Cooking In Lockdown Series (3) : Seaweed Rolls

Seaweed rolls, essentially roasted seaweed wrapped with rice, an assortment of meat/seafood and vegetables, are ideal for a little snack in the afternoon or as a meal itself!

We have 'Kimbap' from Korea and 'Sushi' from Japan, both seaweed rolls, but what's the difference? One of the key differences is the rice - Japanese sushi rice is seasoned with vinegar but Korean Kimbap is seasoned with sesame oil. Let's also say that you see raw fish in a common sushi roll, whereas a Korean Kimbap is packed with vegetables (spinach, pickled radish, carrots, cucumber etc) and protein (beef, chicken, canned tuna, fake crab meat, eggs etc).

So...should you make Korean Kimbap or Japanese Sushi at home?

What Ingredients?

All of this could sound confusing, hence I'm going to make a hybrid version of Korean Kimbap and Japanese Sushi!

The reason for doing this is that it isn't that easy to find sushi-grade raw fish (like salmon and tuna) in London, unless you really want to spend and go to JapanCentre and get it. I would rather use ordinary ingredients that can be bought from my nearest supermarket. I am using a selection of protein and vegetables for my seaweed roll : carrot, cucumber, spinach and canned tuna. Feel free to get creative and add other ingredients like kimchi, yellow pickled radish, sliced beef, egg, avocado etc.

Fret not if you don't have Japanese sushi rice (or you just don't want to buy it given the expensive price). Just use ordinary Jasmine rice (note: not Basmati rice, don't think it would taste good in seaweed rolls as the rice grains do not absorb moisture well, and could be considered too dry to eat).

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup of cooked jasmine rice

• 3-4 Roasted seaweed sheets

• A can of tuna

• 1/2 carrot

• 1/2 cucumber

• A bag of spinach

• Sesame seeds

• 1 clove of garlic

Seasonings for Cooked Rice

• 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar

• 2 teaspoons of sesame oil

• A pinch of salt and sugar

Instructions

1. Prepare rice. Prepare 1 cup of cooked jasmine rice. Mix seasonings for cooked rice evenly, and set aside

2. Prepare remaining ingredients. (Feel free to add/remove ingredients to suit your taste)

   1. Make seasoned tuna flakes. Open can of tuna and drain water. Drizzle some sesame oil, add salt to taste.

   2. Cut carrot into long thin strips. Heat up pan and drizzle some oil. Stir-fry carrots until soften. Add a dash of soy-sauce, sesame oil and salt to taste. Remove from pan and set aside.

   3. Cut cucumber into long thin strips and set aside.

   4. Blanch spinach for 1 minute. Remove from pot and let it cool. Mince a clove of garlic. Squeeze all remaining spinach water. In a bowl, add spinach, minced garlic, a dash of soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds and mix well.

3. Make seaweed roll. Place roasted seaweed on bamboo mat. Spread a layer of cooked seasoned rice evenly. Place carrot, cucumber, tuna and spinach. Roll it up gently (use a dab of water to seal the ends). Remove bamboo mat and cut into pieces (remember to use a sharp knife).

Enjoy the seaweed roll on its own, or with side dishes. Made too much? Don't worry, save the remaining rolls for a quick snack the next day(store in the fridge for 1-2 days)!