Rice dishes

Tuna Gimbap

chamchi-gim-bap

Classic gimbap with tuna mayo as the main filling.

Medium45 min3 servings★ 78Contains eggContains fishContains soyContains sesame

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History & culture

Tuna gimbap rose in the 1980s and 1990s as a filling school and office lunch that needed no reheating. It is often linked to urban lunchbox culture when convenience stores and quick meals grew across Korea. Home cooks and gimbap shops paired canned tuna with vegetables and egg for a portable one-hand meal. Today it remains a widely cited example of modern Korean on-the-go eating alongside picnic and travel gimbap.

Servings

KCook

Ingredients & steps

Cook mode

Ingredients

Cucumber
1 small
Toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp
Carrot
1 small
Egg
2 each
mayonnaise
2 tbsp
Cooked rice
3 cups
Roasted seaweed sheets (gim)
Substitutenori sheets
5 sheets
Canned tuna
Substitutecanned salmon
2 cans

Seasonings

Soy sauce
SubstituteTsuyu (diluted) (2 tsp per 1 tbsp) or Tamari Same volume (gluten-free)
0.5 tsp
Toasted sesame oil
Substitutea small amount of olive oil (flavor differs)
1 tbsp
Salt
0.5 tsp

Steps

12 min
Drain tuna very well and mix with mayonnaise, sesame oil, soy sauce, and sesame seeds.
- Canned tuna
- mayonnaise
- Soy sauce
- Toasted sesame oil
- Toasted sesame seeds
2Medium heat5 min
Season rice with sesame oil and salt; make egg strips, stir-fry carrot, and pat cucumber dry.
- Cooked rice
- Toasted sesame oil
- Salt
- Egg
- Carrot
- Cucumber
33 min
Spread rice on seaweed, place tuna filling, egg, carrot and cucumber, roll tightly, and slice.
- Roasted seaweed sheets (gim)
- Cooked rice
- Canned tuna
- Egg
- Carrot
- Cucumber

Storage & reheating

Eat within 4 hours at room temperature or refrigerate up to 1 day.

Troubleshooting

⚠️ Filling leaks out of the roll
→ Drain tuna thoroughly and do not overfill; leave a margin at the seaweed edge.
⚠️ Tuna mixture tastes fishy
→ Use tuna packed in oil, drain well, and add a little sesame oil.