Chungmu Gimbap (Tongyeong-Style Rice Rolls with Spicy Sides)
Chungmu gimbap is a signature dish of Tongyeong. Small rice rolls—wrapped thumb-thick with no filling—are served alongside spicy seasoned squid and fish cake and a sweet-and-sour radish kimchi. The rice and sides are plated separately, which makes it a perfect picnic lunch box.
Ingredients
Main
- Cooked rice1 bowl
- Squid1 whole
- Korean radish2 handfuls
- Square fish cake3 sheets
- Gim (dried seaweed)2 sheets
- Salta little
- Sesame oila little
- Toasted sesame salta little
Radish Brining
- Vinegar1 tbsp
- Sugar1/2 tbsp
- Coarse salt1/2 tbsp
Squid & Fish Cake Sauce
- Red pepper powder4 tbsp
- Sugar1 tbsp
- Minced garlic1 tbsp
- Sesame oil2 tbsp
- Oligosaccharide syrup2 tbsp
- Minced Cheongyang chili1
- Cooking wine (ginger wine)4 tbsp
- Soy sauce1/2 tbsp
- Green onion1/2 stalk
- Ground black peppera little
Radish Kimchi Seasoning
- Red pepper powder1.5 tbsp
- Sugar1/2 tbsp
- Anchovy fish sauce1 tbsp
- Vinegar1 tbsp
- Minced garlica little
- Toasted sesame seedsa little
Directions
- 1
Cut the radish into rough, chunky slices, add vinegar, sugar, and coarse salt, and let it brine for about 40 minutes.
- 2
Prepare the seasoning sauce for the squid and fish cake in advance. Adding minced cheongyang chili makes it sharp and clean, but you can leave it out to taste.
- 3
Season the warm rice with salt, sesame oil, and toasted sesame salt, then let it cool slightly. Rolling with hot rice makes the seaweed wrinkle.
- 4
Blanch the squid briefly in boiling water, let it cool, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Baby octopus or cuttlefish also works in place of squid.
- 5
Lift out the brined radish, squeeze out the moisture with a cloth, then toss with all the radish kimchi seasoning until sweet and sour. Adjust the vinegar to taste.
- 6
Divide the prepared seasoning sauce in half and toss it separately into the squid and the fish cake.
- 7
Lightly toast the gim over a flame, then cut each sheet into 6 pieces.
- 8
Place a suitable amount of the cooled rice on each piece and roll into small gimbap. Plate the chungmu gimbap and the sides separately, and it is done.
Tips
Rolling with piping-hot rice makes the seaweed wrinkle, so season the rice and let it cool slightly before rolling. Baby octopus or cuttlefish works just as well in place of squid, and you can adjust the heat with the amount of cheongyang chili.