Chamchi Kim bap (Korean tuna rolls)

One of the only foods I was confident enough to order by myself in Korea as chamchi kim bap (that's a hard ch, sort of rhyming with chomp). I could walk into any kim bap restaurant and order this with a relatively straight face and walk out knowing what I was carrying. Adam even made me do this a couple of times while he waited outside. (He knows what sissy I am when it comes to even ordering a pizza over the phone here in the States!)

This is really easy to make, tastes amazing and the only thing you'll have to go out and buy specially is the sushi paper. (Here after called kim paper, as that's what we called it in Korea. It's made from roasted seaweed and isn't very strong tasting.) A rice cooker is extremely nice to have, but it's not a necessity (although I want to get one very badly!) A sushi mat is also nice, but, again, not necessary.

One more note worth mentioning: this is not traditional kim bap. You won't find kim bap with pickles in it. Instead you'll get a pickled radish. I prefer actual pickles, and I couldn't find pickled radishes anyway. Also, a traditional kim bap will have a few more ingredients I can't get here. For a more detailed and traditional recipe, click here. Her pictures are wonderful and she's got a ton more recipes that look amazing!

I made 2 rolls today. If you make the amount of food I prepared, you'll have leftovers.

What you need

Carrots, julliened (about the length of your kim paper)
Pickles, quartered length-wise (these are mini's)
Tuna (buy the better quality stuff. In Korea we used tuna packed in olive oil. Man, it was good! But I couldn't find it here. Such a bummer. Ironic, actually.)


1 or 2 eggs, fried (1 egg for 2 rolls, 2 eggs for 4)


1-2 Tbs. Mayo (mixed in with tuna in bowl)

Cut up your egg into skinny strips.


Kim paper (a.k.a. sushi paper).
Lay it out on your mat, or just on a clean surface if you don't have a mat.


1 1/2 cups cooked sushi rice, per roll (Korean rice is the best, in my opinion, but Vail is not the place to find it. Korean rice is stickier, but sushi rice makes do just fine here. )
Flatten it out onto your kim paper. I didn't use enough here, I haven't made this in about 2 years. It turned out fine, just the ends weren't stuffed enough. So, in yours, press the rice all the way to the edge. That look on Owen's face is only concern that there won't be enough. He loves kim bap!


Lay your strips of veggies on the rice. Don't use more than 2 strips each. It doesn't take much to fill up a roll.


Put about 1/4 cup tuna onto veggies. It may not even take that much. Just experiment with what looks right.


Roll it up! I wasn't talented enough to take a picture of me rolling. But here it is.


Using a very sharp knife, slice into 6-8 pieces. Wipe your knife clean with a damp cloth in between cuts. Remember, sushi is meant to be stuffed into your mouth all in one bite--kim bap is the same way. So, make your slices accordingly.

Find some hungry kids willing to experiment and SERVE!
It's delicious dipped in soy sauce mixed in with some wasabi.