Cheeseburger Dumplings

I've been on a blog hiatus lately and the first recipe I decided to do my comeback with are cheeseburger dumplings! In recent months, I've noticed a trend to use cheeseburger filling for various Asian appetizers (including lumpia and dumplings). While I've seen it many times on menus, I rarely will ever order because I personally prefer more traditional fillings like ground pork and/or shrimp. I figured it was something I could possibly try to mimic at home. So, I did just that!

I whipped together a ground meat mixture I normally would when making a burger. However, I omitted from adding bread crumbs and eggs since the amount you need for each filling is so small. With the melted cheese and moisture from being inside a dumpling wrapper, I figured it would help keep my filling from drying.

The outcome? I was surprised to learn that I do enjoy cheeseburger dumplings! I'd described the taste as a low-carb cheeseburger bite. It's savory, it's simple, and different. If you're curious like I was, give it a try yourself!

Cheeseburger Dumplings

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Yields ~30-40 dumplings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb ground beef

• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1/8 tsp black pepper

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 1/8 tsp garlic powder

• 4-5 slices of American cheese

• Flour

• ~30-40 round dumpling wrappers

• Small bowl of water (to dip fingers)

• Frying oil

• Optional: Sirarcha and ketchup sauce

Directions:

• In a bowl, mix together ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Set aside.

• On a small plate lined with parchment paper, cut or rip your American cheese slices into smaller 1" pieces. 1 slice should yield about 9 pieces. Set aside.

• On a larger plate lined with parchment paper, dust with some flour. This will prevent dumplings from sticking later when you plate them before frying.

• Place dumpling wrapper in one hand. Use a spoon to scoop about 1 tbsp of ground meat mixture into center of the wrapper. Add a small piece of American cheese on top. Dip your finger in water and line the outside of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half to seal into a 'half moon shape.' Make sure no filling is oozing out (otherwise, you may need to use less filling). (Some examples of folding techniques by The Woks of Life). Place folded dumpling on parchment paper with flour. Repeat until all filling has been used.

• In a large pan, add about 2 tbsp of frying oil over medium high heat. Place dumplings in the pan (leaving space in-between so they are not touching).

• Carefully add a splash of water to the pan (enough to form a very thin layer spread across the pan). Cover the pan with lid and let cook for about 3-5 minutes. Once water is mostly evaporated and bottoms of dumplings are crisp and brown, you can then flip over the dumplings. Cover the pan with lid again and and let cook for another 3-4 minutes or until bottoms of dumplings are crisp and brown.

• Transfer dumplings to serving plate. Repeat previous 2 bulleted steps until all dumplings have been pan fried.

• Optional: Serve with spicy ketchup dip or other preferred sauce.