Three-Coloured Seaweed Rice Roll

First, make the spinach salad. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. It is useful to have a bowl of cold water ready, close by, so you can plunge the blanched spinach immediately into the cold water. When the water is rapidly boiling, carefully drop the spinach into the water to blanch until wilted. After about 20 secs, the leaves should appear floppy. Using tongs or a wire skimmer, transfer to the bowl of cold water.

If you are using a whole spinach, put the root end of the spinach into the boiling water first for 10 secs before pushing in the leaf end to continue blanching as above.

Swiftly drain the spinach and rinse under cold water a couple of times. Drain completely, then gently squeeze the water out of the spinach as much as you can by hand. This step is important, as properly wrung spinach will soak up the flavour of the seasoning much better. Too much water left in the spinach, and the whole dish will turn out watery and improperly seasoned. Transfer the ball of squeezed spinach onto a chopping board and chop roughly. Place the chopped spinach into a large mixing bowl and give it a gentle shake to separate the pieces.

Add the remaining ingredients for the salad to the bowl and massage gently with your hands to combine, making sure any clumps of spinach are separated. Check for seasoning and add a pinch more salt, if necessary.

In a small mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs with a generous pinch of salt.

Heat the vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan (skillet) over a low heat and gently pour in the whisked eggs, making sure they spread out as thinly and evenly as possible. You will notice the top drying and the edge starting to set. Let it cook for a min or two until the centre of the egg appears almost set, then carefully flip it over and cook for another 10 secs on the other side. Transfer to a chopping board.

Fold the egg sheet gently and julienne very thinly. Set aside.

For the carrots, wipe down the same frying pan with kitchen paper and heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the carrots and sauté gently for a couple of mins with a good pinch of salt until they smell quite fragrant. Remove from the heat when the carrots appear softened. Transfer the carrots to a bowl while hot. Add the mirin and rice wine vinegar. Combine well and cover the bowl with a plate to let it further steam and marinate in the residual heat.

Place the warm cooked rice into a large mixing bowl, along with the sesame oil and sea salt. Using a rice paddle or spatula, stir energetically but gently so that you coat each grain of rice with the seasoning without mushing the rice; folding from the edges to the middle of the bowl is a good way to keep things moving evenly. The rice should be slightly cooled down, enough to handle comfortably with bare hands. Check the seasoning and add a pinch more salt, if necessary.

To roll the gimbap, it is not essential to have the traditional bamboo mat known in Korean as a gimbal, though it can provide stability. You can use a sheet of thick foil if needed, but honestly, it really isn’t too difficult after a few practice runs. Just be confident with the first lift and tuck and it will all be fine. Think of rolling a sheet of paper into a tight tube.

Place a sheet of seaweed on a chopping board or a bamboo mat, if using, shiny-side down. You want the shorter edges to become the width laid in front of you. Have a small bowl of water nearby. Scoop 150g of rice onto the centre of the seaweed. Wet your fingertips a little and start spreading the rice as evenly as possible, pinching and pressing firmly onto the seaweed. The rice should start 1cm away from the bottom edge closest to you, and finish 2.5cm from the farthest end. Make sure you spread the rice to the full width of the sheet. The rice layer doesn’t need to be thick.

Arrange the filling ingredients in a line in the centre of the rice. It doesn’t really matter in which order you build the filling; it’s more important that the fillings are positioned centrally on the rice, rather than the sheet of seaweed. Position both hands over the filling with thumbs gently lifting the edges of seaweed closest to you. In one smooth motion, confidently lift the edge and fold to encase the filling, pressing down the edges firmly onto the rice. Tuck everything in firmly with a gentle cupping motion, with your fingertips pressing down the edges you just folded. It should already feel quite firm. Then simply roll away with the same cupping motion, until you reach the end. You can dab some water at the end if the edges of the seaweed do not stick. Repeat the process until you have four seaweed rolls.

Brush the finished rolls with a touch of sesame oil. Wet the blade of your sharp knife with a little water as you go along to keep the slices nice and clean. It is usually sliced into about 2cm thick, bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle with a few sesame seeds, if you like, and serve immediately – gimbap is best eaten fresh.