Mandu Crisps and Kimchi Salsa

by Da-Hae West, featured in Balli Balli

Published by Ryland, Peters & Small

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Introduction

Did you know that if you drop dumpling skins into a pan of hot oil, they puff up and turn into deliciously crunchy crisps? Back in the days when we had our food truck, Busan BBQ, we used to also ‘pop up’ in restaurants across London. One of our pop ups was at Unwined, a fantastic wine shop in Tooting Market, where the lovely Laura and Kiki paired their wines with a selection of Korean-inspired dishes, which ranged from nibbles to big plates. One of the ‘nibbles’ we served back then were these dumpling crisps with kimchi salsa. These are the perfect sharing snack – a great anju (snack to serve with drinks).

As featured in

Balli Balli

Image of Da-Hae West's Mandu Crisps and Kimchi Salsa — Photo by Clare Winfield

Ingredients

Serves: 4

KIMCHI SALSA

150 grams tomatoes
½ teaspoon salt
125 grams kimchi (drained and finely chopped)
¼ red onion (finely chopped)
1 spring onion (finely chopped)
½ long red chilli (finely chopped)
juice of ½ lime
2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
½ teaspoon soft light brown sugar

MANDU CRISPS

125 grams mandu (or gyoza) dumpling skins (if using frozen, defrost overnight in the fridge before use)
½ teaspoon salt
vegetable oil (for frying)

Method

Mandu Crisps and Kimchi Salsa is a guest recipe by Da-Hae West so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe

First, make the salsa. Finely chop the tomatoes and place them in a bowl with ¼ teaspoon of the salt.
Place the kimchi, red onion, spring onion and chilli in a separate bowl. Squeeze in the lime juice and mix in the gochugaru, sugar and remaining salt. Drain any liquid from the tomatoes and add them to the rest of the salsa ingredients. Mix and set to one side.
Place a deep frying pan (or wok) over a high heat with enough oil to cover the bottom 5–6 cm/2–2¼ inches deep. Heat to 180°C/350°F, or until you can drop a small bit of dumpling skin into the oil and it sizzles and floats to the top.
Cut the dumpling skins into quarters and separate any that are stuck together. Carefully drop them into the oil, using a pair of heatproof tongs to prevent the skins from sticking to each other. This is best done in batches to make sure the dumpling skins have enough space.
Fry for 40 seconds, or until the dumpling skins float and the edges start to colour. Remove from the pan and place the cooked dumpling crisps onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
Season generously with salt and serve with the kimchi salsa.