Homemade Kimchi Mozzarella Dumplings

My hubby insisted to cook dumplings for lunch. He usually cooks Gyoza, Japanese style dumplings, just chive and ground pork. But today,  he surprised me with this fusion dumplings. Here is the list of ingredients for 2-4 people.

• Ground Pork – 1lb
• Mozzarella Cheese – 1/2lb
• Kimchi – 1/2lb
• Gyoza/Dumpling Skin – 1 Pack
• Salt – 1 Teaspoon
• Pepper – 1 Teaspoon
• Soy Sauce – 1 Tablespoon
• Sesame Oil – 2 Tablespoon
• Cornstarch –  1 Tablespoon
• Lemon – 1
• Water –  1/2 cup

Finely chop mozzarella cheese into about 1/4″ dice pieces.

Squeeze kimchi to drain the juice and keep it aside. Like mozzarella, chop kimchi into about 1/4″ dice pieces.

Place ground pork, cheese and kimchi in a bowl, and add 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Mix them with your hand, till pork becomes gooey. Place about 1-1/2 tablespoonful of mixture onto the center of a dumpling skin. Prepare a cup of water, and coat the edge of the dumpling skin with water. Fold it in half and make pleats only one side. (Not necessary to make them if you like to make dumpling look simple)

Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1/2 cup of water into kimchi juice, and mix them well. Let’s fry the dumplings! Heat 2 teaspoon of sesame oil, and place the dumplings into a pan, like the picture. Slowly pour the kimchi juice till the surface of the pan is covered. And cook them with a lid on for about 5 mins over mid-high heat. Shake the pan sometimes so the bottom of the dumplings doesn’t stick to the pan. When the water is evaporated and check the bottom surface. If it’s brown, it’s ready. Flip the dumpling carefully to a large plate. Or you can place the plate onto the pan, and flip them together. You will be surprised by how kimchi and mozzarella work together and create this harmony 🙂 You can eat it with squeezed lemon juice, it gives fresh aftertaste.