Kimch and Kimchi Dumplings

 

The end of Summer is usually the time to freeze and can all the vegetables from your garden. Here's a fun way to "can" your cabbage without all that heat in your kitchen.

As a half Korean, I grew up with always having Kimchi on our dining table almost every single meal — from my grandmother’s Kimchi to my mother’s Kimchi and now coming up with my own. Here’s my Kimchi recipe followed by a very simple way I use it to make dumplings.

You will need:

For the Kimchi:
Yields 1 quart jar
1 Napa cabbage (1.5 to 2 LB)

1 Gallon Water
1/4 Cup Salt (plus a little more to taste)
3 Tbs Koren pepper crust /powder (or dried pepper flakes)
5 Cloves Garlic
1Tbs Ginger
1Tbs Sugar

For the Dumplings:
Yields for 4 to 6 people 
1/2 Cup Kimchi
4 Scallions
1/2  Onion
1 Pack Ground pork (16 oz)
4 head Shiitake mushrooms 
1 pack Wonton wraps
1/2 bunch Glass noodles (bean threads)
2 Tbs Soy sauce
1 Tbs Sesame oil
1/2 Tbs Vegetable oil (plus more for pan frying)
1/2 Tbs Cold water
1 Tbs Corn starch
2 tsp Sugar
Salt & pepper

Directions:

Clean the cabbage and cut into bite sizes and soak it in a gallon of water along with the salt for 5 to 6 hours until it shrinks down to half the size. You can also use regular cabbage with this recipe.

Rinse the cabbage and mix in the remaining ingredients plus a little more salt to taste. You can find the Korean pepper crust in Asian grocery stores or online, but you can absolutely substitute regular dried pepper flakes if you have those on hand.

Note: If you are not used to eating spicy food, you can cut down the amount of pepper flakes in half or to your taste.

Mix until all is combined and seal it with plastic wrap and let it sit in room temperature for 2 to 4 days; time may vary depending on the temperature. Stir it around every day and taste it; it will get more and more sour as it ferments. Let it ferment to the taste you desire and transfer it into a jar and keep in the refrigerator. This Kimchi will keep in the refrigerator up to 3 months.

You can eat this Kimchi on rice, in sandwiches or just on its own. However I’m going to share with you my recipe for very simple Kimchi dumplings (pot stickers) which would be perfect to bring to parties or potlucks.

You want to start by soaking the dried shiitake mushrooms in boiling hot water for a few minutes until they soften; if you have fresh Shiitake mushrooms, you can use those too. Cook the glass noodle in a sauce pan for 2 to 3 minutes, drain them and then shock them in cold water. Dice up all the ingredients into small pieces and mix well to combine. The water and the oil will keep your fillings moist and juicy when you cook them. Here I’ve also added some extra garlic and ginger because I like the flavor, but since the Kimchi already has a really strong garlic and ginger flavor, you can leave them out.

For the sake of this simple dumpling recipe, we are using store-bought wonton wrappers. In a future column, I will show you how to make your own dumpling skins. The only wonton wraps I was able to get in the local store come in this square shape; they are great for folding into wontons. It was a little awkward to make into a dumpling shape, but it did work out fine. Place about a teaspoon full of filling in the middle of each wrap and brush the edges with some egg wash; fold them in half and squeeze out any air bubbles and pinch the edges to seal them. Add some vegetable oil to a large, no-stick sauté pan that’s on high heat. Fry these dumplings for a minute or two on each side until golden brown, and then add a few tablespoons of water in the pan. Cover with a lid and steam for 3 to 4 minutes — this will make sure the filling is cooked through.

I like to dip my dumplings in a mix of soy sauce and vinegar with a little bit of dried pepper flakes — it’s a little something I learned from my mom — but you can pretty much serve them with anything or just on their own.

 

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