Kimbap

Ingredients:

Egg filling

• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp rapeseed oil (canola)

Spinach filling

• 1 bunch of spinach (about 200 g)
• 2 tsp. sesame oil

Rolls

• 3 cups cooked round grain sushi rice
• 1 tbsp sesame oil + extra for serving
• 4 sheets of kima or nori for sushi
• 8 crab sticks, 8.5 cm long.
• 4 strips boiled burdock root (see Note)
• 4 flat takuan or pickled yellow radishes (see Note)
• Toasted sesame seeds, for serving
• Special equipmentbamboo sushi mat

Preparation:

1. Egg filling: In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a pinch of salt.
   
   Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in the eggs and swirl the pan to coat the entire surface. Cook until set on the bottom, about 1 minute. Carefully flip the eggs, being careful not to break them, and cook for another 1 minute. Transfer to a plate or cutting board to cool, then fold the egg crepe in half and fold again. Cut into strips and set aside. Reserve the skillet for the carrot filling.
2. Spinach fillingBring a saucepan of water to a boil and place a bowl of ice water nearby. Add the spinach to the boiling water and blanch until bright green, about 30 seconds.
   
   Place the spinach in ice water and let it sit for 5 minutes, then remove and squeeze out the excess. Place the spinach in a medium bowl, add sesame oil and salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Carrot filling:
   
   Wipe the pan you fried the eggs in with a dry paper towel, add the sesame oil, and heat over medium-high heat. Cook the carrots until soft, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt. Set aside.
4. Rolls: Keep a small bowl of water nearby to wet your hands while handling the rice and to seal the rolls at the end.
   
   Place the rice, sesame oil, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl and toss to combine. The rice should not be too hot to handle. If it is, let it cool for 5 minutes.
   
   Place a sheet of kima, rough side up (smooth/shiny side down), on a bamboo sushi mat, with one of the shorter sides facing you. Spread 3/4 cup of the rice mixture evenly over the entire sheet, leaving 0.5 cm (0.2 in) from the bottom and 1 cm (0.4 in) from the top edge of the kima. Make sure the rice is evenly distributed and there are no empty spots.
5. Place a quarter of each egg, spinach, and carrot in horizontal rows across the center of the rice, covering only about a third of the rice. Leaving the rest of the rice completely empty, continue layering a quarter of each crab stick, burdock root, and takuan on top.
6. Using your thumb and index finger and the bamboo mat as a guide, slowly begin rolling the gimbap from the end closest to you, tucking and holding the filling in with your middle and ring fingers. As you roll, when the roll begins to close, pull the bamboo mat toward you and continue rolling until it's completely closed. Once rolled, lightly moisten the top edge of the gimbap with water (to secure the roll) and continue rolling the gimbap, gently pressing it down and squeezing the bamboo mat. Slowly unroll the bamboo mat and flatten the gimbap again. Repeat one more time, gently pressing down on the bamboo mat one last time to secure the filling in place. Lightly coat the roll with sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Set aside and repeat with the remaining ingredients to make three more gimbap.
7. Using a sharp, clean knife, cut the kimbap into 1-cm-wide rolls, making sure the filling doesn't spill out. Wipe the knife after each cut. Serve the kimbap immediately.
   
   Note
   
   Takuan and burdock root can be found pre-cut in a single package, like a kimbap set. They are also sold whole. For kimbap, cut them into 0.5 cm-wide strips.
   
   Kimbap shouldn't be refrigerated for more than 4 hours, as the rice will become very dry and tasteless. If you want to make the rolls in advance, it's best to prepare all the fillings the day before and roll the kimbap just before serving.