Watermelon Rind Kimchi? Well, I love watermelon. We eat an embarrassing amount in our house. We even used to have watermelon eating contests…and not even as a fun thing to do with our kids. Just me and my husband, don’t judge. But with copious amounts of watermelon, comes copious amounts of watermelon rind. Seeing the inside of the garbage can made me feel a little guilty. So I took some inspiration from the South and came up with this Watermelon Rind Kimchi. This quick crunchy side dish is perfect as an Asian condiment but equally at home on a summer table with BBQ, grilled foods, and other hot weather eats.

So next time you cut up a watermelon, don’t throw out that rind! This Watermelon Rind Kimchi adds bright, spicy sweet flavor to anything it touches. Cutting down on food waste has never been so easy and delicious…

Making Watermelon Rind Kimchi

Watermelon Rind Pickles are a Southern tradition. They are made in the same way that you might pickle cucumbers- using a salt brine with vinegar and classic pickling spices. My version takes a detour through Korea, adding gochugaru, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and toasted sesame seeds. This is not a traditional kimchi by any means but has many of the same flavors. It’s more like a mashup between kimchi and a pickle. You know how I love a good mashup! I start by prepping the watermelon rind.

It’s important to cut enough of the outer skin off so you don’t have tough pieces that are hard to chew. There’s plenty of rind on a watermelon, so don’t be afraid to skin a little more deeply than usual. Also, depending on how much watermelon flesh is left on the rind, your pickle will be a little more sweet or a little more savory. I love the color contrast and I’m also one of those who cuts out only the reddest part of the watermelon, so my rind is always very colorful.

Now it’s time to make the dressing. This is a quick little vinaigrette using familiar ingredients. It shouldn’t take you longer than 5 minutes to whip up.

I like to serve this watermelon rind kimchi with anything that could use a little blast of acidity. Try it as a side with some simply grilled fish,  Omusubi Rice Balls or Korean Fried Chicken. Honestly I love to just snack on them right from the fridge, they are so refreshing!

Give them a try and let me know what you think. You can rate and comment on the recipe below, and don’t forget to tag us in your beautiful food pictures @funkyasiankitchen, we love seeing your creations!

Watermelon Kimchi

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: serves 6 1x
• Category: condiments
• Cuisine: korean

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 1/2 pounds watermelon rind, about ¼ of watermelon with the red edible flesh removed
• 1 teaspoon salt

Dressing:

• 4 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 Tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 Tablespoon Korean chili flakes (gocharu)
• 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. Peel the outside skin off of the watermelon. Cut the rind into 1 inch thick pieces. Cut the rind “sticks” into ½ inch cubes. You should have about 6 ½ cups of cubes.
2. Put the watermelon in a storage container. Add salt and toss to combine.
3. Mix the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, chile flakes, sesame seeds, and black pepper together in a cup and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. 
4. Pour the mixture over the watermelon cubes, and toss to combine. Refrigerate for a couple hours and then toss again.
5. Let the watermelon rind kimchi marinate for at least 4 hours before serving though it is best the next day. It will last in the fridge for about 1 week. Serve cold. 

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Keywords: kimchi, watermelon rind, korean, condiments, pickles

Have some kimchi laying around in the fridge that you need to use up? Try these Korean style dumplings, known as Mandu. They are stuffed with shrimp and kimchi, so they are packed with explosive flavor. And of course I serve them with a yummy dipping sauce.  I even manage to squeeze some noodles into them, and I make no apologies for that. Noodles are life! So what are you waiting for?

First Make Mandu Dipping Sauce

Dipping sauces are half the fun of dumplings, whether you call them potstickers, mandu, wontons, or gyoza. And this one has the gingery, tangy, toasty flavor we all love. A little rice vinegar, some soy sauce, minced ginger and garlic, sugar and toasted sesame oil create a perfectly balanced sauce. Just mix everything together and set aside.

Make the Mandu Filling

I start with the shrimp. Since they are going to be ground, it doesn’t matter what size you use. Get whatever’s on sale! Also, it’s not necessary to grind them to paste; chunks of shrimp will give your dumplings much better texture and flavor.

I use one of my favorite noodles for this, the Korean noodle made out of sweet potato starch. They have an awesome chewy texture, and they are naturally gluten free. They can be labeled as either Japchae or Dangmyeon noodles. (Try them in my Mushroom Japchae). You can substitute with mung bean noodles (also known as bean thread noodles) if you’re at a Chinese grocery store that doesn’t carry Korean products.

Shape the Mandu

I use a very simple fold and seal to speed up the process. If you want to try your hand at a more decorative, but more labor intensive dumpling, I give detailed instructions in the note section on how to make the pretty pleats.

Repeat with the rest of the filling, which should yield about 3 dozen dumplings. (Do you see a couple of dumplings that don’t match in the photo below? This is what happens when other people want to help you! 😉 You can freeze some at this point, and I give instructions for that in the note section. Having delicious homemade dumplings in the freezer ready to go for a last minute craving is like money in the bank. The best part is not having to defrost the dumplings before cooking. They go straight into the pan from the freezer. Add a couple more minutes of cooking time and you’re good to go.

Cooking the Mandu

Dumplings in Korea can be deep fried, pan fried, boiled, or steamed. I give directions for boiling them, which creates a softer dumpling. I prefer them pan fried; I love the crispy wrapper which contrasts with the soft interior, but you do you.

Then I add a little water to the pan and cover it with a lid. This creates steam which helps to ensure the filling is cooked all the way through. After a couple minutes, once the water has evaported I take the lid off and let the mandu crisp up a little bit before serving.

These shrimp and kimchi mandu are crispy, spicy, and make a terrific starter. Or just eat a plateful and call it dinner. It will be our secret. Let me know what you think by rating and commenting on the recipe below. And don’t forget to show off your gorgeous dumplings by tagging us @funkyasiankitchen; we love seeing your creations!

Mandu

• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 35 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: makes 36 dumplings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 package dumpling skins
• neutral oil for pan frying 

Filling:

• ½ pound shrimp (you can use any size since you will be chopping them up)
• 1 egg, divided
• 2 teaspoons potato starch (can also use corn starch)
• 2 ounces dried sweet potato starch noodles (dangmyeon)
• ¼ yellow onion minced
• ½ cup chopped garlic chives (2 oz. about ¼ of a large bunch)
• 1 cup kimchi, squeezed tightly to eliminate juice and finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 Tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Dipping Sauce:

• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 teaspoons peeled and minced ginger
• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

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Instructions

Make the dipping sauce:

• Combine the garlic, ginger, rice wine vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
• Stir until sugar is dissolved.
• Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the filling:

1. In a food processor, place the shrimp, egg white (save the yolk for later), potato starch, garlic, and ginger into the bowl.
2. Pulse 8-10 times until roughly chopped. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add the sweet potato starch noodles and lower the heat to medium high.
4. Simmer the noodles for 6-8 minutes until the noodles are chewy and do not have a hard core (taste one to check).
5. Strain the noodles into a colander and rinse under running water to cool.
6. Then put the noodles into some paper towels to dry off the noodles.
7. Chop the noodles into small ¼ inch pieces and add them to the shrimp mixture. 
8. Add the minced onion, chives, kimchi, ginger, oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, salt, and pepper to the shrimp bowl. 
9. With clean hands or a spoon, mix the ingredients well.

Make the Mandu/Dumplings:

1. Put the egg yolk into a small bowl and whisk well with a fork.
2. Take one dumpling wrapper and brush half of the edge with the egg wash. Spoon 1 Tablespoon of filling onto the wrapper. 
3. Fold the wrapper over and seal the edges. This makes a simple half coin dumpling.*
4. Set the dumpling aside on a tray and keep making more dumplings until all of the filling has been used up. You will yield approximately 36 dumplings.

Pan Frying the Dumplings:

1. Heat a pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add a Tablespoon or two of oil (depending on the size of the pan you are using) and swirl to coat the pan.
2. Add as many dumplings as will fit the pan without the dumplings touching.
3. Cook the dumplings for 2 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown. Flip them and brown the other side for 1 minute.
4. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water and cover the pan with a lid. Cook with a lid and cook for 2 more minutes until the water has evaporated. 
5. Take off the lid and cook for an additional minute to re-crisp the skin. Transfer the mandu to a plate and serve with the dipping sauce.

Boiled Mandu:

• Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a 4 quart pot over high heat.
• Add 8-10 dumplings and cook for 2-3 minutes until the dumplings float to the surface.
• Scoop them out with a slotted spoon or spider, letting the water drain back into the pot.
• Repeat with more dumplings as desired.
• Transfer the dumplings to a plate and serve with the dipping sauce.

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Notes

*If you would prefer to make more decorative mandu, place 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper and then holding the dumpling with your left hand (if you are right handed), pleat the dumplings by pushing the dough with your left index and middle fingers to create a fold and then pulling it with your right index finger, pinching gently to form a pleat. Seal the pleat by pinching it firmly with the right index finger and thumb. Keep folding and sealing 6-7 times across the top of the dumpling until you have a row of beautiful pleats. It takes a little practice to make it work, but keep trying. All misshapen dumplings taste amazing too!

*You can freeze any dumplings you do not plan on consuming immediately. Put them on a tray so they are not touching. Freeze them for 6-8 hours until they are frozen solid. Bang the tray on the kitchen counter to loosen the dumplings and transfer them to a zip top freezer bag or an airtight container. You should cook them straight from frozen, adding 2-3 more minutes to the cooking time.