Sushi Kimbap
short-grain rice cooked in our cuckoo rice cooker
seasoned with salt, pepper, and sesame oil
washed, peeled, and julienned carrots
lightly sauteed with baby spinach
thinly sliced white daikon radish
pickled in vinegar, water, salt, and turmeric (for color)
assembled in neat little layers on toasted seaweed
then rolled, sliced, and stacked
several rows of beautiful kimbap
brushed with sesame oil and dusted with sesame seeds
with a large sign with ingredients and allergens
to cater to the potluck’s (mostly) white guests
i hear people’s ooohs and ahhhs as they see my kimbap
amongst an array of pasta salads, spinach dips, and coleslaw
and just as the corners of my mouth tug upwards
someone says “wow, i love sushi”
September 2025
Born in Korea and raised in East Africa, Melanie Hyo-In Han currently lives in the U.K. She is the author of Passing Notes in Secret (boats against the current, 2025), Abecedarian: Banff, Canada (kith books, 2025), My Dear Yeast (Milk & Cake Press, 2023), and Sandpaper Tongue, Parchment Lips (Finishing Line Press, 2021).
Art: Ellen June Wright, Diptych #1306, #1509, watercolor on paper