Operation Clean Pantry: Samgak Kimbap (Triangle Kimbap)

I love these things! When I was in Korea a buddy of mine and I traveled around quite a bit and we would stop at convenience stores while on the road. I usually got a coffee or small soda and a couple of these samgak kimbap. These are rice and roasted pressed dried algae (kim) usually stuffed with meat and hot sauce. They are really clever because they are wrapped a certain way where you peel the plastic off and the kim is still nice and crunchy when it touches the rice.

I loved shopping at the local stores such as E-Mart or Lotte Mart. Mega shopping centers with tons of cool stuff and food. I found these plastic wrapped kim made for making samgak kimbap. I brought a bunch of them home with me.

I decided to make these and give these out to friends. I think they are really tasty and fun to make and eat. You can find the sheets of kim at a well stocked Korean store. Ask and you may be able to order them. Sometimes they come with the mold, but you can mold them by hand if you need to.

Samgak Kimbap

Makes 8-9 Kimbap

4-5 cups fresh cooked Korean rice (warm)
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

Mix the vinegar, sugar and salt in a bowl until dissolved. I usually microwave it for about 30 seconds to speed up the process. Pour the mixture over the rice (in a big bowl) and cut in and mix with a rice paddle. Set aside and let cool.

Can tuna, drained and squeezed well
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
black pepper


Heat vegetable oil in a pan and add tuna. Cook for a minute and add garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar and stir. Cook for another minute. Mixture will be dry. Turn off the heat and add the sesame oil, seeds and black pepper and mix. Put in a bowl and set aside to cool.

Once the rice and tuna mixture are cool start making your triangles!

Using damp hands press a little rice into the bottom of your mold. I make a slight indentation in the middle to hold the filling. Put in some tuna filling and a little Korean red pepper sauce. This makes it taste really good!

Then using damp hand press some more rice on top. You'll want to press firmly but don't over pack it. Lay out a sheet of the prepared kim with the writing side down. Pop the rice triangle out and place the top tip at the top of the kim. Usually the kim package will have instructions. Bring the bottom of edge of the kim up and fold the sides in and use the stickers provided to seal.


These are so delicious. Unwrapping them takes a bit of practice but that'll just give you an excuse to eat more of them! I got this recipe from my favorite online Korean cook, Maangchi and you can watch her demonstrate as well. Thanks, Maangchi!!