Spicy Gimmari Fried Seaweed Rolls - Izzy's Vegetarian Recipes (2024)

These are my spicy gimmari (fried seaweed rolls). These Korean deep fried seaweed rolls are filled with spicy sweet potato noodles, battered, and deep fried. They are a popular snack in Korea and are often sold by street food vendors, alongside spicy tteokbokki.

Gimmari: ingredients

For the seaweed rolls you will need 6 ingredients:

• Sweet potato noodles
• Soy sauce
• Gochujang
• Honey
• Chives
• Seaweed

To make the batter you will need:

• Egg
• Potato starch
• Plain flour
• Salt
• Bicarbonate of soda
• Water

How to make gimmari

Firstly, prepare the noodles. Bring a pot of water to the boil. Cook the noodles for 6-7 minutes before draining. Rinse under cold water until the noodles have cooled. Drain throughly before adding to a bowl.

Chop the noodles roughly with scissors before adding the soy sauce, gochujang, honey, and chives. Mix throughly until combined.

Cut the nori sheets in half before taking a nori sheet and adding 1/6 of the noodles on top. Arrange along the bottom of the nori sheet and roll up into a log. Repeat with the remaining seaweed rolls.

Slice each seaweed roll into 3 smaller rolls.

After that, it’s time to make the batter. In a large bowl combine together the eggs, flour, potato starch, salt, bicarbonate of soda, and 2 tablespoons of water. whisk until smooth. If the batter is too thick, add another tablespoon of water.

Add 2cm of oil to a pan safe for deep frying. Heat to 350F. Dip the rolls in batter.

Fry the rolls in batches for 1-2 minutes, turning halfway through. Drain in a strainer set above a bowl whilst the other rolls fry.

Now it’s time for the second fry! Ensure the oil is still at 350℉/175℃. Fry the rolls, in batches, for a further 2-3 minutes until golden and crispy. Turn often. Drain again in the strainer. Serve!

How to serve gimmari

My favourite way to serve gimmari is with spicy Korean rice cakes, or tteokbokki.

Alternatively, you can serve the gimmari with a soy sauce dipping sauce. To make the dipping sauce, combine together:

• 2 tsp sugar
• 4 tspsoy sauce
• 4 tsp water
• 4 tsprice vinegar

You can also add in a little sesame oil, sesame seeds, minced garlic, chopped spring onion, or gochugaru.

Spicy gimmari fried seaweed rolls: tips and tricks

• Thoroughly drain the noodles. Draining the noodles well will make sure the seaweed doesn’t go soggy.
• Replace the batter with rice paper. If you’re feeling lazy, you can wrap the rolls in rice paper instead of dipping them in batter. The end result is pretty similar, and just as delicious!
• Double fry. To ensure the gimmari are crispy, fry them for a second time.
• Keep checking the oil temperature. Ensure the oil temperature stays at 350℉/175℃. This will also help to ensure the rolls are crispy.

Spicy gimmari fried seaweed rolls: similar recipes

For more delicious vegetarian Korean recipes, try these out:

• Vegetarian Korean army stew
• Kimchi fried rice
• Japchae noodles
• Spicy noodle spring rolls