Quick and Easy Beef Kimbap Recipe

In my hub titled 5 Asian Dishes You Can Make at Home (link below), I mentioned my love for the beef kimbap (sometimes also called kimbob). A kimbap is basically the Korean version of the Sushi. It is a rice roll with some fillings wrapped in nori or dried seaweed wrap. Each slice of the roll is often dipped in light soy sauce with some wasabi and is eaten whole. This is so because just biting the slice will cause it to disintegrate and crumble.

I first tried the kimbap at Mashitta, a little Asian restaurant serving Japanese and Korean food at our university. I really loved it but I thought it could taste better so I tried making it at home because the ones served at Mashitta had plain beef filling. I added scrambled eggs, hotdogs, cheese and cucumber. And I was right. It was everything I loved. It had Asian flavors and it had cheese. Everything really does taste better with cheese.

I have also tried other variations of the kimbap. I've used hotdogs with sauteed legumes, and eggs. I've also tried making it with spam. But my favorite is ultimately the beef kimbap. The beef is first cooked using bulgogi or teriyaki recipes or marinades. I've included a recipe below. Please read through to be able to make your own kimbap at home.

For Asians, rice rolls like kimbap or sushi are probably the most convenient meal we can take along with us to work or school. This is because we are rice eaters. We eat rice with meat or something else and the kimbap is perfect for that because it is small but it packs everything in there. It has meat, may it be beef, chicken, pork, squid, crabsticks, etc. It also has the fruits in vegetables: legumes, cucumber, spinach, etc. It also has the dairy if you add cheese! It's one complete meal!

So, aren't you convinced yet?

The kimbap is a very flexible and convenient recipe and can be made with almost any ingredient at home. Some other variations of the recipe are listed below. Feel free to explore.

• ham and cheese
• tuna
• veggie
• beef bulgogi/teriyaki
• chicken teriyaki
• crabsticks

...this list can typically go on forever! The key is to explore and adjust to your preferences. I've even tried using fried rice once. It wasn't as sticky but it was still yummy. So do not be afraid of trying out new things. We would not have all these delicious food in the world if the people just stuck to what they knew and were familiar with. Be bold and have fun! After all, that is what life is all about.

If you have some other recipe variations in mind, go ahead and try them and then let me know how it went in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you!