The Day I Decided to Study Cooking

I was watching a cooking show where they featured a wide variety of Asian cuisine the other day, and aside from getting a serious craving for Lamb Curry, I also decided that I should learn to cook. When it comes to cooking, I’m no pro, but I’m not an amateur either. I know the how-to’s to the simple ones like frying, and making steak and stew. This is why I think I won’t have any trouble learning new recipes. Especially Asian recipes. For starters, I think I’ll go with East-Asian cuisine first since I’m a sucker for Japanese and Korean food. Anyway, here’s the first one I made: It’s a Korean dish called Kimbap. As you can see, it’s a rice roll, kinda like the Japanese sushi. I’ve had both a lot of times, and from my experience, I think the main difference between kimbap and sushi is that kimbap uses (but is not restricted to) meat, while sushi uses seafood (fish, squid, octopus etc…) At least, this is what I told my sister when she asked me about it. Here’s my recipe for tuna kimbap:

2 cups of rice
2 tsp. sesame oil
4 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 canned tuna (flakes, in brine)
1 carrot
1 cucumber
Korean seaweed wrap
Kimchi
salt, pepper (to taste)

1. Cook rice. When it’s done, add 2 tsp. of sesame oil and some salt. Mix.
2. Combine tuna and mayonnaise (like you’re making a spread). Add some pepper.
3. Cut carrot and cucumber into strips. Steam it for 3-5 minutes (or you can have it raw).
4. Spread rice evenly on top of the seaweed wrap. Leave at least a centimeter of space from the top (this is where you would dab some water so the wrap would stick once you roll it).

My sister settling the rice over the seaweed wrap.

5. Lay down your ingredients near the bottom of the wrap.
6. Roll it tightly. (Note: You can use a bamboo mat, aluminum foil, or just your hands).
7. Slice and serve with kikkoman soy sauce and wasabi (optional).

Typically, kimbap is made with beef, but as I mentioned earlier, a variety of ingredients can be used. I was also supposed to add an egg roll into the mix, but we we’re out of eggs so… This recipe makes 5 rolls.