Fried Kimchi Dumplings

       I fell in love with Korean cuisine since I started watching Youtube videos of Maangchi. Her recipes had a huge influence for my cooking experience before starting this blog.  I learned how to make  kimchi and other recipes through her.  The important ingredient for this dish would be kimchi.  Kimchi made from cabbage, which involves a long process of fermentation. It is a stable dish within the Korean culture and became a staple for me as well.  Kimchi is enjoyed with rice as a side dish called "banchan.".  You can make many different dishes with it, such as; kimchi pancake, kimchi fried rice, add it with bibimbap, and especially in dumplings called "mandu". (Bibimbap is mixed rice with vegetables,meats, and eggs).

   I had some kimchi left in the storage that I have already made months ago or could buy a small jar at the nearest Asian grocery store.  You could make kimchi, but it would two days to make for the fermentation of the cabbage to process.  Generally, day one would be the salting process for at least 8 hours and then store them to pickle.  It takes patience!

Warning: This is a spicy dish and you can adjust the level of spiciness based on your preference.

Photo Courtesy of Mimi T.

   
Ingredients needed:

1 pound of grounded pork
1 tsp of ginger (optional)
3 cloves of garlic
1 small onion
2 tsp of sesame oil
2- 3 tbs of fish sauce
1 pkg of  dumpling wrapper (round)
1 egg
2 stalks of green onions
1/2 cup of kimchi
1 tsp of Gochujang hot pepper paste
1/4 cup of vegetable oil for frying

For the filling:

I usually like to cut the garlic and vegetables first to prepare for the filling.  I would mince the garlic and ginger finely and dice the onions.  The ginger would be optional because the premade sauce in the kimchi jar already has it already.  Chop the green onions finely and kimchi into small bite- size pieces. Add the garlic, onions, ginger, kimchi, 1lb. of ground pork, green onions, sesame oil, 1 tsp of Gochujang, 1 egg, and fish sauce into a large bowl and mix well.  Refrigerate for an hour then start wrapping!

I am not sure of the name brand of this dumpling wrapper and I always buy this kind at H-Mart.  Any brand would be okay.  I use the Squid brand for the fish sauce.  Most dumpling recipes asked for cabbage, asian chives, and Korean potato/starch vermicelli.  You could also add mushrooms and tofu to your liking.  This is a more simple recipe and it's easy to make.  The wrapping part would be time consuming so gather your friends and family to help out!

Photo Courtesy by Mimi T. 

There are many ways to wrap the dumplings, but it takes practice for that perfect one!  Also depends on how much you put onto the wrapper.  If it's too much you can scoop it out!  Make sure the meat filling don't ooze out of the dumpling.  I would say out about 1 1/2 tsp of filling.

Note: You will need a small bowl of cold water to glue the edges.

Photo Courtesy of Mimi T.

You need a small bowl of cold water to glue the edges.  Fold the wrap in half and press along the edges. Fold and pinch the edges to shape it to look like a fan.  As, a result, it should look like the picture below after frying.

Add vegetable oil to the pan and set it on medium heat until you see bubbles.  Do not overcrowd the dumpling into the pan and leave spaces in between cooking.  This may take about 3 or 4 batches to finish frying.  Fry until gold brown on both sides.  I usually eyeball it, and it should take about roughly 2-3 minutes.  Pour at least 1 tsp of water and cover the pan about 2-3 minutes.  Repeat the frying process in batches.

Note: If you ran out of dumpling wrappers, save the leftover fillings, and store it into the freezer for next time.