Gim — Korean roasted seaweed

Gim (김) is a general term for edible seaweeds of the genera Pyropia and Porphyra, dried into thin sheets. Wikipedia says that with miyeok and dasima, gim is one of the most widely cultivated and eaten seaweeds in Korea, and that Korean gim now accounts for roughly 70% of the global dried seaweed market. Major export markets include the United States, Japan and China.

Roasted gim is crisp, salty-sweet and tastes of the sea. The dried sheets are rolled around rice, with or without fillings, and Gimbap rolls it around rice with spinach, egg, carrot, fish cake and pickled radish. Gim can also be brushed with sesame oil and roasted as a side dish or snack. A 19th-century cookbook, Siuijeonseo, describes seasoning it with sesame oil, red pepper powder and sesame seeds.

Plain sheets suit gimbap. Seasoned snack packs are for eating on their own or over rice.

For gimbap, look for full, unseasoned sheets; keep them in a zip bag in the freezer.

Gimbap is best the same day; the rolls get soggy.

The best-known listings here are snack gim and seasoned flakes, not the plain full sheets that gimbap needs. We list two of those; for gimbap sheets, look at a Korean grocery or pick plain, full-size sheets labeled for gimbap.