삼각 김밥 (‘Sam Gak’ Three-Point – Triangle – Kim Bap)

May 21, 2011 § Leave a comment

I never knew triangle kim bap existed until 2004. That summer, I went to Korea to teach English and noticed my students often munching on peculiarly-shaped kim-bap throughout the days and then I finally asked them what they were.

“Teacher Stephanie, you don’t know 삼각 김밥?!”

I felt so out of the loop and visited my local LG25 (Korea’s 7-11) and picked up a few different flavors – beef, anchovy, and tuna – to try them for myself. I took bites of each and was blown away at how simple and delicious they were! I then bought them all the time (they were super-cheap and super-filling) and until about a week ago, had no idea that you could actually make these at home. And they’re super-easy to make.

I was too lazy to make a different variety of flavors (sorry!) but I will definitely give these a try with ground bulgogi, spicy pork, and perhaps even an ippufuku-inspired pork-belly version later on. The tuna was so good and quick to make, so if you’re in a bind for a quick meal, I definitely recommend this recipe.

Notes:

1. It’s best to use the pre-packaged seaweed specifically made for triangle kim-bap. You can try using regular unseasoned seaweed, the kind used for sushi rolls, but it gets a little soggy and unappetizing really quickly.

2. Try to keep your ingredients as dry and moisture-free as possible. Clearly, eliminating all moisture is impossible, but when extra water can be removed, do so!

삼각 김밥 Recipe

This amount of rice makes around 10 김밥 (kim bap)

You will have leftover tuna filling that you can save for later or eat with sandwiches.

Tuna filling
2 cans white canned tuna, in water (albacore is best) drained very well
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon minced relish, drained to remove all excess moisture
3 tablespoons sriracha, more or less according to how spicy you want it
2 small onions, minced in a food processor and also drained very well

Rice filling
4-5 packed cups of cooked rice, room temperature
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon whole sesame seeds
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Drain tuna as dry as possible, put into large bowl.
2. Process onions very finely in food processor, then strain all liquid from them using a fine mesh strainer and spoon. Add to bowl.
3. Repeat the same for the relish. Try to remove all excess moisture.
4. Mix all ingredients with the sriracha and mayonnaise well. Set aside to work on rice.
5. To the rice, add salt, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and black pepper. Mix well, breaking apart all the clumps of rice.

To assemble the kim bap:

1. On a small cutting board, lay your seaweed layer flat, with the outside layer on the bottom.
2. Assemble your triangle mold. Put on the top half of the seaweed, around 1/2 inch from the top.
3. Add about 1 tablespoon of rice inside the mold and press down gently using the press. Make sure you have evenly dispersed the rice in the mold.
4. Add about 1/2-1 tablespoon of tuna filling on top of the rice layer.
5. Add the final layer of 1 tablespoon of rice on top of the tuna and then press down using the mold.
6. Holding the press in place, slowly remove the mold upwards, so that the form keeps shape.
7. Fold up the bottom half of the seaweed, as if you were making a quesadilla. Gently tuck the two corners on the top layer of seaweed under the filling.
8. Then, fold up the two corners from the bottom layer of seaweed and secure both corners where they meet with a piece of tape.
9. Enjoy!

I tried to explain the process as well as I could, but please use the pictures for a more visual depiction of how to go about this. 🙂 sorry for any confusion!

my golden hour