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Venezuela, Americas · Tequeños

Kimchi-Cheese Tequeños with Gochujang Honey Mayo (Venezuelan × Korean)

An easy fusion tequeño: cheese and chopped kimchi rolled in spring roll wrappers instead of dough, fried crisp and dipped in sweet-spicy gochujang honey mayo.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time30 min
DifficultyEasy

Method

  1. Stir the mayonnaise, gochujang and honey together in a small bowl until smooth and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

    Add in this stepMayonnaise 2 tbspGochujang (Korean chilli paste) 1½ tspHoney 1½ tspToasted sesame seeds ½ tsp

  2. Squeeze the kimchi hard in your hands to remove the juice and chop it finely; leftover liquid makes the oil spit and the wrappers burst. Mix the flour and water into a thick paste. Cut the cheese into 1.5 × 1.5 × 8 cm sticks and pat dry.

    Add in this stepWell-fermented cabbage kimchi 80 gFlour (for the paste) 1 tspWater (for the paste) 1 tsp

  3. Lay a wrapper like a diamond and place a cheese stick and a line of kimchi near the bottom corner. Fold the corner over and roll once, fold in both sides, then roll up tightly and glue the last corner with the paste. Keep the other wrappers under a damp cloth; dry ones crack.

    Add in this stepSpring roll wrappers (wheat, about 20 cm) 10Firm white cheese (halloumi or paneer) or string cheese 150 g

  4. Pour oil at least 4 cm deep into a 16 cm pot and heat over medium-high heat to 170 °C. Wrappers brown faster than dough, so go a little cooler than for classic tequeños. Dry your hands and tools well.

    Add in this stepOil for frying 800 ml

    medium-high heat

  5. Fry in 2 batch(es), per batch, turning, until golden and crisp all over. Drain on a rack for 1 minute and serve with the dip. The cheese inside is extremely hot, so let them cool for a moment.

Cook's tip

String cheese needs no cutting and makes this even quicker. Thaw frozen wrappers slowly in the fridge so they peel apart without tearing. In an air fryer, brush them with oil and cook at 190 °C for 8 minutes, turning once.

Cooking it at camp

Roll them at home and carry them in a sealed box in the cooler. At camp, shallow-fry them in a wide pan with just 1 cm of oil, turning often: safer than deep-frying and still very crisp.