These kimchi and mozzarella Korean dumplings combine two of my absolute favourite ingredients: kimchi and cheese. The mellow cheese balances out the acidity from the kimchi and ginger, garlic and sesame oil add extra flavour.
Kimchi and mozzarella are a delicious combo in these dumplings. Kimchi and cheese are common ingredients in Korean cooking. I knew they would taste just as good inside crispy pan-fried dumplings.
Kimchi and mozzarella Korean dumplings: ingredients
There are 5 main ingredients needed to make these delicious dumplings.
- Dumpling wrappers
- Kimchi
- Tofu
- Korean glass noodles
- Pizza mozzarella
Dumpling wrappers
For the dumpling wrappers I used gyoza wrappers I found in my local Asian supermarket. Alternatively, if you cannot find the wrappers you could make them from scratch yourself. Try this dumpling wrapper recipe from Red House Spice.
Kimchi
With the kimchi I find that it is best to buy from the Asian supermarket. Brands stocked in mainstream supermarkets, I find, do not taste as authentic. You can also try making your own homemade kimchi – try out this vegetarian kimchi recipe from Maangchi. If you follow a vegetarian diet make sure you buy the right kimchi as most kimchi includes shrimp paste or fish sauce.
Tofu
For the tofu ensure you use extra firm tofu.
To crumble it I diced it and crumbled up the pieces by hand. This, however, was relatively time-consuming. You could also use a food processor to mince the tofu, or grate it if you prefer.
Korean glass noodles
Korean glass noodles, also known as sweet potato starch noodles, are often added into Korean dumplings or mandu. I love these noodles and they add an extra texture to the filling. I used Nong Shim Miga glass noodles which I found in the nearby Asian supermarket, they are also available on Amazon.
Mozzarella
For the mozzarella I used pizza mozzarella as it is has a lower water content. Roughly dice your mozzarella as you want large pockets of gooey mozzarella in your dumplings.
Extra ingredients
To flavour these cheese and kimchi dumplings I added ginger, spring onion and garlic. I also added sesame oil as this adds flavour and binds the mixture together. Cornflour also helps bind the filling together.
Can I make dumplings ahead of time?
Yes! Before cooking the dumplings you can freeze them. There’s no need to defrost them, simply steam them for a couple more minutes. To freeze the dumplings, first freeze on a baking tray spaced apart until frozen solid. This will allow you to freeze them in a bag afterwards without them sticking together.
Substitutes and extras
These dumplings are perfect as they are but there are a few other ingredients you could add.
Firstly, mushrooms. I recommend using King oyster, enoki or shiitake mushrooms. Roughly chop and fry the mushrooms. Ensure any excess liquid is released and cooked off.
Secondly, to make spicy buldak dumplings add buldak sauce into the dumpling filling mix. Trust me, it tastes delicious and pairs well with the cheese.
Thirdly, for extra fibre and flavour you could add in some carrot. Finely julienne the carrot and fry with a little oil for 2-3 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt.
Spicy mayo recipe
I chose to make a spicy mayo dipping sauce as I think it complements the cheese in the dumplings. Korean mandu are usually served with a soy sauce-based dipping sauce. If you would prefer to make this try out this dipping sauce recipe from My Korean Kitchen.
I recommend using Kewpie mayo and buldak sauce. If you follow a strict vegetarian diet, however, buldak sauce contains a small amount of chicken-derived ingredients. Alternatively use sriracha mayo.
Kimchi and mozzarella Korean dumplings: similar recipes
If you liked this Korean dumpling recipe and would like to try more Korean recipes and recipes with kimchi, then check out these:
- Kimchi fried rice
- Vegetarian Korean army stew
- Korean kimchi loaded fries
- Crispy seaweed-wrapped Korean rice cakes
- Spicy noodle spring rolls
Kimchi and cheese Korean dumplings
izzysvegetarianrecipes
Crispy kimchi and mozzarella dumplings with a spicy mayonnaise dipping sauce
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Korean
Servings 48 dumplings
Calories 48 kcal
Ingredients
- 48 round dumpling/gyoza skins defrosted if frozen
- vegetable oil for frying
Filling
- 250g/1 cup drained kimchi
- 250g/9oz pizza mozzarella finely diced
- 75g/2½oz Korean glass noodles
- 200g/7oz extra-firm tofu crumbled
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp salt
Spicy mayo
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise I use Kewpie
- 1 tbsp buldak sauce or sriracha
Instructions
Cook the glass noodles according to packet instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Use scissors to chop up the noodles into 1 inch pieces.
Whilst the noodles cook, heat a frying pan on a medium heat. Fry the kimchi for a few minutes until the liquid has evaporated. Leave to cool and roughly chop.
Combine all of the filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Use you finger to dampen the edges of a dumpling wrapper with water. Place a tablespoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper and fold over. Stick the edges together and pleat 3 or 4 times. Repeat with the rest of the filling and wrappers.
Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large frying pan on a high heat. Once hot place in as many dumplings as you can fit, without them touching, folded edges facing up. Pan fry for 2-3 minutes until each dumpling is golden brown on the bottom.
Turn the heat down to medium and add in 1/3 cup of cold water. Cover the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes until the water has evaporated and the dumplings are cooked through. Add extra water and steam longer if the dumpling wrappers don't look cooked.
Repeat the last 2 steps until all the dumplings are cooked.
Whilst the dumplings are cooking combine the ingredients for the spicy mayo in a bowl.
Serve the dumplings hot with the spicy mayo.
Keyword Cheese, Dumplings, Gyoza, kimchi, Mozzarella
