Inspiration: Recently, my better half has been devouring Korean comics. One he recently found and thoroughly enjoyed featured a character whose superpower skills included cooking.
Some delectable, mouthwatering cooking.
Amongst the many delicious dishes featured in the panels of art was kimbap. As my husband and I are VERY familiar with sushi, we were immediately intrigued by kimbap’s similar – yet distinct – appearance.
So as fast as my fingers could type, I took to the interwebs. Whereupon I learned kimbap is a Korean seaweed rice roll that’s filled with a wide variety of vegetables and protein, and does not require any dipping sauce. Moreover, kimbap can be eaten as a roll, triangle (like onigiri) or a burrito, depending on your preference.
Mildly confident in my rice shaping abilities, thanks to my recent forays into making rice balls, I settled on this recipe for Bulgogi Kimbap.
I lost my nerve partway through and found it again after watching this video several times.
Not only because of My Korean Kitchen‘s clear instructions, but also because she’s published a recipe for bulgogi beef as well. (A dish I’ve eaten plenty of times in restaurants, but never tried making from scratch.)
And, nearly immediately, I messed up.
So excited/trepidatious about making kimbap, upon making the marinade for the bulgogi, I failed to blend it in the blender. It still turned out tasty, but I’m looking forward to trying again using My Korean Kitchen‘s exact method.
Above and beyond the inadvertent mistake, my enthusiasm for trying this new-to-me food meant I was unwilling to wait a few days until my pantry’s shelves owned all the requisite components called for in the recipe.
So, I simplified instead: using sushi rice, blanched spinach, pickled carrot ribbons, my mis-marinated bulgogi (after it was cooked), and king oyster mushrooms (which I minced in a food processor and quickly pan-fried with a dollop of gochujang for a bit of heat).
And, despite my mistake and variations, the rolls turned out delicious! I look forward to following the recipe as written and savoring the results.
BTW: This is the first time in decades I’ve been able to eat cooked spinach! And by decades, I mean since I was knee high to a grasshopper, when I found myself in a standoff with a parental unit over my refusal to eat a side of seriously stringy and cold cooked canned spinach lying limply on my plate. Though we eventually “compromised”, by me literally choking down a half-dozen forkfuls, I’ve been unable to stomach the cooked stuff since.
But apparently, blanching fresh spinach and hiding it amongst other textures and some seriously flavorful fillings renders it edible.
Maybe this is growth? Gastronomically speaking.
Christie’s Canon of Characters: In my mind’s eye, I can easily see Lucy Eyelesbarrow making and quickly mastering kimbap for one of her clients, then introducing it to more still afterward, as she’s very capable and adventurous in both her professional and personal life.
My 52 Weeks With Christie: A.Miner©2025
My 52 Weeks With Christie 