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    Home » Appetizer/Snack

    Tuna Gimbap

    Published 05/17/2015. Updated 04/28/2021

    Jump to Recipe

    Kimbap made with canned tuna! Feel free to add any vegetable fillings you have in the fridge. Very versatile!

    DSC 08981 e1431962266965 - Tuna Gimbap

    Here’s another gimbap (김밥) recipe! This time, it’s tuna gimbap (or kimbap) made with canned tuna (chamchi, 참치). In the past, I’ve posted classic gimbap, myulchu gimbap, and mini gimbap.

    The tuna filling is typically made similar to tuna salad with mayonnaise and other ingredients. I added a bit of dijon mustard, lemon juice, and diced celery. You can also add a bit of diced onion if you want.

    Since it’s going inside the rice, you don’t want to make the tuna too watery. Hold back from using the amounts of mayo and other wet ingredients from your favorite tuna salad recipe.

    DSC 08431 e1431961213188 - Tuna Gimbap

    You can also add other typical gimbap ingredients such as egg, eomuk (fish cake), pickled radish, carrot, and/or spinach. Kimchi will be a great addition as well. Thinly slice the kimchi and squeeze out the liquid, if using.

    In this recipe, I used romaine lettuce, perilla leaves (kkaennip), cucumbers, crab sticks, and pickled radish.

    The lettuce and perilla leaves wrap the tuna and other ingredients inside the roll, separating the wet ingredients from the rice. They also give a nice look when the roll is cut. I like the perilla scent in this gimbap, but if you can’t find it, simply use more lettuce.

    DSC 0834 e1431919222900 - Tuna Gimbap
    DSC 08521 e1431961799609 - Tuna Gimbap

    For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow  along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

    DSC 0852 150x150 1 - Tuna Gimbap

    Tuna Gimbap

    4.60 from 10 votes
    Servings: 5
    Print Recipe

    Ingredients

    For the rice

    • 2 cups standard measuring cup not the cup that comes with a rice cooker uncooked short grain rice
    • 1-1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
    • salt to taste about 1/2 teaspoon

    For the tuna

    • 2 cans 5 to 6 ounces tuna, drained well
    • 2 tablespoons finely diced celery
    • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
    • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
    • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
    • salt start with ¼ teaspoon and pepper to taste

    For the other ingredients

    • 10 romaine lettuce leaves only use green leafy part
    • 10 perilla leaves
    • 3 kirby cucumbers cut into thick sticks or julienned (do not used seedy part)
    • 5 strips pre-cut pickled radish 단무지
    • 10 3- inch pieces imitation crab meat crab sticks
    • 5 sheets gim

    Instructions

    • Cook the rice using a little less water than usual. (Fresh cooked rice is best for gimbap.)
    • Drain the tuna well in a strainer. Press with a spoon to force more liquid to drain.
      DSC 0739 e1431919654509 - Tuna Gimbap
    • Mix well with the celery, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
      DSC 0783 e1431919827513 - Tuna Gimbap
    • Prepare the other ingredients. Make sure the vegetables are dry. Pat the crab sticks and pickled radish with a paper towel to remove excess water.
      DSC 0808 e1431920018138 - Tuna Gimbap
    • When all the other ingredients are ready, remove the rice from the rice cooker. While the rice is still hot, add the sesame oil and salt. Mix well by lightly folding with a rice paddle or large spoon until evenly seasoned. The rice will cool down during this process and be ready to be used.
      DSC 0801 e1431920169977 - Tuna Gimbap
    • Put a sheet of gim, shiny side down with the longer side toward you, on a cutting board or a bamboo mat if available. Spread about 3/4 of rice evenly over the gim using a rice paddle or preferably your fingers.
      DSC 0816 e1431920320367 - Tuna Gimbap
    • Lay two lettuce leaves and two perilla leaves on top of the rice, close to you, and then the tuna and other prepared ingredients.
      DSC 0821 e1431920496442 - Tuna Gimbap
    • Lift the entire bottom edge with both hands, and roll over the filling away from you, bringing it to the other end of rice and tucking in the filling with your fingers. Put firm pressure over the roll with the help of the bamboo mat, if using, to close everything in tightly. Then, continue to roll again, putting pressure evenly over the roll using both hands.
      DSC 08262 e1431920654134 - Tuna Gimbap
    • Rub or brush the roll with a little bit of sesame oil for extra flavor and a shiny look. Apply a little bit of sesame oil to a sharp knife. This will keep rice from sticking to the knife. Repeat as necessary after each cut. Wipe the knife with a damp towel if the rice still sticks. Cut the roll into 1/2-inch bite sizes.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @koreanbapsang or tag #koreanbapsang!

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    Hi! I'm Hyosun, and I am a Korean-American mom of two wonderful grown-up children. Here, you will learn how to cook Korean dishes the way we Koreans traditionally eat at home. Read More...

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