TRIANGLE KIMBAP - A popular Korean snack

Leia em PORTUGUÊS

Bap means rice in Korean. Therefore, all rice based dishes seem to have bap in their names . Kimbap is the name given to the seaweed rolls similar to the Japanese Sushi here in Korea. They come in all sorts of different fillings. As soon as I got here, this was the first Korean food I made. At that time, I didn't know that at the supermarkets here you can buy all the filling ingredients already cut into strips exactly the same size of the seaweed sheet. At that time I didn't even dream of having a food blog, but I used to photograph the interesting food I made, so I went to my files and found this shot:

Well, it was a one time only dish, I never came around to making it again. A little later, I found out that there was another type of Kimbap, the triangular one. I had bought these so many times to eat as a snack, and really enjoyed them. They are similar to a sandwich, where the rice plays the part of the bread. They are sold with many different fillings and are considered snacks here in Korea and a very popular option for picnics.

Even though this is a very inexpensive snack, and you can find it almost anywhere, I was very pleased to know that you can make it at home. I never thought so, because they are packed in a special plastic that isolates the seaweed from the rice, so that when you open it to eat, the seaweed is crunchy. Well, I also found out that you can actually buy the seaweed packed individually in these special plastic wraps if you want to make them at home. And homemade is always better! I learned how to make it at Aeri's Kitchen. By the way, I'm learning a lot there :o) If you are interested in Korean food, I highly recommend that you visit her blog. 

First you have to buy a special "kit" for making triangle Kimbap. It comes with sheets of seaweed and a triangular mold with plunger. You can also get ready made Korean rice if you don't want to make it.

 Now, all you have to do is prepare the filling and assemble the Kimbap.

The sheets have numbers printed on them.

Place the sheet face down with #1 at the top.

Place the triangle mold with one of the angles on #1

Put some rice in the mold and spread it evenly.

Add some filling

Cover the filling with some more rice.

Use the plunger to press everything together.

Holding the plunger, pull the mold up to remove it.

Then, remove the plunger.

Fold the lower half of the sheet over the triangle, tucking its sides under.

Fold the lower left up and hold with an adhesive tape (the kit includes the tape)

Repeat for the other side.

Your very Korean snack is ready :o)

There are lovely boxes available if you want your Kimbap "on the go".

If you are not in Korea or you can't find the kit, you can always use just any mold, and at the time of serving, you can wrap the Kimbap in crunchy seaweed sheets.

To open your Kimbap:

Pull the strip where there is #1

Pull it all the way to the back. This will divide the plastic wrap in two. Carefully pull away the first half of the package.

Arrange the seaweed if needed. If you want, you can use the wrap to hold your Kimbab.

Repeat for the other side on #3.

Enjoy!

hmmmm....

TRIANGLE KIMBAP

(Adapted from Aeri's Kitchen)

Yields 5 triangles

420g cooked Korean white rice (or 2 packs of ready made rice)

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

a pinch of salt

Filling:

1/2 cup tuna, drained (or 1 small can)

1/2 cup Kimchi coarsely chopped

2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste; this amount could be quite spicy for westerners)

1/4 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

dash of salt if necessary, but I never add any salt as the tuna and the Kimchi are salty already

Put all ingredients of the filling in a pan and saute for about 5 minutes until dry on medium heat. Set aside. Use it slightly warm or cooled.

Prepare the rice by mixing in salt, sesame oil and seeds.

Divide the rice and the filling into 5 equal parts. Assemble the triangles following the steps above.

These can be prepared ahead of time and keep well in the fridge for up to two days.