This recipe for Korean sushi is particularly good if you are making sushi for the first time, as it uses only cooked meat rather than raw fish. The finished sushi is very colourful and visually appealing, and the combination of flavours and textures is a delight.
There are only three ingredients for which you will need to visit a specialty Asian import grocery store: nori, imitation crab sticks, and dahk-wang. Nori is the roasted seaweed wrapper which forms the dark, outer part of the sushi roll. If you don’t use an entire bag after opening, be sure to reseal it before you store it. Imitation crab sticks can be bought either fresh or frozen, and are individually wrapped. Dahk-wang is a bright yellow pickled Korean daikon radish, and you can usually buy it in sealed plastic packaging. If you don’t use it all after opening, reseal the bag and freeze it for the next time you have sushi cravings.
All of the other ingredients are commonly available. It takes a little bit of work to prepare all of the varied fillings, but none of the steps are difficult.
To make 4-6 rolls, you will need:
- 1 sushi rolling mat
- 4-6 sheets nori
- 2 cups uncooked rice (approximately 1 cup of cooked rice per roll)
- ¼ lb ground beef
- 2 large carrots, cut into long and thin matchsticks
- ¼ lb fresh spinach leaves
- 3 sticks of imitation crab
- 1 large piece dahk-wang
- 3 eggs
- sesame oil
- salt
- soy sauce
Directions for preparation:
- Cook the rice in water.
- In a small pan, heat one tablespoon of sesame oil. Add the spinach leaves and sauté, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds, or until just wilted. Place the spinach on a small plate.
- Heat another tablespoon of sesame oil. Add the carrot matchsticks and sauté for one minute, or until tender-crisp. Do not allow the carrots to become soft. Place the carrots on another small plate.
- Heat a tablespoon of sesame oil. Beat the eggs in a small bowl, and pour into the pan. Cook as you would an omelet, 30-45 seconds on each side. Remove the egg omelets from the pan in one piece and slice into long, narrow strips, about ½ inch wide. Place the strips of egg on a small plate
- Heat a tablespoon of sesame oil and cook the ground beef with a splash of soy sauce on medium high heat, until cooked through. Place in a small bowl.
- Slice the pickled radish into long, narrow strips, about ½ inch wide.
Directions for assembly:
- Have a small bowl of lukewarm water ready. Place one sheet of nori on the sushi mat and sprinkle with salt. Using a plastic spoon or ladle, spoon approximately one cup of cooked rice over the sushi, stopping 1 ½ inches from the top edge.
- Dip your fingertips in the water, and using your fingers, gently spread the rice to cover the entire sheet of seaweed, except for the 1 ½ inch border at the top. Sprinkle just 3-4 grains of rice along the border, to help the roll stay sealed. Keep fingertips moistened while doing this, as it will prevent the rice from sticking to your fingers.
- Spread ¼ of the ground beef, carrots, spinach, dahk-wang and eggs in a line from left to right along the bottom width of the sushi, approximately one inch from the bottom edge. Add one stick of imitation crab.
- Starting at the bottom, firmly roll the bottom edge of the sushi over until it just covers the filling, using the mat to apply pressure to squeeze the filling together. Continue to roll the sushi up to the top edge, pressing firmly.
- Use a very sharp knife (be sure it’s non-serrated – serrated knives will tear the nori) to slice the roll into uniform, one inch slices. The number of rolls you will end up with depends on how much rice and filling you put in each roll.
Korean sushi is served with soy sauce on the side, but never wasabi. Enjoy!
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