Step by step

Method

4 steps

1. 1

   Season 3 cups warm cooked short-grain rice with 1 tablespoon sesame oil and ½ teaspoon salt; fluff and cool until you can handle it. Prep fillings in thin strips: cucumber, carrot (quickly sautéed or pickled), yellow pickled radish (danmuji) if you have it, and a thin omelet rolled and sliced. Optionally add crab stick, Spam strips, or seasoned spinach.

2. 2

   Lay a sheet of gim (roasted seaweed) shiny-side down on a bamboo mat or clean towel. Spread a thin, even layer of rice leaving a 1-inch strip bare at the far edge — too much rice and the roll bursts.

3. 3

   Line fillings across the rice near you. Roll tightly away from you, using the mat to tuck and compress. Wet the bare seaweed edge so it seals. Rest seam-side down 1 minute.

4. 4

   Brush the outside lightly with sesame oil, then slice into ½-inch rounds with a sharp knife wiped between cuts. Pieces should show neat colorful spirals and hold together when picked up — not loose rice bombs.