East Meets South: Korean recipe

Homemade dumplings are easier than you might think. It does take some time to prep them but they are so worth making from scratch. You can make a large batch on a day off and freeze to use in recipes later. This is a recipe I learned from my mom and we made them when we were home for the holidays. I can't wait to try to do them on my own!

For the filling:

1lb ground pork (or ground beef if you can't find pork)

1 buch green onions, chopped

1 cup bean sprouts, chopped (optional)

2 oz cellophane noodles, chopped (optional)

1 pkg tofu

3 cloves minced garlic

salt & pepper to taste

*You can also add mushrooms if you'd like or other vegetables. The key is that the filling should be dry so everything needs a lot of squeezing to get the water out of the ingredients.

For the wrappers:

You can make this from scratch or buy wrappers at the store. It is very tedious to make the wrappers at home, in my opinion. But if you have the time, it is a great workout for your arms :)

2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting

2/3 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl mix the ground pork with the rest of the ingredients for the filling. Be sure to squeeze the water out of the tofu and sprouts using paper towel or cotton cloth. Mix well.

2. For the wrappers, combine flour, salt, and water in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until it turns into a lump. Then knead it by hand for a few minutes until the dough gets a little softer. You can either break up the dough into parts and roll it out thinly with a rolling pin and cut it out into round pieces OR break the dough into little pieces and roll each piece into a round shape. I find that using the 2nd method is much easier. If you need visual directions, this blog has handy directions with photos.

3. To make dumplings, place a small amount of the filling in the center of a wrapper. Fold in half and press edges together (using a very small amount of cold water if needed to seal together). You can either leave them in this shape (half moon like) or press the ends of the half moon together to make them into the shape like in my photo.

4. You can either boil them, pan fry them, or use them in recipes! If you make a large batch, you can divide them up and freeze them to use later.

One of my favorite ways to eat dumplings is in the form of a soup. You can follow this easy recipe for it below!

Korean Dumpling Soup