One of the first delights of the exquisite Korean cuisine that I tasted in Seoul was Gimbap (or also transcribed from the Korean 김밥 in Kimbap).
I met a Korean friend through the Couchsurfing site, an online community that allows you to meet other travelers or locals for cultural exchanges, attend events and sometimes be hosted by those who are available to give a bed for a couple of days. After a walk around Gwanghwamun Square and Gyeongbokgung Palace, the kind and energetic friend invites me for lunch in a small local restaurant.
Here I try for the first time one of the most famous culinary specialties of South Korea: Gimbap! At first glance it seem to me a Japanese traditional dish, very similar to a norimaki, but my friend immediately scold me and proudly explains that the delicious food is originally from her national cuisine.
Gimbap is made of rice (밥 Bap) to which are added various colorful ingredients, all rolled and held together in a dried seaweed sheet (김 Gim / Kim). Sliced and served in cuts of a couple of centimeters each.
It’s not a main course, is often eaten at picnics or as a snack and is usually accompanied by danmuji (단무지), a crispy daikon radish pickles with an intense yellow color.
The taste varies depending on the ingredients incorporated in the rice and seaweed sheets: usually chopped carrots, cucumbers and an omelette to which you can add fish eggs, cheese, ham, tuna, meat … there are vegetarian gimbap, vegan gimbap … gimbap for all tastes!
A dish that everyone can enjoy, especially with the wide variety of Gimbap that you can choose from. It is easy to find it wherever you are, served in restaurants or purchased in stores.
If you are around South Korea, you cannot miss it!
