Big Weird Tuna Rice Ball
This week the store in my building at work got something new in the snack corner. It was labeled 참치주먹밥, (cham-chi ju-mok-bap) so I knew it had tuna (cham-chi) and rice (bap) but what the hell was 주먹? It was wrapped in foil, but I took a chance and got it.
Basically, it was a ball of rice covered in nuts and grains with a layer of tuna inside. Just for a sense of perspective regarding its size, it fit in the palm of my hand. It might look kind of weird, but it was quite good. I've actually experimented with tuna and rice concoctions in my kitchen and it tasted about the same.
BTW, I looked the term up and 주먹 means fist. So "tuna fist rice", I guess literally. K-blogger foodies...weigh in on whether I just botched that completely or not. Thanks.
It's random but I'm sharing 'cause it was the first time I'd seen it in a convenience type store.
Okay, now it's time for dinner ;)
I guess these are the sorry replacements for the beloved 김밥 triangles.
ReplyDeleteLast week, my local 편의점 didn't have any triangle-style 김밥 on the shelf, but only these same kind of "fist balls" of rice.
I bought one and ate it. It was OK. But, I prefer the triangles.
I think it depends. I've had some of those kimbap triangles that simply taste like crap. It's the quality of what they choose to fill them with because everything else is rice and kim.
ReplyDeleteI'm partial to the tuna and kimchi ones but sometimes, they're cheaply made and you'll get one that's more icky mayo-like filling than tuna or kimchi even when it just says tuna and kimchi on the lable.
I liked this because the covering was really good, some sort of seeds and grains that were quite tasty, and, the inside was just plain ol' tuna and nothing else funky stuffed in there.
I think they're good if you really, really like rice and have a gallon of liquid refreshment to chase it. Personally, I don't like to have my rice fisted.
ReplyDeleteActually, this was really good because of the grains covering it and the tuna. The rice was, well, rice ;)
ReplyDelete주먹밥 are, as your picture shows, rice balls, and called 주먹밥 because they're rolled around (usually with sesame oil, salt,김, and other chopped bits, like beef, scrambled egg, or fried carrots). (Onigiri, in Japan). More prevalent in the 60s and 70s for day laborers, and now, fun food.
ReplyDelete:D
Thanks dear ;)
ReplyDeletelooks pretty tasty. I had kind of an unfurled version of the same today for lunch. But my rice was lemony and there were asparagus on the side.
ReplyDeleteIt's very tasty. I bought another one yesterday. I actually like them better than the more mass produced ones because it's just plain tuna and that can only be a good thing.
ReplyDeleteLemony rice? Interesting, I don't think I've ever had anything like that.
As far as I know, I invented it. It's just the zest and juice of one lemon (our lemons are kind of small) mixed in with the cup or so of rice that I made. It was great with the tuna, asparagus and roasted red peppers for lunch. The lemon rice is yummier with butter, but then, what isn't?
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your tuna fists!
Oh, interesting. So do you cook the rice with the zest and juice or do you add it after? I think you'd cook it with the rice or, otherwise, it would be very strong.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmmmmmmmmmm...