Meet Diane Kang aka A Korean Girl Eats. Diane is a passionate foodie and an advocate of Korean culture and food. She started A Korean Girl Eats (YouTube channel) after a brief stint working at an advertising agency in New York City. She wanted to expand her horizons and explore her passion for food, particularly Korean food, which has a special place in her heart. Eating Korean food evokes nostalgia and fond memories of her childhood.
Prior to New York, she worked in Korea in the fashion industry. While in Korea, she began to contemplate her career path. She wanted to find a job that focused on a strong sense of community, where enjoying her co-workers was more important than the type of job she was doing. She came to the conclusion she wanted to work in the food and hospitality industry because she gravitated towards service oriented people with friendly personalities.
She initially began her food video blog to start her own food business. Her first concept was to bring a Korean food product to the US. Unfortunately, it did not become popular due to the unfamiliarity of the product and lack of interest by American consumers. So she decided she wanted to become an influencer to educate people on Korean food before she tried to bring another product to the US Market.
Diane Kang aka @akoreangirleats // Photo: Kristen Mendiola
As she got more involved in the food community, through YouTube and Instagram, she fell in love with the people and the community. I met Diane at a restaurant opening a few months back, and I was immediately drawn to her bubbly personality. When I found out that she loved cooking and making YouTube videos, I thought it would be fun to do a collaboration.
Although Diane focuses mostly on Korean food, she wants to get into more Asian-fusion recipes, so we decided to make a sushirrito. Sushi? Burrito? It’s a sushi roll, wrapped and eaten like a burrito. I fell in love with Sushirrito in San Francisco, and I haven’t been able to find anything similar, quality-wise in Chicago. So, why not make your own?
Rolling in the deep at Sushirrito in San Francisco
Check out our fun video! You’ll see, I need practice rolling and wrapping a sushi roll. Oops! Please don’t laugh at me. OK, you can laugh at me.
A Korean Girl Eats & Fab Food Chicago: Sushirrito YouTube Video
- For two Sushirritos:
- 2 nori sheets
- 1 cup of sushi rice (see below)
- 6-8 oz seasoned and cooked salmon (see below)
- ½ cup of cucumber skin
- ½ cup of iceberg lettuce
- ½ cup cilantro
- 2 tablespoons ginger guac (see below)
- 2 tablespoons of Sriracha mayo (see below)
- A pinch of sesame seeds
- Cooked Salmon
- 6-8 oz salmon (varies by size)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
- Ginger Guac
- 1 avocado
- 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- ½ tablespoon minced pickled ginger
- 1 jalapeño
- 1 scallion
- ½ tablespoon wasabi
- Sushi Rice
- 1 cup of rice
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- Sriracha mayo
- 1 tablespoon Kewpie mayo
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
- Lightly season the salmon with salt and pepper. We used sockeye salmon.
- Set the salmon aside, in the fridge, for about 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the ginger guac, sushi rice, and Sriracha mayo.
- After 30 minutes, remove the salmon from the fridge and lightly cook with some olive oil. About 6 minutes.
- Combine avocado, lime, ginger, pickled ginger, jalapeño, scallion, and wasabi. Mix thoroughly. FAB TIP: If you don't want it to be too spicy, take out the seeds in the jalapeño.
- Add one cup of rice into a big bowl.
- Combine vinegar and sugar.
- Mix vinegar and sugar into rice. FAB TIP: Never put hot sushi rice on nori or it will soften the sheets too much, making it hard to use.
- Cut skin from one cucumber. Cut into thin slices.
- Chop a portion of the iceberg lettuce, and cut into thin pieces.
- Mix one tablespoon of Sriracha sauce and one tablespoon of mayo for the Sriracha mayo sauce.
- Take a sheet of nori paper, use rough side to evenly spread the rice.
- Cover entire nori paper with rice excluding 1 cm on one end.
- Sprinkled sesame seeds over rice on nori paper.
- Add ginger guac and Sriracha mayo sauce.
- Add cucumber skin, lettuce, and cilantro.
- Slice salmon into linear pieces and add on top.
- Roll the sushi into circular shape using bamboo mat.
- Dip fingers in water to wet loose end of nori paper to make it stick. FAB TIP: You can also use sesame oil, but note that it will affect the taste.
- Wrap it up, and cut it in half.
- ENJOY!
Here’s our finished product. What do you think?
Homemade Sushirrito with Diane Kang // Photo: @fabsoopark
It was so much fun hanging out with Diane and making sushi burritos. Diane is now pursuing a career in events and is starting a position at The NoMad New York in February of 2016. She plans to continue her food video blog, eventually own her own food business, and write a book someday.
Thanks, Diane, for sharing your recipe! Special thanks to Frank Lieu for helping with the photography and videography!
Behind the Scenes: After a long day of shooting, we had fun goofing around at a local restaurant. Yes, this is what Instagrammers do when we eat out.
Soo Park (Fab Food Chicago) and Diane Kang (A Korean Girl Eats) // Photo: Frank Lieu (Frank Lieu Photography)
Soo Park (Fab Food Chicago) and Diane Kang (A Korean Girl Eats) // Photo: Frank Lieu (Frank Lieu Photography)
Soo Park (Fab Food Chicago) and Diane Kang (A Korean Girl Eats) // Photo: Frank Lieu (Frank Lieu Photography)
Don’t forget to follow Diane aka @akoreangirleats on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook! Check out her website, too!
Interested in a collaboration? Contact me at soo@fabfoodchicago.com.
Live the Fab Food Life,
Soo
Love this profile! just discovered her through snapchat and obsessed! 🙂