Many people wonder about what kind of tasty things Koreans pack for a picnic or lunch box. This recipe is a great example. Not only is it pretty, but it also has a good combination of nutrients; you can get something from each food group. Don’t forget to pack some fruit with your meal too. If you have difficulties feeding your child veggies, try this. Kids will enjoy making this, as well as eating what they made. 
Yield: About 30 Balls
Short Korean Lesson: *^^*
- SaJa (사자) = Lion
- HaMa (하마) = Hipo
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 2½ Cups Cooked Short Grain Rice
- ⅓ Cup Ground Beef
- ¼ Cup Zucchini
- ¼ Cup Sempio Seasoned Laver
- 2 Tbsp Carrot
- 1 Hard-Boiled Egg Yolk
- 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- ¼ tsp Salt
Beef Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Sempio Bulgogi Sauce
- 1 tsp Green Onion
- ¼ tsp Sesame Seeds
Directions
Marinate ⅓ cup of ground beef with all the ingredients for the beef: 1 Tbsp Sempio bulgogi sauce, 1 tsp green onion, and ¼ tsp sesame seeds. If you do not have Sempio premade bulgogi sauce, you can use homemade bulgogi sauce using my recipe. Set it aside while preparing the other ingredients.
Mince ¼ cup worth of zucchini and 2 Tbsp worth of carrot. Depending on your preference, you can use other green, orange, or red veggies instead such as cucumber, broccoli, spinach, sweet peppers, etc.
Fry the zucchini with a little bit of oil and 1 pinch of salt in a heated pan for 2 minutes on high. Put the fried zucchini in a bowl.
Fry the carrot with a little bit of oil and 1 dash of salt in a heated pan for 2 minutes on high. Put the fried carrot in a bowl.
Fry the marinated beef in the same pan until the beef has completely cooked on medium.
Obtain 1 hard-boiled egg yolk. Rub it on a strainer to make the egg yolk powder. You can use this method for decorating for other dishes too.
Obtain ¼ Cup Sempio Dried Seasoned Seaweed. Now you have 5 different colors: black = gimjaban (seaweed), yellow = egg yolk, green = zucchini, orange = carrot, brown = beef).
Combine 2½ cups of cooked short grain rice, 1 Tbsp of sesame oil, and ¼ tsp of salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix everything gently.
Separately mix ½ cup of rice with the zucchini, carrot, and egg yolk. Alternately, for a better yellow color, just use white rice instead of mixing the rice with the egg yolk; then roll the ball of rice in the yellow egg yolk later. (See step below.)
Separately mix ½ cup of rice with 2 Tbsp of cooked beef. Separately mix ½ cup of rice with 2 Tbsp of cooked beef and seaweed. The remaining beef will be used for the filling later.
Place some plastic wrap on your hand and put about a half Tbsp worth of the beef rice mixture on top of the plastic wrap. The plastic wrap will help preventing the rice from sticking to your hands and it makes it easier to handle the rice.
All of the colored rice balls, except for the brown (beef) rice balls, will have beef filling in them. I used finely chopped yellow pickled radish for the filling in the beef rice ball. You can also use kimchi for the filling.
Let’s make the beef rice first. Put about ¼ tsp of yellow pickled radish on top of the rice.
Then cover it with another ½ Tbsp of rice mixture. Make sure to completely cover the filling with the rice so that the filling does not come out.
Fold (wrap) the rice ball with the plastic wrap and make a tight round shape. Squeeze firmly so that the rice will stick together.
When you remove the plastic wrap, you will get a nice round shape. It is very easy, isn’t it? 
For the rest of the colors, place the beef filling inside instead of the pickled radish.
Finish making the other colored balls of rice.
To get a better yellow color, roll the rice ball in egg yolk powder to make the yellow rice balls.
Make smaller sized rice balls using the same method for kids. That will make it easier for them to eat. My son loved the flavor and pretty colors of these rice balls.
If you have children who are big enough to make these, try making these colorful rice balls with them. It can be a very fun and easy cooking lesson for them. Try them someday.
Hi, I was wondering if using normal white rice is okay instead of short grain rice? And also, 30 balls is able to serve how many people? Thank you so much!
hi Lixin,
if you use normal white rice.. it will not stick together well.. and the flavor will be a little different.. you can still try though. this recipe use 2 and half cups of cooked rice.. so.. 30 rice balls will be for 2-3 people depending on how much each person eat.. ^^
Hi Aeri I plan to make this the night before so my daughter can bring this to school the next day. Any tips on how to keep the rice ball moist? Can I roll them and store them in the plastic saran wrap and keep them in the fridge.. and the next morning put it in the lunch box for her? Thank you and keep up the good work! I love your videos and blog posts…
hi Janet,
Well, you should keep the rice in the refrigerator so it will not go bad..then the problem is it becomes hard in the refrigerator.
how about prepare the colorful ingredients the night before..and make the rice balls in the morning with fresh rice ?? Thanks
you could take them out first thing in the morning and leave them room temperature until ready to eat (with the exception of the meat ones). I do this all the time and it works well.
hi aeri,
i will try to make this today for a party that i am going to, it’s for adults! i think they will love them!! funny, my dog will probably be sitting & begging to try some. rice+veggies+meat and pretty colors too!! i can’t wait to start making them ^_^
thank you,
brenda
I love this, but when I roll the rice in a bowl it falls apart.
I can eat vegetables in rice! Yay! LOL! 
hi Shayna,
maybe you used long grain rice ?? because they are not that sticky like short grain ones.. anyway.. yes you can just eat vegetables in rice..hehe thanks
Hi
Thanks for this awesome idea! I have been getting bored with the meals i have been preparing and was looking for different ways to brighten up our family meals. This sure hit the spot!
Thanks again.
What a great idea! I will make this for my son this afternoon.
I love your site, but can’t figure out how to subscribe to your blog. Please help!
Hi Mary Greenway,
Maybe you can check this
http://aeriskitchen.com/rss-feeds/
Thanks
the rice balls are cute and your child too! ^_^
Really love this recipe. I plan to make this for potluck party. I am just wondering for the meat,what else can i use for the filling. Because in place where I lived,there is no pickled radish.
hi Angel,
Kimchi can be good filling too. Just chop them fine and fry it with a little bit of oil and sugar. ^^ thanks
Wow!!! Bryson is getting so big! It’s so much easier teaching kids Korean as they grow instead of when they are older. I wish I taught my older kids when they started talking. My 2 year old understands some of the things I say.
Will have to try this. My kids are older but I’m hoping that they’ll like it, esp. the veggies. Thanks so much. bryson is a cutie pie!
This balls look amazing!
Bryson is so so adorable!!!
Love! Love! Love!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I am sure my kids would love it.
Thanks Aeri
looks simple but very impressive! Sometimes the most delicious foods are the simplest!I will be trying this very soon!Thank you for all your videos.
What a fun recipe! I think be great for potluck parties! Thank you so very much.
Bryson is such a smart little boy! Oh Happy Anniversary!!
This is such an awesome recipe!!
I’ve been packing lunch for some time now to eat healthier, and this seems like such a fun recipe to try.
And I love the colors~~~
Thank you for always sharing your recipes with us!! =)
Hi!
Thank you so much for sharing great recipes!
I think my son will like the joomukbab. However, I am little bit concern when I will have to pack a lunch for him for his new school. And they don’t allow him to bring meats (Jewish school). What is your suggestion to put inside the rice ball instead of meat?
Thank you!
Julia
hi Julia,
if he likes kimchi… you can chop them fine..and fry it with a little bit of oil and sugar… and use it as a filling. or you can use firm tofu instead of meat and do same seasoning for it. thanks