Aldi Kimbap (Traditional) Review
Author’s note: Not a paid review. I have noooo affiliation with Aldi. These are my own silly little opinions.
Cold hands, warm sushi.
I have to resist the urge to call this “warm sushi.” I know it isn’t sushi. It’s Korean. Not Japanese. It’s kimbap (or gimbap). An entirely different food. But. Warm sushi. I said what I said.
(Looking for regular sushi? Here’s my review of Costco’s pre-made sushi.)
Flavors and…smells
It smells strongly of seaweed. If seaweed is not your jam, do not buy. I love seaweed, so I was thrilled. (My microwave was not as thrilled. It reeked of seaweed.)
The flavors are delicate and complex. It’s kind of a savory, ocean flavor. Gentle notes of sesame and onion. The pickled daikon radish has a tangy, sugary-sweet crunch. There’s no spicy anything, just mellow umami vibes.
Fabulous textures
But the textures really impressed me. For being a frozen product, the spinach is joyful, and almost has a freshly blanched taste. The carrot sticks are crisp-soft. I expected to hate the egg, but it has a nice creamy-soft texture. The chewy pearls of the rice were fun.
Even the seaweed was moist and fresh-tasting, despite the indignities of the microwave oven.
Krab meat
There’s not much krab (“wannabe crab”), but it is supple and pleasant tasting. It’s made from Alaskan Pollock, which is “always” wild caught, and a good sustainable fish choice. I really could have gone for more fish here! As a side note, everything in this Kimbap is cooked. No raw fish.
It may need sauce
I wanted sauce for my Kimbap. (I also want a million dollars, tho. And I didn’t get that either.) Apparently, you are not supposed to eat this with soy sauce. But I didn’t have any traditional Korean sauces that might compliment my Kimbap.
Fortunately, it’s still reasonably tasty without anything. Just slightly on the bland side. It wants a little salt and zest. I ended up trying a little soy sauce with mine, but it drowned out the quiet flavors. Alas.
A quick and tidy meal
This is a super easy meal to eat. It’s not messy. The Kimpab pieces hold together neatly, and there’s no stickiness or oozing or mess. You could eat this at your office desk, like the frugal lunch pro that you are.
Except you’d have to explain the microwave odors to your coworkers.
Cooking instructions
This product is sold frozen, and it microwaves in 2 minutes. You aren’t supposed to thaw it. I followed the directions to cut the corner off the outer plastic package. And then I just nuked the whole log inside the wrapper.
You let it sit for 3 minutes before taking it out. It works pretty well. Mine was a little too boiling hot in some parts (steaming, in fact!), and still icy cold in others. But it stabilizes pretty quickly to room temperature for that, ummm, “warm sushi” taste. (Sorry!)
Ingredients in Aldi Fusia Traditional Kimbap
Here is my best attempt at typing out the ingredients from the label:
- Seasoned Rice (Water, Rice, Salt, Soybean Oil, Vinegar, Sesame Oil, Toasted Sesame Seeds)
- Egg Roll (Egg, Soybean Oil, Water, Food Starch – Modified, Dextrin, Salt, Sodium Polyphosphate, Potassium Metaphosphate, Citric Acid, Beta Carotene, Soybean Oil)
- Carrot
- Pickled Radish (Radish, Salt, Water, Distilled Vinegar)
- Seasoned Spinach (Spinach, Sesame Oil, Green Onion, Salt, Sugar)
- Imitation Crab Meat (Surimi [Pollock Fish Meat {Theragra chalcogramma}, Sugar], Wheat Flour, Seasoning Sauce [Rice, Water, Malt Flavor, Rice Wine], Salt, Sugar, Crab Extract, Sodium Carbonate, Soybean Oil, Natural Crab Flavor, Egg White Powder, Paprika Oleoresin [for color], Glycine, Bonito Extract [Dried Tuna])
- Seaweed
- Salt
- Soybean Oil
- Sugar
This is made in South Korea.
Nutrition Facts
A serving is 3 pieces and contains 120 calories. You get 2 grams of fat (0 grams saturated fat) and 3 grams protein. There are 23 grams total carbohydrates, of which 1 gram is fiber and 1 gram is sugar (all of it is “added sugar”). You also get 10% your daily value sodium and 7% your daily value cholesterol per serving.
Now, I personally think dividing this Kimpab into three servings is silly. That would be an itty-bitty appetizer amount. Plus, there are 8 pieces total. Someone would only get 2 pieces! The whole roll is one petite lunch (320 calories). Hmmph.
Price and Servings
The 8.1 ounce package cost $3.49 at my local Aldi. Assuming you actually divided this into three servings (weirdo!), each serving would cost $1.16.
Aldi also sells other flavors of this frozen Kimbap:
- Spicy Salmon
- Beef Bulogi
- Kimchi and Tofu
- Spicy Tuna
- Tuna Mayo with Perilla Leaf
I was only able to find the Traditional and Tuna Mayo flavors at my store. Stay tuned for a review of the Tuna Mayo!
Shelf Life
The “best if used by” date on my Kimbap allowed approximately 16 months to consume.
Dramatic Conclusion
I had heard negative chatter about Aldi’s Kimbap online (maybe from folks who wanted to keep it all to themselves!). I’m glad I tried it, because it’s delicious. Shockingly fresh-tasting with fabulous textures. It’s also convenient, quick, and easy to prepare whenever that warm sushi mood strikes.
The Awesome-o-Meter rates it an enthusiastic “Yaaaas.” So it must be true.
The End.
More Reviews You Might Like (or Hate)
Check out these other reviews I’ve written. Or don’t. We can still be warm sushi friends!
