Kimchi Korean Rice Balls
Satisfy your inner cravings with these easy kimchi Korean rice balls (jumeok bap, 주먹밥) made with leftover sushi rice, kimchi, vegetables and coated in a homemade seaweed seasoning.
Servings: 8 rice balls
Calories: 106kcal
Equipment
- food processor or high speed blender optional - to make homemade Furikake rice seasoning
- tongs or chop sticks optional - to carefully toast the nori seaweed sheets
- pan
Ingredients
Homemade Furikake Rice Seasoning (optional) - Skip if using store bought
- 3 sheets laver (dried seaweed) nori sheets roasted (plain or seasoned)
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- sugar optional ingredient to taste if desired (we did not add any)
Korean Rice Balls
- 1 cup kimchi
chopped and drained - 2 green onions sliced
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil plus extra on the side to prevent your hands from sticking when rolling balls
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar or to taste - depends on the quality of kimchi.
- 1 tablespoon gochujang Korean Red Pepper Paste - or to taste. (Optional as it is spicy)
- 3 cups rice short grained cooked sushi rice
- 2 green onions sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
toasted - extra veggies of choice (optional) You can use up to a total of 1 and ¼ of vegetables and kimchi when combined together for a total of 3 cups of cooked rice. Make sure all your veggies are grated or cut finely and stir fried to remove any extra moisture.
- proteins or stuffing's of choice (optional) use up those cooked leftover beef bulgogi, bibimpbap beef, salmon or protein of choice chopped finely.
- Homemade Furikake Rice Seasoning or store bought (Recipe below)
Instructions
Homemade Furikake Seaweed Rice Seasoning (optional) - skip step if using store bought
- Turn a burner on to a low-medium heat. Hold the end of the seaweed sheet (nori or laver sheet) with a pair of tongs or chopsticks.
- Directly over the burner, briskly run the seaweed sheet back and forth. Do this fast and do not let it burn. The goal is to lightly toast the nori leaves all over on both sides to make them crispy. The color of the seaweed sheet will turn from a dark green to a bright Kelly green and have sort of a tie dyed look.
- Crumble the toasted nori seaweed sheets into the food processor or high powered blender. Add salt and sugar if desired. Pulse to chop until almost the size of a sesame seed. Then, add in toasted sesame seeds. Pulse just a few times so some of the sesame seeds are chopped and some are whole. Place half of the homemade furikake rice seasoning on a flat plate. Reserve the rest in a sealed container for another recipe.
Korean Rice Balls
- Finely chop kimchi, green onions and any extra cooked vegetables. (See recipe notes for additional vegetables and fillings)
- Add kimchi to the pan and stir fry until the moisture is released. (If you are not using a non-stick pan, add the sesame oil in first.) Then add the sesame oil, salt, sugar, optional gochujang paste, cooked short grained sushi rice and toasted sesame seeds. Stir fry until the rice is just warm and the ingredients are well incorporated. Set aside until the rice is warm but cool enough to touch.
- Lubricate your hands with sesame oil or water. Place approximately ¼ cup of WARM kimchi rice in your hand. With both hands, squeeze the ball tight a few times. Then form the rice into a round ball. (Alternatively, you can use a small sheet of plastic wrap to form a tight ball by twisting the end tight.) Repeat this process with the remainder of the rice. This recipe makes approximately 8 balls.
- Next, roll the kimchi rice balls in the homemade furikake seaweed rice seasoning.
- For best results, refrigerate Korean rice balls covered for 30 minutes. Enjoy
Video
Notes
Storage
Kimchi Korean Rice Balls can be stored in a covered container for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator. We do not recommend freezing the rice as it changes the texture.
Recipe Tips
- Use short-grained sushi rice cooked per the package directions. We used leftover cooked rice.
- Heat the rice before forming it into balls – just until warm so it is not too hot to handle.
- Dip your fingers into sesame oil or water and rub your hands together to prevent the rice from sticking to your hands.
- If you decide to add other veggies into the rice mixture, make sure that they are grated or chopped finely and cooked. In addition, the vegetables need to be cooked to remove any extra moisture. The ratio of cooked vegetables, including the kimchi to rice is 1 and ¼ cups vegetables to 3 cups cooked rice. If you add more, your kimchi rice balls may not hold together.
- Don’t make the rice balls too large! The larger the rice ball, the more difficult it is to make them stick together. This easy recipe makes approximately 8 golf ball Korean treats. Using approximately ¼ cup of the kimchi rice mixture for each ball is just about right.
- After you grab a scoop of rice, squeeze it with both of your hands tightly. Using this firm pressure will help the balls stay in shape.
- Use a piece of plastic wrap around the balls and tie it tightly.
- Lubricate your hands with sesame oil or water.
- Place about 2 tablespoons of the kimchi rice in your hand and flatten it out.
- Then, add about 1 teaspoon of your filling of choice.
- Place another 2 tablespoons of kimchi rice on top of the filling.
- Squeeze the rice and filling mixture together and form into a ball.
- Roll into the Korean Furikake rice seasoning.
Nutrition
Serving: 1ball | Calories: 106kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 465mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 128IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg