By Honorary Reporter Marianna Szucs from Hungary

Photos = Marianna Szucs

I recently made Korean-style snacks with my family using ideas I saw at this year's Kimjang Festival in the southern London suburb of New Malden. All six of the six snacks in this article are easy to prepare and only require a few ingredients. 

The rice for all the snacks can be seasoned the same way with soy sauce and roasted sesame oil, making preparation quick and easy. I served them in bite-size pieces to make them a welcome addition to any event or gathering. 

Gimbap
Gimbap (seaweed rice roll) is one of the most popular Korean foods, with a large variety of ingredients usable. I added carrots, cucumber, yellow pickled radish, red bell pepper, eggs and eomuk (fishcake). I always serve gimbap with soy sauce, yellow pickled radish and kimchi. Making mini rolls is fine as well.

Easy to make and nice to present, gimbap is one of the most popular Korean finger foods for an event or gathering.

Jumeokbap 

Jumeokbap (rice ball) comprises rice shaped into a ball and covered with seaweed flakes, being so easy to make that even children can roll them. Filling is optional, and experimentation with the ingredients is recommended, like replacing avocado with other vegetables, tofu, stir-fried kimchi or meat. I put a small piece of avocado in the middle and covered the rice balls with seaweed flakes and roasted sesame seeds. I usually serve jumeokbap with soy sauce though it can easily stand on its own. 

Jumeokbap is versatile as a variety of vegetables and meat can be used as filling. 

Bungeoppang 

I discovered this carp-shaped bun filled with red bean paste at last year's festival, and this is now my go-to Korean food. 

Red bean is used in many Korean dishes such as patjuk (red bean porridge) and bungeoppang, which is popular in winter. For this dish, the red bean paste can be pureed. I prefer the nice, marble-like look of the beans so I just simply use them as they are from the tin.

For my version of this bun, any type of bread can be used and toasted for extra crispiness. Just spread the red bean paste on two slices of bread, add a thick slice of butter to one slice and fold them together to make a sandwich. To reduce sweetness, add a bit of salt to the butter or use salted butter instead.

As my family is a big fan of the Korean Netflix series "Squid Game," I cut the toast into the signature square, triangle and circle shapes from the smash drama. 

Cutting bungeoppang into fun shapes can add to its appeal. 

Shrimp chips with fresh salad topping
Another snack inspired by the festival is seaweed chips with kimchi-style salad topping. The chips were sold out at the store near my home, so I decided to experiment with shrimp chips instead. For the topping, I made a fresh salad with diced tomatoes, red bell pepper, cucumber, yellow pickled radish and spring onions. Add a hint of ssamjang (mix of soybean paste and Korean chili paste) and roasted sesame oil to create a delicious treat. 

The crunchy salad and crispy shrimp chips complement each other.

Rice roll topped with kimchi-style fresh salad (non-spicy) 
The festival featured another Korean-style hors d'oeuvre popular with visitors: rice rolls topped with kimchi-style fresh salad. They were served in small bowls and people ate them with a spoon or fork. I wanted to make them easier to grab and eat, so I rolled the rice in dried seaweed and cut them into slices similar to gimbap. 

As for the salad topping, I diced vegetables that I used in the aforementioned dishes and used baek (non-spicy white) kimchi so my family could enjoy it. I topped the rice roll slices with the salad and served them with soy sauce.

Dried seaweed keeps the rice slice in one piece, making it easy to grab. 

Rice boats with kimchi-style fresh salad (spicy)
My spicy version of this snack has the same salad base but uses homemade spicy cabbage kimchi instead of the baek type.

I cut dried seaweed sheets into four long slices and spread rice on them to form a different shape. I topped the salad on the middle of the rice and folded both sides up to form a long "boat" instead of rolling it. Wait until the seaweed and rice settle and stick together well before cutting them into bite-size pieces, or the boats could fall apart.

Make sure the dried seaweed and rice settle well before cutting them into bite-size pieces.

kalhong617@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.