Kkoma Kimbap. It's perfect for dosirak. So how is Kkoma Kimbap different to regular kimbap? Well, it's smaller-in-size (that's what we call it Kkoma, 'kid' in Korean) and usually has 1 or 2 main ingredients. Today, we show you how to make two versions. The first one is a variation of the classic version and the second one is spam-mari!
For Kkoma Kimbap, you can substitute any ingredient you like. In our first version, we focused on using fresh vegetables. You can follow our recipe exactly or follow your heart and throw-in what you like. Here are some other common ingredients and how to prep them.
- Spinach: Boil spinach for 1 minute, then squeeze out all the water, season lightly with salt and small drizzle of sesame oil
- Minced Beef: Season minced beef with salt and pepper. Then cook on a frying pan (Cook until no residual liquid is left)
- Ham: Just fry-up on a frying pan. Get a crisp on all four sides
- Egg Omelette: See instructions here. (Note: No need to include the minced veggies into the egg)
- ...or whatever suits your fancy!
Just remember that liquid is the enemy when making kimbap. It will turn the rice soggy after you roll it. So whichever ingredient you fancy, remember to squeeze or fry-out the liquids.
Note: For the classic version, there is no sauce in the roll! So make yourself a dipping sauce - makes it tastes so much better. We suggest our mayak sauce - which translates to addictive sauce. It's an enhanced soy sauce!
But if you can't find ingredients, simply use soy sauce with a touch of wasabi.
Alright, Dan-yul out! 🕺

Kkoma Kimbap: Classic Veggie & Spam-Mari
Ingredients
Classic Roll
- Gim Nori sheets - 3 large sheets
- Gimbap Rice - see below
- Carrot - small piece length of your pointer finger
- Cucumber - small piece length of Gim Squares
- Danmuji - few pieces length of Gim Squares
- Alfalfa sprouts - handful
Mayak Sauce (for classic roll)
- Light Wasabi 연겨자 - 1 Tablespoon
- Soy Sauce - 1 Tablespoon
- Sugar - ½ Tablespoon
- Vinegar - 1 Tablespoon
- Water - 1 Tablespoon
Spam Mari Roll
- Gim - 3 large sheets
- Gimbap Rice - see below
- Spam - ⅓ can 70 gram
- Cheonyang Chili Pepper - 3 or use 1 Jalapeno Pepper
Spicy Mayo-Gochujang Sauce
- Mayonnaise - 3 Tablespoons
- Soy Sauce - ½ Tablespoon
- Gochujang - 1 teaspoon !
Gimbap Rice
- Rice - 2 cups
- Sesame oil - ½ teaspoon !
- Sesame seeds - ½ Tablespoon
- Salt - 4-5 good shakes
Instructions
Make Classic Veggie Roll!
- Get rice cooking in the background!
- Let's prep: use scissors and cut the gim sheets into 4 even squares.
- Dice Carrot into thin ovals (cut at a slant). Then julienne the flat ovals into thin strips.
- For Cucumber: Quarter the cucumber, slice-out the seeds, and cut the strips into thin slices. Shake salt over the cucumber. Give a quick mix with your hands. Then let it sit for 10 minutes with the salt and it will start to release water. After 10 minutes, squeeze the cucumber strips with your hands to get the water out of them. Then wash the salt off under running water and let it drip-off excess water in a strainer.
- For Danmuji: Simply take it out of the container and cut them in half - to match the length of your gim sheets. Then split the pieces in half - we don't want them too thick!
- For Alfalfa Sprouts: Give them a rinse under water. Let them drip-off excess water. Pat down with a paper towel.
- Now make gimbap rice (see below)
- Place rice onto the gim sheets and roll them up (reference video). Remember to dab your finger in water and run it across the edge of the gim sheets to make them stick at the end.
- Make Mayak Sauce: Mix all of the ingredients listed under "Mayak Sauce".
- Dip it into the Mayak sauce and enjoy!
- Or alternatively, mix soy sauce with a dab of wasabi (and enjoy it like Japanese sushi)
Make Spam Mari Roll!
- Get rice cooking in the background!
- Let's prep: use scissors and cut the gim sheets into 4 even squares.
- Cut SPAM into long thin strips.
- Cut chili peppers in half. Take out the seeds. Then dice the chilis into small pieces.
- Now take out a frying pan. Place on medium-high heat (no oil required). Fry-up the SPAM until it gets crispy on all sides.
- Wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Then add a touch of oil. Place-in in the diced chili peppers. Stir-around for 1 minute. (Note: Open up some windows - the fumes get crazy!)
- Next, make spicy mayo sauce: Mix Mayonnaise (3 Tablespoons), Soy Sauce (½ Tablespoon) and Gochujang (1 teaspoon!).
- Now make Gimbap Rice (see below).
- Place rice onto the gim sheets, add piece of spam and spread on the spicy mayo. Then roll them up (reference video). Dab your finger in water and run it across the edge of the gim sheets to make them stick.
- Cut the roll and enjoy!
Make Gimbap Rice
- Place 2 cups of rice onto a bowl. Add Sesame Oil (½ teaspoon!), Sesame Seeds (½ Tablespoon) and salt (4-5 shakes).
- Mix together thoroughly.
Notes
- Feel free to swap out any veggies or throw in some meat.
- See video below for more details
Karen says
I made the spam mari but made it into a musubi. I have a low tolerance for hot spiciness so I was concerned about the gochujang and chilies, but the hotness was a lot less than I expected. It was quite yummy! I made 3 musubis out of the ⅓ can of spam, but next time I'll slice them thinner and make four. I can't wait to make more with the rest of the spam! Last month I made musubis out of your mayak avocados recipe and that was yummy as well.