Sliced gimbap showing all the ingredients.

Tofu and Spam Gimbap

Sep 1, 2022

Gimbap is a Korean rice roll perfect for lunches, snacks, and on the go. The fillings are very versatile, as long as you have seaweed and rice, you can make gimbap! Make this for your next picnic and share with friends!

Tofu and Spam Gimbap

Makes 5 Rolls

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Roll and Slice Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C. Short Grain White Rice (Makes about 4 C. cooked)
  • 2 t. Sesame oil, divided
  • 1/4 t. Salt
  • 1/2 Cucumber
  • Korean Pickled Radish, pole style
  • 1 C. Carrot, shredded
  • 2 big handfuls Spinach
  • 1/3 Tofu Block, firm
  • 4-6 oz. Spam or Ham
  • Cooking Oil
  • 1 t. Garlic, minced or dried
  • 1 T. Soy Sauce
  • 1 t. Sugar
  • 5 Seaweed Sheets

Instructions:

  1. Rinse the rice and cook as directed. When the rice is fully cooked, season the rice by mixing in 1 t. sesame oil and salt.
  2. Cut the cucumber into small matchsticks and chop the spam and tofu into long rectangular shapes. Set the cucumber aside with the pickled radish.
  3. Steam the shredded carrot in a fry pan for 1-2 minutes on medium-high heat. You want them to be slightly firm and not mushy. Drain off any excess water and set carrot aside by the cucumber.
  4. Steam the spinach for 1 minute on medium heat. Drain any excess water off of the spinach. Keep the spinach in the pan and add the rest of the sesame oil and a pinch of salt. Sautee on medium heat for 1 minute then set the spinach aside with the other vegetables.
  5. In a fry pan on medium heat, add a drizzle of cooking oil while the pan warms up. Then add the tofu and spam, and cook for 4-5 minutes. Turn the tofu and spam throughout cooking to brown all the sides. Next add the soy sauce, sugar, and garlic to the tofu and spam. Stir and continue to cook for another 1 minute. Then set the tofu and spam aside by the vegetables.

Pile of cooked shredded carrots, spinach, spam, tofu, cucumber, and pickled radish.

  1. Build the rolls. Place a sheet of seaweed, shiny side down, on a sushi mat. Spread about 3/4 C. of rice evenly onto 2/3 of the seaweed sheet. Then add the vegetables, spam, and tofu (use photo below for reference), and roll it up tightly. Repeat for the rest of the seaweed sheets.

Gimpab ingredients on rice and seaweed right before it gets rolled up.

  1. Opt. brush a thin layer of sesame oil and sprinkle sesame seeds on the outside of the gimbap.
  2. Slice the rolls into about 1/2 inch slices. I got 10 slices out of each roll. Enjoy! Gimbap is best when fresh.

Tons of sliced gimbap, reminiscent of a mosaic pattern. Very delicious.