Recipe - Kimbab (Vegetarian Sushi)

We ate out when trying to go to the Immigration Office the other day and I got Vegetarian Kimbab for lunch.  Not only did a full roll cost 1,500 Won, but it was delicious! Here's a Recipe for you from c How Divine! 

Vegetable Gimbap Recipe
Makes 4 gimbap rolls

Ingredients
4 sheets laver

Gimbap Rice*
4 cups cooked brown rice (short grain)
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
1 tsp agave nectar or sugar (optional)
1/2 tsp salt

Filling*
1 carrot, julienned
5 oz. baby kale (or spinach)
4 long strips of takuan or danmuji (pickled radish)
6 oz portobello, sliced thinly
1 tsp tamari
1 tsp agave nectar or sugar
salt and pepper
canola or grapeseed oil for the pan

1. Sauté carrots until crisp tender. Add a pinch of salt and mix well. Set aside. Sauté kale until it just wilts. Add a tablespoon or two of water to speed up the process. Add a pinch of salt and mix well. Set aside.
2. Sauté mushrooms until lightly browned. Add a pinch of salt, teaspoon of tamari, and teaspoon of agave nectar. Mix well. Remove from heat once all of the liquid has been absorbed. Set aside.
3. Spread out the rice in a thin layer to let it cool until it’s comfortable to touch. Once cooled, mix the rice and the rest of the ingredients for the gimbap rice in a bowl. Mix gently being careful not to crush the rice.
4. Place a piece of dried laver on a bamboo mat. Spread out 1 cup of the gimbap rice over 3/4 of the laver, leaving the 1/4 of the laver farthest from you empty. Place a layer of carrots, kale, mushroom, and pickled radish. Try to stack the filling ingredients on top of one another. Roll away from you by pulling up on the edge of the bamboo mat closest to you, and folding the rice and laver over the filling. Squeeze and roll again creating a nice round cylinder, peeling back the bamboo mat as you roll. Roll tightly. It’s kind of like rolling a cigar (well, not as tightly). Repeat with rest of the rice and laver.
5. Cut the gimbap into 1/2-3/4 inch pieces with a sharp knife. Wipe the knife as necessary with a paper towel soaked in some oil. Serve on a plate or in a bento box. Enjoy your gimbap! You will have some filling ingredients left over. If you do, make some bibimbap or bibim guksu with them with some gochujang sauce.

*Cook’s Note: When making gimbap, make sure the rice you are using is short grain. Short-grain rice is stickier which is necessary for the sushi to keep its shape. Some markets carry “sushi rice,” which is just short-grain, white rice. If in doubt, “sushi rice” is a safe way to go. And you can use as much or as little vegetable fillings as you want. It’s up to you. However, if you are a novice at this, it will be easier to roll with less filling. Additionally, you can add avocado slices.