root, and 1-2 pieces of yellow pickled radish to the middle.
- Begin rolling the kimbap from the bottom side. Once the kimbap is in a log shape, give it a good squeeze and pull the top of the bamboo mat to tighten it. Continue rolling and let the bottom of the bamboo mat slide off the other side of the filling. When you reach the end, wet the edge of the seaweed with some water and press to seal. Remove the bamboo mat.
- Wet your knife with some running tap water then cut the kimbap into pieces. Enjoy!
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