Vegan Kimbap (Vegan friendly Korean sushi roll) recipe - My Eclectic Bites (2024)

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Vegan Kimbap (Vegan friendly Korean sushi roll) recipe - My Eclectic Bites (1)

I have a very exciting vegan recipe for you today!! Don't be crinkling your nose at the word "Vegan"!! I promise you that this amazing vegan Kimbap (vegan Korean sushi roll) will impress your taste buds and whoever you decide to share this deliciousness! Let's get started!

So this is not a sushi roll. Sushi actually means "vinegar rice" in Japanese but most of us picture maki roll. Yes, the California roll that everyone loves is type of Maki (it means "roll" in Japanese). Kimbap is a Korean version of maki roll. Korean adapted this recipe from Japan and altered it to accommodate Korean's taste. It's savory and there is ZERO raw fish or vinegar involved!

There are two ingredients that may not be familiar to you. They are seaweed paper (a.k.a nori) and Korean pickled radish/turnip. As sushi is gaining great popularity among people, most of grocery store now carry seaweed paper at their international section but you may have to make a trip to Asian market for Korean pickled radish. Below is the type of seaweed paper and pickled radish that I use. I'm not saying you must use these for the recipe but I just wanted to give you guys an idea what they look like 🙂

Vegan Kimbap (Vegan friendly Korean sushi roll) recipe - My Eclectic Bites (2)
Vegan Kimbap (Vegan friendly Korean sushi roll) recipe - My Eclectic Bites (3)

As many of Asian dishes, this dish take some preparation of each ingredient in the beginning but it is so very worth it! Trust me!!

Vegan Kimbap (Vegan friendly Korean sushi roll) recipe - My Eclectic Bites (4)

I blenched and seasoned the baby spinach, quick stir fried the carrot, and cut the radish into thin strips. I also seasoned the rice with salt and sesame oil. The nutty and savory smell of sesame oil is going to fill your kitchen instantly!

Vegan Kimbap (Vegan friendly Korean sushi roll) recipe - My Eclectic Bites (5)

What I did for this recipe is I made many small rolls that are bite size. But if you are not comfortable at making rolls just yet, go ahead and make a big one like above. Don't worry about cutting the seaweed paper into four and make a tiny one. Once you are comfortable with rolling, then graduate to making mini size ones! 😉

Vegan Kimbap (Vegan friendly Korean sushi roll) recipe - My Eclectic Bites (6)

I've been rolling these stuff (Korean sushi roll) for a while so I went ahead and made small bite size rolls. I really love how cute these rolls are. I just could not resist although making small one is double the work!

Why don't you give this vegan Korean kimbap a try for your next meatless Monday?!! Your family will love you and so will your taste buds!!

Happy eating, my friends!

Vegan Kimbap (Vegan friendly Korean sushi roll) recipe - My Eclectic Bites (7)

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Vegan Kimbap (Vegan friendly Korean sushi roll)

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This delicious and flavorful vegan kimbap (Vegan-friendly Korean roll) is going to be your family's favorite vegan/vegetarian dish!

  • Author: Georgie
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Main course
  • Method: Assemble
  • Cuisine: Korean
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale

  • 4 cups cooked sushi rice
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 5 seaweed papers
  • 1 bag baby spinach
  • ⅓ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 3 small carrots, cut into match sticks
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Korean pickled radish (Dan-mu-ji)
  • Sesame oil (for brushing the roll at the end, optional)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, mix together cooked sushi rice, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Set it aside.
  2. Boil water for blanching spinach. Prepare an ice bath and set it aside.
  3. Once the water comes to a boil, add the entire bag of spinach.
  4. Stir to make sure all the leaves are submerged in boiling water and wilted, about a minute.
  5. As soon as all the spinach leaves are wilted, drain and submerge them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process for spinach.
  6. Squeeze all the water out of spinach and place them in a bowl. Season with ⅓ teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of sesame oil. Use your hand to mix. Set aside.
  7. In a medium non-stick skillet, add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil and stir fry the carrots. Season with ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook the carrot until it is bright orange, about 2-3 minutes. Set it aside.
  8. Cut the Korean pickled radish into thin strips. Set them aside.
  9. Cut the seaweed paper into 4 squares. Lay the seaweed on the board. One side of the seaweed paper is rough and the other side is shiny. Place the shiny side down. Add a small amount of rice and evenly spread them leaving half an inch on top.
  10. On top of the spread rice, place seasoned spinach, cooked carrots, and pickled radish on top.
  11. Grabbing the end of seaweed paper that’s near you, put it over the fillings, and carefully roll. You can brush the seaweed with a little bit of water to secure the roll. The water will act as glue. Place the seam side down and repeat until you use up all the ingredients.
  12. Brush the roll at the end with some sesame oil. This is optional but recommended This will help the kimbap not dry out and makes it more appetizing.

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Vegan Kimbap (Vegan friendly Korean sushi roll) recipe - My Eclectic Bites (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between sushi roll and kimbap? ›

Sushi usually features raw fish, seafood, vegetables and rice seasoned with sushi vinegar. The name 'sushi' refers to this vinegared rice. Whereas, kimbap rice is seasoned with sesame oil and doesn't contain raw fish. Instead, kimbap fillings include meats like grilled bulgogi, or cheese, kimchi, ham and eggs.

What is the difference between makizushi and kimbap? ›

Beef and chicken are the main meats used in kimbap. Kimbap usually has an assortment of foods in one roll whereas there are a lot of single-food toppings for sushi. There is just plain kimbap with rice, however. Kimbap is similar to a very specific type of Japanese makizushi, and that's the traditional futomaki.

Did kimbap come from Japan? ›

Today, kimbap has come to represent Koreanness. Others argue the dish's lineage is derived from futomaki brought over to Korea during the Japanese occupation. “Kimbap,” as a word, didn't enter the Korean vernacular until 1935, when the word was printed in the Dong-a Ilbo, a daily newspaper established in 1920.

Did sushi originated in Korea? ›

Today's sushi is most often associated with Japanese culture, though the many variations of sushi can actually be traced to numerous countries and cultures including Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.

Do Koreans say gimbap or kimbap? ›

Regardless, gimbap and makizushi now refer to distinct dishes in Japan and Korea: the former called kimupapu (キムパプ) in Japanese and the latter called gimchobap (김초밥; "gim sushi") or norimaki (노리마키) in Korean.

Are kimbap healthy? ›

Kimbap is super healthy and nutritious as it contains so many vegetables. If you want to make a Korean cabbage sandwich, I used my crispy cabbage pancake as the filling, which you can find here.

Is kimbap Korean or Japanese? ›

Kimbap is indeed Korean. However, Kimbap's creation was influenced by the Japanese “norimaki” and was reinvented into a popular Korean meal. It is similar to Italy's spaghetti which was influenced by noodle dish from early china.

What's the difference between bibimbap and kimbap? ›

Bibimbap, a Korean rice dish with gochujang and mixed vegetables, is a very popular dish around the world [20], [21]. Also, kimbap is a Korean dish made from steamed white rice (bap) and various other ingredients, rolled in gim (sheets of dried laver seaweed), and served in bite-size slices.

Is kimbap eaten with soy sauce? ›

In addition to the differences in fillings, the rolls are eaten with different accompaniments; neither soy sauce nor wasabi appears on the kimbap plate. It's usually served with kimchi and pickled vegetables on the side.

What does Kim mean in Korean food? ›

Gim (Korean: 김), also romanized as kim, is a generic term for a group of edible seaweeds dried to be used as an ingredient in Korean cuisine, consisting of various species in the genera Pyropia and Porphyra, including P. tenera, P.

What is bibimbap in english? ›

The word bibimbap means stirred or mixed rice. It is served as a bowl of rice with more ingredients on it. These ingredients can include some vegetables (spinach, herbs, potherb, and gosari). Beef or seafood can be added too.

Do you eat kimbap hot or cold? ›

Kimbap should be eaten fresh or at room temperature; refrigerating it makes the rice hard. If you want to prepare kimbap the night before and refrigerate it to eat the next day, the best way to heat it is by frying: dip the whole (uncut) rolls in beaten egg, then dredge in panko (Japanese bread crumbs, sold in bags).

Is Fried Rice Chinese or Japanese? ›

Fried rice first developed during the Sui Dynasty in China. Many varieties of fried rice have their own specific list of ingredients. In China, common varieties include Yangzhou fried rice and Hokkien fried rice. Japanese chāhan is considered a Japanese Chinese dish, having derived from Chinese fried rice dishes.

What do Koreans call their sushi? ›

Kimbap (pronounced keem-bahp) is often called Korean sushi, because, you have to admit, it looks a lot like sushi. What is this? Gim (or kim) means 'dried seaweed' in Korean and bap or bop means 'rice.

Do Koreans eat sushi rice? ›

Mepssal, or uncooked short grain rice, is the kind of rice Koreans use for all their meals. It's also called “sushi rice” in Western grocery stores. It's stickier than long grain rice, and can be found in all Asian grocery stores.

Is gimbap just sushi? ›

Kimbap—also known as gimbap—are Korean rice rolls that might look a lot like Japanese sushi rolls but, in truth, are nothing like sushi. Kimbap (from gim, a type of seaweed, and bap, the Korean term for "rice") is easy, portable, and adaptable to any palate, diet, or occasion.

Was kimbap made before sushi? ›

It's impossible to say. Rice, vinegar, and seaweed have all been eaten since prehistoric times. I'm willing to bet, however, that rice rolled in seaweed as a food (“kimbap” in Korean) predates Edo-style sushi (where the vinegared rice is topped with a slice of fish). The latter dates only to the 18th Century.

What's the difference between sushi and Korean sushi? ›

The main difference is that Japanese sushi uses sushi rice, which is mixed with rice vinegar, sugar and salt, while Korean Sushi rice is seasoned only with salt and sesame oil.

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