(주먹밥fist rice)
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Jumeok bap, or Fist Rice, is an easy, Korean inspired meal for busy families. Our Jumeok bap for kids recipe allows you to use what you have and let the kids create!
Our desire for our children as Asian American parents is to have them know their Korean and Filipino culture. My husband and I were born and raised in the Bay Area where the Asian community is in abundance. In 2003, shortly after getting married, we moved to Arizona. Our kids were born in Glendale, Arizona where we still live 15 years later. Unfortunately, our kids don’t have the pleasure of seeing people that look like them when they step out the front door like we did.
Arizona has provided us many opportunities professionally and we are thankful for friendships we have made. However, living away from family and friends has us finding ourselves with the responsibility of developing culture within our kids from scratch. We know the value of “it takes a village” from not having one. When we go back to the Bay Area it pains me to see how so much of the Asian community take for granted having a community. I am American born, I spoke Korean fluently as a child because my Grandma that lived with us did not speak any English. I am saddened to find my Korean is starting to slip away because I don’t have anyone to converse with other than the occasional basics with my kids.
Language and Food is the core of culture.
Thankfully, our kids experience some Korean language because they are into K-Pop and K-Dramas, a whole topic for another day. Today we are going to talk about food, specifically our Jumeok bap for Kids Korean Recipe.
Jumeok bap (주먹밥fist rice)
The origin of Jumeok bap can be traced to Japan. It is the Korean version of Onigiri, Japanese rice balls. Its popularity reached Korea in the 90’s, appreciated for its inexpensive, efficient and delicious qualities. Nowadays, it can be found as a lunch box item packed by a loved one or at a vendor as a street food.
We love Jumeok bap for its versatility. Basically the “use what you have” quality makes this perfect for busy families like us. We have 4 kids with 4 different palates. We prep the ingredients we know our kids love, like Spam, Avocado, Crab, Seaweed, Nori Furikake and Rice. These items are then laid out on the table with individual sides of Miso Tofu soup, individual mixing bowls and a set of gloves for each. Sometimes the fun of making Jumeok bap can become messy and wasteful. So we announce a few instructions, like keep your gloves on, only use the ingredients your like, and only make what you can eat.
Embrace the Variety
The fun part for me is to see the different sizes. Our 5 year old makes these cute bite size ones because of her small hands, but are perfect for her. Our two older girls that have much more developed palates. They create some delicious combinations. And our son, he likes rice, spam and soup. He enjoys making the rice balls with spam and eventually put the rice balls in his soup. I just love how uncomplicated he is. The kids say this is one of their favorite meals. The best part? Zero waste, and left over ingredients are put into other dishes the following day.
This is such a simple meal that yields so many different variations. The only actual cooking was frying Spam and Optional Miso Tofu Soup. I love seeing the excitement for food and experimentation, because cooking is now a shared experience.
Jumeok bap for Kids: Important Tips
- It is very important to use Sticky Rice in this recipe or the rice balls will just fall apart.
- White rice is the authentic ingredient and let’s be real, it is delicious. However, we regularly eat brown rice because it is healthier. If you choose to use brown rice there is one challenge, it lacks the stickiness of white rice. This is easily fixed by mixing two kinds of Korean brown rice, Brown Rice and Sweet Brown Rice, pre-cooked 50/50 mix. In fact, when we buy rice we immediately pour and mix the Brown Rice and Sweet Brown Rice in a large storage bin so it is ready to go the next time we need to cook rice.
- If you choose to use the brown rice mix, keep in mind brown rice mix soaks up more water. Be sure to add a little more water than you would with white rice or you will end up with hard non-sticky rice.
- Vegetables are a delicious addition. Slightly boil them so they are soft but not mushy, and chop finely and season as desired.
- Obviously, Rice is essential, however there are no rules for ingredients. Below are ingredients we regularly have on hand and was too busy to run to the store or cook additional items. Let me tell, you it was a Big Hit!
- Use what you have. Experiment and have fun!
Ingredients: (serves 4)
- 5 cups of Rice (uncooked)
- 1 can of Spam
- 1 small package of Imitation Crab
- 1-2 Avocados
- 4 individual size Roasted and Seasoned Seaweed
- Dash of Mayo
- Dash of Sesame Oil
- Nori Furikake- If you’ve never had Furikake, you’re missing out. Once you try a few of these sweet and savory sprinkles on rice, it will become a pantry staple in your home. There are many flavors of Furikake on the market ranging from Salmon to Wasabi. We use Nori for this recipe because it is kid friendly.
- Optional: Simple Miso Soup- Shiro Miso paste, firm tofu, water and green onions.
Jumeok bap for Kids: Directions
- Cooked Rice- Add a dash of sesame oil and mix. See tips above if using brown rice.
- Spam- chop and lightly pan fry.
- Imitation Crab- chop and mix with a dash of Mayo.
- Avocado- thinly sliced.
- Seaweed- Place a few sheets in sandwich bags and have the kiddos crush them up. The kids have so much fun putting their Jumeok bap in bag and shaking it up.
- Nori Furikake- Set the container on the table, done. If you can’t find it in your store, you can click here to purchase it online .
- Optional Simple Miso Tofu Soup- Boil water, add Shiro Miso paste. Once the paste is dissolves, add the firm Tofu and boil. Serve topped with chopped green onions.
Set the Table and Create!
- Set the above prepared items on the table.
- To keep this as organized and mess free as possible, each person gets: A mixing bowl, Plate, Set of gloves, Bag of crushed Seaweed, Bowl of Miso Soup.
Enjoy and please feel free to send us pictures of your Jumeok bap or let us know what how you do your Jumeok bap for Kids, Korean Recipe.
