Sarah Ahn’s- Gimbap

If you love Korean food but are too intimadated to try it at home — this latest episode of #YourMamasKitchen is for you!

Sarah Ahn put in the work to learn her Korean mother’s detailed recipes and she took millions of people along for the ride in her popular blog and social media posts called @ahnestkitchen. Now she has a new cookbook called Umma that is part memoir and part history lesson along with a collection of great recipes from her mom who used to run a restaurant

Listen and learn about mastering Korean food along with us, and as always, let us know whatcha think!

Ingredients

3/4 cup (160 grams) short- or medium-grain white rice

1/2 ounce (14 grams) dashima (dried kelp),

rinsed and broken into 2-inch pieces

24 teaspoons plus 1/8 teaspoon sugar, divided

3/4 teaspoon miwon matsogeum (MSG seasoning salt), divided

1/2 teaspoon plus ½ teaspoon Dasida beef stock powder, divided

1 teaspoon fine salt

8 ounces (227 grams) flat-leaf spinach

2 large eggs

8 teaspoons neutral cooking oil, divided

1 cup (100 grams) shredded carrot

3½ ounces (100 grams) frozen fish cake sheets,

thawed and sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick

2½ teaspoons soy sauce

1½ tablespoons Mizkan Sushi Seasoning

7 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided

1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted, plus extra for sprinkling

4 (8-inch square) sheets gimbapgim

2½ ounces (71 grams) danmuji (yellow pickled radish),

cut into 8-inch-long by 3/8-inch-thick strips

1/2 avocado, sliced 1/4 inch thick

2½ ounces (71 grams) imitation crab sticks, lightly squeezed and halved lengthwise

STEP 1

Add the rice to a medium bowl, cover by 2 inches water, and let sit for 1 hour. Soak the dashima in 1½ cups hot water in a separate bowl for 15 minutes. Measure out 1 cup dashima broth; discard the remaining broth and solids.

Step 2

Using your hands, gently swish the rice to release excess starch. Carefully pour of the water, leaving the rice in the bowl. Cover the rice with water again, swish it, and pour of the water; repeat 2 or 3 more times, until the water runs almost clear. Drain the rice using a fine-mesh strainer.

Step 3

FOR AN ELECTRIC RICE COOKER Transfer the rice to the cooking chamber of a 5- to 6-cup electric rice cooker. Stir in the reserved dashima broth, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt, and 1/4 teaspoon Dasida powder; cover; and cook on the standard rice setting according to the manufacturer's directions. The machine will automatically shut of when cooking is completed (typically indicated by the "Keep Warm" light turning on) Using a moistened rice paddle or silicone spatula, gently fluf the rice (this ensures even texture and moisture distribution).

Cover and set aside.

Step 4

FOR THE STOVETOP Transfer the rice to a large saucepan. Stir in the reserved dashima broth, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt, and 1/4 teaspoon Dasida powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low (medium if using an electric stove), cover, and cook until the rice is tender and the water is fully absorbed, about 20 minutes. Turn of the heat and let sit for 15 minutes to finish cooking. Using a moistened rice paddle or silicone spatula, gently fluf the rice. Cover and set aside.

Step 5

Meanwhile, bring 1 quart water and the salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the spinach and submerge completely. Blanch until the spinach is bright green but still has some bite, about 10 seconds. Using tongs, quickly transfer the spinach to a large bowl of cold water and run your hands gently through the spinach to cool it down. Drain the spinach and repeat covering with cold water until the spinach has completely cooled. Working in batches, squeeze the spinach by hand to remove excess water. Untangle the spinach and transfer it to a medium bowl; set aside.

step 6

5 Beat the eggs, ½ teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon seasoning salt, and ½ teaspoon Dasida powder in a separate bowl until the eggs are thoroughly combined and the mixture is pure yellow. Heat 1 teaspoon neutral oil in an 8½ by 7½-inch rectangular nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the egg mixture, tilting and shaking the skillet gently until the egg evenly covers the bottom of the pan. Cook, undisturbed, until the bottom of the omelet is just set but the top is still slightly wet, 1 to 3 minutes.

step 7

6 Using two thin spatulas, gently lift one-third of the omelet (one of the long sides) over, then fold the omelet in half. Continue to cook, gently flipping and turning the omelet, until lightly set, about 30 seconds. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the eggs continue to cook using residual heat until fully set, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer the omelet to a cutting board and let it rest while continuing to prepare the filling.

step 8

Heat 4 teaspoons neutral oil in a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the carrot and cook, tossing constantly, until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Transfer the carrot to a plate and set aside.

step 9

Place the fish cake strips in a strainer and thoroughly rinse under hot water. Drain the strips well and pat dry with paper towels. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon neutral oil in the now-empty wok over medium-high heat until shimmer- ing. Add the fish cakes and cook, tossing constantly, until evenly coated in oil, about 15 seconds. Add the soy sauce and 1½ teaspoons sugar and mix until just combined, about 20 seconds (don't overcook or else the fish cakes will become hard and chewy). Transfer the fish cakes to a separate plate.

step 10

Just before you are ready to assemble the gimbap, transfer the rice to a large bowl, add the sushi seasoning and 1 table- spoon sesame oil, and gently fluf with a rice paddle or silicone spatula until well combined. Squeeze the spinach by hand to remove excess water that has accumulated. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon sugar, remaining ½ teaspoon season- ing salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon Dasida powder, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and sesame seeds to the spinach. Lift and loosen individual pieces of spinach and mix gently until evenly coated with the seasonings. Cut the omelet lengthwise into quarters.

step 11

Place 1 gim sheet shiny side down on a bamboo mat, with the longer side parallel to the bottom edge of the mat. Using your lightly moistened hands, scoop one-quarter of the seasoned rice, place the rice on the gim, and spread it out evenly all the way to the edges. (Parts of the gim should still be visible through the rice; the rice should not form a solid layer.) Starting 1 inch from the bottom edge of the gim, use one-quarter of the danmuji, one-quarter of the carrot, and one-quarter of the spinach to create three thin, adjacent rows. Use one-quarter of the avocado slices and one-quarter of the fish cakes to create two rows on top, followed by a row of crab and a row of omelet on top of the avocado and fish cakes, overlapping the ends if needed.

step 12

Using the bamboo mat as a guide, lift and roll the bottom edge of the gim sheet up and over the filling. Gently squeeze to tighten the roll. Lift up the top edge of the mat and continue to roll the remaining gim and rice into a log, using the mat to gently squeeze the roll to seal and tighten it as you go. When fully rolled, flip the bamboo mat over and roll the mat away from you to release the gimbap. Set the gimbap aside, seam side down, and repeat shaping 3 more gimbap using the remaining gim sheets, rice, and filling.

step 13

Brush the gimbap with the remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Using a sharp knife, cut each roll into ½-inch-thick slices, dipping the knife in water between cuts if the slices begin to stick. Sprinkle with extra sesame seeds and serve.

Michele’s Kitchen Notes

If you having trouble finding Dashida, try Whole Foods, Fresh Market, or your local Asian marketplace.