Earlier this past Friday morning, Emma was in a mad rush to get to school and didn’t know what to pack for lunch. “Mom, I don’t have time for sandwiches!” he yelled, tossing his backpack together with one shoe still missing. That’s when I thought of the Korean rice balls my friend used to make for her children small, portable rice packets filled with tasty ingredients that can be eaten with one hand. “Just give me five minutes,” I said. By the time he managed to put on his other shoe, I had wrapped up four Korean Rice Balls. He grabbed them and bolted out the door.
Why These Korean Rice Balls Work
I began making these Korean rice balls during Emma’s first year of soccer, when we had early Saturday morning games across town. He needed a breakfast he could eat in the car, and I was tired of granola bars and dry bagels. One of the Korean moms on the team showed me how she prepared jumeokbap the night before just rice with any kind of filling, shaped into little balls and wrapped. Emma could eat them with one hand while I drove, no mess, no wrappers to deal with. The first time he tried one, he polished it off in four bites and immediately asked for more. That’s when I realized we’d found a winner.
Make Korean Rice Balls. Got leftover ingredients in the fridg tuna, spam, kimchi, anything? That’s your filling. You don’t need fancy ingredients or special tools. Just your hands and some warm rice. Emma loves that he can take them to school without worrying about refrigeration or reheating. They taste great at room temperature, which is rare for lunch food. We make them for soccer games, road trips, school lunches, or just as a quick after-school snack. Portable Korean comfort food that’s filling and satisfying that’s the whole idea.
Jump to:
- Why These Korean Rice Balls Work
- Ingredients You'll Need For Korean Rice Balls
- How To Make Korean Rice Balls Step By Step
- Smart Swaps for Korean Rice Balls
- Storing Your Korean Rice Balls
- Equipment For Korean Rice Balls
- Korean Rice Balls Variations
- The Rice Ball Debate That Never Ends
- Top Tip
- FAQ
- Handy, Simple, and Always Tasty!
- Related
- Pairing
- Korean Rice Balls
Ingredients You'll Need For Korean Rice Balls
For the Rice:
- 4 cups cooked short-grain rice
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
For Tuna Mayo Filling:
- 1 can tuna, drained
- 3 tablespoons mayo
- 1 teaspoon gochujang
- 1 green onion, chopped
- Pinch of black pepper
For Wrapping:
- 8-10 sheets of gim
- Extra sesame seeds for rolling
Other Filling Ideas:
- Cheese and ham
- Spam cubes
- Leftover bulgogi or Korean BBQ
- Kimchi
- Scrambled eggs with green onions
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Korean Rice Balls Step By Step
Season the Rice:
- Let it cool just enough to handle
- Put warm rice in a big bowl
- Mix in sesame oil, salt, and sesame seeds
- Stir gently until everything's coated
Make Your Filling:
- Mix tuna, mayo, gochujang, and green onions
- Taste it - add more spice if you want
- Set aside in a small bowl
- Have a spoon ready
Shape the Balls:
- Wet your hands with water
- Grab about ½ cup of rice
- Flatten it in your palm
- Put 1-2 tablespoons filling in the center
- Close the rice around the filling
- Shape into a ball or triangle
Add Seaweed:
- Tear seaweed sheets into strips
- Wrap one strip around each rice ball
- Or crush seaweed and roll balls in it
- Both ways work great
Serve:
- They're good at room temp too
- Eat right away while warm
- Or wrap in plastic wrap for lunch
Smart Swaps for Korean Rice Balls
Healthier Options:
- Brown rice → White rice (takes longer to cook but works)
- Greek yogurt → Some of the mayo
- Skip the oil → Use less sesame oil
- Add veggies → Chopped carrots or cucumbers in filling
Dietary Needs:
- Quinoa → Rice (different texture but okay)
- Vegan mayo → Regular mayo
- Tofu crumbles → Tuna or spam
- Tamari → If you need gluten-free
Flavor Changes:
- Nori → Gim (Japanese seaweed works fine)
- Add furikake → Instead of plain sesame seeds
- Soy sauce → Salt (different but tasty)
- Sriracha → Gochujang (less authentic but works)
Storing Your Korean Rice Balls
Room Temperature (Same day only):
- Good for 4-6 hours at room temp
- Wrap each one in plastic wrap
- Perfect for lunch boxes
- Don't leave out longer than that
Refrigerator (2-3 days):
- Wrap tight in plastic wrap individually
- Rice gets hard in the fridge
- Microwave 20-30 seconds before eating
- Or eat them cold (some people like it)
Freezer (Up to 1 month):
- Wrap each ball in plastic, then foil
- Freeze on a baking sheet first
- Then put in freezer bag
- Thaw overnight in fridge or microwave from frozen
Best Way to Pack:
- Pack in lunch box with ice pack if it's hot out
- Seaweed stays crispier if you wrap it separately
- Wrap in plastic wrap while still slightly warm
- The steam keeps them moist
Equipment For Korean Rice Balls
- Your hands (that's it!)
- Rice cooker or pot for cooking rice
- Large mixing bowl
- Small bowl for filling
- Spoon
Korean Rice Balls Variations
Korean Tuna Rice Balls:
- Mix tuna with mayo and gochujang
- Add chopped kimchi for extra kick
- Roll in crushed seaweed
- Emma's absolute favorite
Spam Rice Balls:
- Dice spam and fry until crispy
- Mix with a little teriyaki sauce
- Stuff inside rice
- Classic Korean convenience store style
Kimchi Rice Balls:
- Chop kimchi super small
- Mix it right into the rice with the filling
- Add extra sesame oil
- Spicy and tangy
Korean Rice Ball Triangle:
- Fits better in lunch boxes
- Shape into triangles instead of balls
- Easier to wrap in seaweed sheets
- Looks like the ones from Korean stores
The Rice Ball Debate That Never Ends
Emma and I discovered our own take on Korean rice balls after a friendly disagreement with my friend, who grew up in Korea eating jumeokbap made by her grandmother. One day, we were both preparing rice balls for a school potluck, standing side by side in my kitchen. I stirred sesame oil into the rice first, then shaped the balls. She shook her head and said, “No, you’re doing it backwards. You shape the balls first, then brush the oil on afterward.” I stared at her, thinking she was crazy. “That can’t be right! The oil flavors all the rice this way!”
So, we ended up making two batches her version and mine. The kids at the potluck tried both without knowing which was which. Her method made rice balls that were firmer and had the sesame flavor mostly on the surface. My method made them softer, with the flavor mixed throughout. Both were tasty. Both worked. Even now, we still argue over which method is the “proper” one. She insists her grandmother’s way is the only true method, while I argue mine is simpler and just as delicious.
Top Tip
- The rice should be warm, not piping hot, when you form the balls too hot and it will burn your hands; too cool and it won’t hold together. Let it sit for about five minutes after cooking before you start shaping. I learned this the hard way when I first made jumeokbap. In my rush, I tried to shape the rice straight from the rice cooker, burned my hands on the very first ball, and had to run them under cold water to recover.
- Emma noticed me hopping around the kitchen and said, “Mom, maybe slow down a bit?” Wise kid. Now, I spread the rice onto a wide plate right after stirring in the sesame oil and let it rest while I prepare the fillings. The ideal temperature is when the rice is comfortable to touch warm enough to stick together and shape easily, but cool enough that you don’t burn your fingers or have to dance around holding each ball.
- If your rice has cooled down and isn’t sticking, add just a little warm water and mix it in that will help restore some of its stickiness. You can also heat it in the microwave for 20–30 seconds to soften it. Rice straight from the fridge almost never works for shaping; it’s too firm, and the grains won’t hold together no matter how tightly you try to form it.
FAQ
What exactly is jumeokbap?
Jumeokbap literally means "fist rice" in Korean - jume means fist and bap means rice. It's basically seasoned rice shaped into balls or triangles with your hands, usually with some kind of filling inside. Korean moms make these for lunch boxes, picnics, road trips, anywhere you need portable food you can eat with your hands. The rice gets mixed with sesame oil and salt, then you stuff whatever filling you want in the middle.
What is Korean onigiri called?
Korean rice balls are called jumeokbap, while Japanese rice balls are called onigiri. They're similar but not the same. Onigiri usually has the filling in the center and gets wrapped in a sheet of nori. Jumeokbap gets mixed with sesame oil which gives it a different flavor, and sometimes the filling gets mixed right into the rice instead of staying in the center. Both are great for packed lunches though! If you love handheld rice snacks, try our Japanese Onigiri Recipe to compare the two styles!
Are Korean rice balls a good snack?
Yes! They're filling, portable, and you can make them as healthy or indulgent as you want. The rice gives you energy, and if you use tuna or spam as filling, you get protein too. Emma takes these to soccer games and they keep him full without weighing him down. They're way better than processed snacks because you control what goes in them. Plus they're cheap to make - just rice and whatever you have in the fridge. Korean street food at its best!
What is Gyeongdan made of?
Gyeongdan is a Korean rice balls dessert - totally different from savory jumeokbap! It's made from sweet rice flour (mochiko), shaped into small balls, then boiled and rolled in things like crushed nuts, black sesame powder, or sweet red bean paste. They're chewy, slightly sweet, and often served for special occasions. If you want to try Korean desserts, check out our Korean Sweet Korean rice balls Recipe for that chewy, sweet treat.
Handy, Simple, and Always Tasty!
Here’s how to make these Korean rice balls that have rescued countless hectic mornings in our house. From the perfectly seasoned warm rice to our little pinch-of-sugar hack, this recipe delivers Korean lunchbox comfort right at home. The best part? You can make a big batch on Sunday and have ready-to-go lunches for the whole week. Emma’s friends even ask if I have extra rice balls whenever they come over after school.
Want more easy meals that work for real life? Try our Cauliflower Soup in 20 Minutes: Simple and Delicious for portable lunch that tastes like you spent way more time on it than you did, or make our Delicious Cowboy Butter Steak Recipe for another handheld favorite that kids actually want to eat. When you need something that feeds the whole family without the stress, our Easy German Goulash Recipe In 3 Steps brings that old-fashioned comfort food feeling to your dinner table without all the work!
Share your rice ball creations! We love seeing all your different fillings and creative shapes!
Rate this Korean Rice Balls and join our lunch box family!
Related
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Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Korean Rice Balls
Korean Rice Balls
Equipment
- 1 Rice cooker or pot (For cooking rice)
- 1 Large mixing bowl (For seasoning rice)
- 1 Small bowl (For preparing filling)
- 1 Spoon (For scooping filling)
- - Hands (For shaping rice balls)
Ingredients
For the Rice:
- 4 cups Short-grain rice - Cooked
- 2 tablespoon Sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Sesame seeds
For Tuna Mayo Filling:
- 1 can Tuna - Drained
- 3 tablespoon Mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Gochujang
- 1 stalk Green onion - Chopped
- Pinch - Black pepper
For Wrapping:
- 8–10 sheets Gim - Seaweed sheets
- - - Extra sesame seeds - Optional for rolling
Instructions
- Mix sesame oil, salt, and seeds into warm rice for flavor.
- Combine tuna, mayo, gochujang, and green onions in a bowl.
- Wet hands, add filling, and form rice into balls or triangles.
- Wrap rice balls with seaweed strips or roll in crushed sheets.
- Serve immediately or wrap for later storage at room temperature.
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