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Kobumaki (Salmon Konbu Roll)
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
50 mins
Soaking time
30 mins
Total Time
1 hr 30 mins
 

My Kobumaki (Salmon Konbu Roll) is a rolled konbu (kelp) stuffed with a piece of salmon, cooked in a sweet soy-flavoured sauce. Kobumaki is one of the Osechi Ryōri (Japanese traditional New Year feast) dishes.

If you replace salmon with vegetables such as carrot and burdock, it becomes vegetarian.

Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.

Recipe Type: Appetizer, Side
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: Kelp rolls, konbu recipe, salmon rolls
Serves: 6 -7 servings as side
Author: Yumiko
Ingredients (tbsp=15ml, cup=250ml)
  • 40-50g / 1.4-1.8oz dried konbu (20cm / 8" long, minimum 8cm / 3⅛" wide when rehydrated, note 1)
  • 200g / 7.1oz salmon fillet cut into 2cm x 2cm / ¾" x ¾" wide , 8-10cm / 3⅛-3 5⁄16" long sticks (note 2)
  • 15g / 0.5oz kanpyō (note 3)
Simmering Sauce
Instructions
  1. Rehydrate konbu and kanpyō in individual bowl filled with water for 30 minutes.

  2. Remove the konbu from water and keep the water. Pat dry konbu sheets.
  3. Squeeze the water out of the kanpyō and cut the string into 16-18cm / 6¼-7" long lengths. If the string is wider than 1cm / ⅜”, halve the string vertically and make two narrow strings (note 4).

Making Konbu Rolls
  1. Place a sheet of konbu on a cutting board, with the short edge closest to you (note 5).
  2. Place a piece of salmon on the edge of the konbu closest to you. If the salmon is too long, trim the excess off. If it is too short, cut a short piece from another salmon piece and link it to the first piece of salmon on the konbu.

  3. Starting from the end where the salmon is placed, roll the konbu gently but tightly, moving away from you, until the roll reaches to the other end. Place the end of the roll facing down.
  4. Using kanpyo strings, tie (firmly but not too tightly) the roll in 2-3 places, positioning the knot so that the knot will be centred when the konbu roll is cut into equal sizes later (note 6).

  5. Trim the excess string after making a knot so that it makes a little bow.

  6. Repeat the process to make konbu rolls with the remaining konbu sheets.
Cooking Kobumaki
  1. Place the konbu rolls in a shallow saucepan in one layer, facing the end of the roll down, i.e., with the knot facing up. You can also throw in the kanpyō bits that you got when the end of the string was trimmed after making knots.

  2. Add konbu dashi, cooking sake and vinegar to the pan and bring it to a boil. If scum comes up, remove.
  3. Reduce the heat to low, place a drop lid over and cook for 30 minutes.

  4. Remove the drop lid, add the rest of the Simmering Sauce ingredients to the pot.
  5. Put the drop lid back on and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the sauce reduces to almost none left (note 7). Shake the pot from time to time to coat the konbu rolls with the sauce evenly.

  6. Turn the heat off and cool it down.
  7. Place the Kobumaki on a cutting board and cut each roll between the knots, into 2 or 3 equal size pieces (depending on how many knots you have on a roll).

  8. Serve in a large plate to share or few rolls individually (note 8).

Recipe Notes

1. I had 9 sheets of konbu of various widths. It is very difficult to specify exactly how many sheets you get because every sheet of konbu is a different thickness and size. It does not matter even if you have more/less number of sheets.

If your konbu is very long and wide, you can cut it into the required size. If your konbu is narrower than 8cm / 3⅛" after rehydrating, that’s OK. You can use two sheets to make it wider.

2. The quantity of salmon required is also approximate because it depends on how many konbu you have and how wide each konbu is.

3. One pack of kanpyō that I bought included 2 long strings of dried kanpyo. 1 string weighed about 15g / 0.5oz before rehydrating.

The quantity of kanpyō listed is probably more than is required for the number of konbu rolls, but it is better to have too many than not enough strings to tie all the rolls.

Instead of kanpyō, you can use thin strips of konbu or long dried kiriboshi daikon strips. These alternatives are edible. Otherwise, you can use strings of banana leaves or butcher’s twine, but don’t eat them.

4. Since the width of long kanpyō strips is not consistent, you will find that some are wider than others. If the string is too wide, Kobumaki does not look good. Wide string is also harder to make a knot with.

5. If your konbu is narrower than 8cm, place two sheets next each other, overlapping about 2-3cm / ¾-1⅛". When you tie the roll, you need to tie the overlapping area to secure the two konbu sheets.

6. If your konbu is about 8cm / 3⅛" wide, tie the roll with kanpyo string in two places, i.e., 2cm / ¾" from both ends. If your konbu is around 12cm wide, you need to make 3 knots, i.e., 2cm / ¾" from both ends and the middle. As a guide, you will need one knot per 4cm / 1½" of konbu roll. If the width of your konbu is between 8cm / 3⅛" and 12cm, you will need to make a judgement call as to whether you want to make longer Kobumaki or shorter ones.

7. Time taken to reduce the liquid varies depending on the heat, size of your saucepan.

8. Kanpyō bits can be put next to the Kobumaki, if you like. Alternatively you can freeze them, then use as a filling for Sushi Rolls or mix into sushi rice when making Chirashi Sushi.

9. Nutrition per piece of Kobumaki (I made 21 pieces with the above ingredients).

serving: 66g calories: 41kcal fat: 1.7g (3%) saturated fat: 0.4g (2%) trans fat: 0.0g polyunsaturated fat: 0.4g monounsaturated fat: 0.5g cholesterol: 5.7mg (2%) sodium: 167mg (7%) potassium: 124mg (3%%) carbohydrates: 2.7g (0.01%) dietary fibre: 0g (0%) sugar: 1.8g protein: 3.2g vitamin a: 1% vitamin c: 0.8% calcium: 0.5% iron: 0.7%