Kimbap

Kimbap or Gimbap is a Korean sushi made of sticky rice, vegetables, and meat/seafood wrapped in a seaweed sheet. These are sliced into bite-sized pieces and served. A variety of fillings can be used for kimbap. 

Ingredients:

1. Sticky rice/Sushi rice - 1/2 cup
2. Cucumber - small piece cut into thin strips. 
3. Carrots - 1 small sized
4. Spinach - 1 cup
5. Garlic - 2-3 pods
6. Sesame oil - 2-3 teaspoon
7. Vinegar - 1 teaspoon
8. Sugar - 1 teaspoon
9. Salt to taste
10. Seaweed sheet - 5-6
11. Sriracha mayo sauce

Method:

1. We need to use sushi rice which is sticky rice. The rice can be cooked in a rice cooker/open vessel and the quantity of water used for cooking can be followed according to the package. 
2. Once the rice is cooked. Add in 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar, sesame oil, and vinegar. Mix the rice and set aside.
3. Blanch the spinach and drain the water completely. Heat a pan and add a teaspoon of sesame oil. Add in minced garlic and blanched spinach and saute for a couple of minutes. Turn off the stove and let me cool to room temperature. 
4. Cut the carrots and cucumber into thin strips and set aside. 
5. Once all the above steps are complete, now comes the fun part of assembling the kimbap.
6. We need a sushi rolling mat to roll the kimbap. These can be easily found in any Asian store. 
7. Lay the rolling mat on a flat surface. Place the seaweed sheet on it. Spread a thin layer of sticky rice on top of the seaweed sheet. 
8. Place thinly sliced cucumber, carrots, and sauteed spinach on the bottom side of the sheet. Start rolling the mat by grabbing the veggies. Press them while you roll. The sticky rice will hold all the ingredients intact. Once you have finished rolling, use a sharp knife and slice them into one-inch pieces.
9. The kimbap is ready to serve. Serve them with soy sauce/ sriracha mayo sauce. 

Linking this recipe for the "Sshhh cooking secretly" event on Facebook.  As part of this challenge, a theme is selected at the beginning of the month by one of the participants. All the members are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. This month's theme is "World Street Food" chosen by Preethi who blogs at Preethi's cuisine. Do check out her donut from Tahiti called Firi Firi. 

Mayuri is my partner for this month. She gave me a seaweed sheet and garlic as my ingredients and I gave her coriander and cabbage as her secret ingredients. Mayuri came up with a very delicious and filling vegetable-loaded omelette rolled in chapati. It is called Ugandan Rolex. Do check out her blog, Mayuri's Jikoni for an amazing collection of dishes from around the world.