Pulmuone Vegetable Dumpling

These were in the giant frozen dumpling section at H Mart. The brand, Pulmuone, is one I haven't had before, but there are a lot of unfamiliar brands in there! These jumped out at me for their triangular shape. The filling is finely chopped, and includes noodle bits along with the vegetables. Pretty standard, but a good base for a variety of sauces. Ultimately, these are pretty similar to these Samlip Vegetable Dumplings in terms of flavor profile. I had mine pan-fried, and the triangle shape really facilitates frying. I would definitely buy these again, although there are many varieties to sample still!

Score: 4/5 - Good basic dumping, and perhaps easier to cook than most due to the flat shape.

Chef One Vegetable Egg Roll (Redux)

I've reviewed these Chef One Vegetable Egg Rolls before, and wasn't super impressed then. Ross saw them at H Mart and thought that we should give them a try. I wasn't sure if they were identical to the previous samples, since they were in a different package, so I fell for it. I toasted these in the toaster oven, one of the recommended cooking methods. The shell didn't cook fully after the suggested period of time, so I put them in for another 10 minutes. Still not great. The shell is brittle and tastes doughy, and the cabbage heavy-filling is just too plain to be good. There's tons of it in there, your mouth is just filled with bland cabbage shreds. Even slathering these with chili sauce was not enough to make me want to eat them. I will not fall for these again.

Score: 2/5 - I liked these even less than last time...

Chinatown RotiPrata Onion

These Chinatown RotiPrata in Onion flavor were good! They were next to the scallion pancakes in the freezer at H Mart, although I'm not sure we can properly count them as dim sum. I made them to go with a curry. I had the idea to put them on my pizza stone in the oven, and I was pretty impressed at how fluffy and flaky they came out. I think they would have been slightly soggier if pan fried. They did stick to the stone some, I think this could be avoided with just a touch of flour. In terms of taste, these came out sort of halfway between paratha and a scallion pancake. They had a little bit of onion flavor, and a little bit of butter flavor. They did work for their intended purpose as bread with the curry. I would definitely buy them again.

Score: 4/5 - Flaky and crispy, these could use a little more onion flavor but were very very pleasant.

Chef Hon Steamed Green Vegatable Buns

These Chef Hon buns are misspelled on the package, but they are green vegetable buns. The actual filling is bok choy with egg bits and noodle bits. I would call it OK overall, but I prefer that type of filling in a dumpling. With a bun, I'd rather have something a little more flavorful, less filler. These came frozen from H Mart, and I steamed them and that worked just fine. The filling to dough ratio is good, and the dough is fluffy. However, with all the other choices out there, they don't make a mark. I might buy them again.

Score: 3/5 - Eh, these are fine, but in the crowded field of greens buns I prefer these ones with a little Shiitake.

Choripdong Frozen Dumplings

These Choripdong frozen dumplings are generically named, but not generically flavored. The filling is a little bit of green stuff, very small noodle bits, and finely minced mushroom, and has a distinctly mushroomy but not too strong flavor. They are a sort of odd shape, like a flattened gyoza shape. They're sort of floppy when cooked. The dumpling skin is on the thicker side, and the dumplings are not stuffed full, but that's reasonable considering the good flavor of the filling. These were good steamed, but I think they would also be great lightly fried!

Score: 4.5/5 - These were good. The mushroom flavor of the filling stands out and the wrapper is chewy. Maybe my we favorite dumplings from H Mart.

Gong De Lin Steamed Bun with Shiitake Mushrooms

These Gong De Lin mushroom buns are pretty good! They are on the large side, with fluffy dough. The filling proportion is reasonable, and the filling does escape a bit but it's not bad considering that the filling is chopped veggies. The title is a little misleading, as the dominant part of the filling is greens, spinach-y cabbage-y greens, with a little bit of mushroom thrown in. It's all cooked relatively evenly with no hard weird bits, unlike some of the other greens buns. The flavor is good overall, but it's simple. I cooked these in the steamer, but they are big enough that they touch the bottom of the lid!

Score: 4/5 - These are a great example of the typical "greens" dumplings, which is not a super exciting thing, but a tasty solid choice none the less.

Companion Crispy Vegetable Rolls

These Companion Crispy Vegetable Rolls are another H Mart frozen purchase. The outside is a tofu skin, while the inside is a soft, chewy textured vegetable protein with small chunks of water chestnut. The flavor has a touch of five spice or perhaps just licorice. We put these in the toaster oven, our usual, and the little crispness it gave to the skin was nice. The quantity in the package is quite small, there were five of those rolls in there, so I can't say it was a good deal. I liked these rolls, and I think they'd be good sliced up and put in a stir fry.

Score: 3.5/5 - These were pretty good, but they seem more like an ingredient than a finished dish. I liked them, but they're pricey.

Companion Fried Veggie Shrimp Rolls

I feel like rolls is a bit of a misnomer for these Companion Fried Veggie Shrimp Rolls that I bought at H Mart. These are more like veggie shrimp fingers. We just did them in the toaster oven, and I think that's probably the best way to do them so the breading all around crisps up. Pan frying wouldn't end up even, and deep frying (the suggested method if I recall correctly) would work but it would be pretty greasy. The bread-crumb texture was a little too crispy and thick for my taste, but it does OK at sticking to the roll. (Some chunks fell off during dipping.) The filling part has a bit of a skin around it, and it isn't a solid filling but is still pretty dense textured protein. The overall impression is sort of a very mild fish stick. I thought these were alright, but they didn't wow.

Score: 2.5/5 - A little rubbery, mild flavor, the crispy breading is nice. Probably won't buy these again, not my cup of tea, though I can see how other folks might be into them.

Haioreum Korean Pancake with Sweet Rice

It's been a while! I have been busy as all get out, both at work and at home, and since our last move, we haven't been dim-summing quite as much! I can't say I think I'll be posting as frequently as before, as I do end up re-buying a lot of the same stuff, but I will make more of an effort in the next couple months!

So, these Cakes are again pretty much the same as the Green Tea and Corn and Barley versions. Chewy, slightly dense donut-y cake with a thin sweet and mild filling. The flavor for the filling of these is not as distinct as the others, but it's still good! I think my overall favorite has been the corn flavor.

Score: 3.5/5 - I can barely tell this flavor from the other equally enjoyable Haioreum pancakes, but yeah, it's good.

Kirin Steamed Buns Chestnut

These Kirin Steamed Buns Chestnut were big! I bought them at H Mart in the frozen section, and steamed them. The dough was especially soft and silky. The flavor was pasty but not dry, thick and creamy. The flavor was definitely chestnut, but it was a sort of mild flavor. Occasionally there was a not-fully-mashed bit of chestnut, which indicated that real chestnuts were used as a major ingredient in the filling. I liked these buns, but they weren't showstoppers. I would consider buying them again.

Score: 3.5/5 - I wish the flavor had a little more wow, but the texture of the dough and filling were great and they were an overall pleasant experience.

Samlip Kimchi Dumpling

These kimchi dumplings are from the same line as these vegetable and leek dumplings I've been loving. The kimchi flavor is very mild, and the filling is otherwise similar to that of the vegetable version of these dumplings, with a little soy protein. These are good, but I think my favorite of the lot is still the leek flavor. I will get around to buying those again soon at H Mart!

Score: 4/5 - Another respectable entry in the Samlip dumpling line. I would definitely buy these again.

Haioreum Korean Pancake with Barley

So, these Cakes are again pretty much the same as the Green Tea and Corn versions. Chewy, slightly dense donut-y cake with a thin sweet and mild filling. I only detected the barley flavor because of the power of suggestion, but it's still good!

Score: 4/5 - I can barely tell this flavor from the other equally enjoyable Haioreum pancakes, but yeah, it's good.

Haioreum Korean Cake with Green Tea

So, these Cakes with Green Tea are very much like the Corn version. A variation on the theme, as it were. The texture was identical, the same dense donut disk with a medium thickness filling with soft lumps. The filling was identical filling, sweet with a hint of cinnamon, with the bits adding a little flavor but not much. After reading the package, the filling seems to have some amount of nuts in it. The cake part was very lightly flavored with green tea, but definitely had that green tea shade. Ross and I both liked these as much as the corn version. Rydia, who was trying this form for the first time, gave it good reviews.

Score: 4/5 - Very similar to the earlier Cake with Corn, equally enjoyable.

Samlip Vegetable Dumpling

These Samlip Vegetable Dumplings are in the same "line" as the Leek Dumplings from H Mart that I graded a 4.5. These dumplings feature the usual cast of characters in the vegetable clip art on the front, but rather than a lot of vegetable, these dumplings have a lot of soy protein in tiny chunks, with some noodle and veggie bits mixed in. The skin and ratio of filling to dumpling are otherwise the same, which is to say, good! I prefer the flavor of the leek dumplings over these, but I would certainly consider buying these again! I did buy the kimchee flavor of these dumplings, and have yet to try them, but I am looking forward to them, since these other two have been great so far.

On the topic of dumplings, I think I have figured out my favorite way to cook them. Or at least the best way to cook this brand, and I think it would work to cook other similar dumplings with a medium-thin-gauge skin. I have started cooking them in a frying pan with a decent amount of oil, but on a lower heat setting. The skins get crispy, they bubble a bit, but they don't get burnt. You have time to turn them over and cook multiple sides and it's fast enough (10 minutes or so) but not hectically fast. I do like them in the steamer as well, but this low heat frying is the best way in my opinion. (This might also work well with the larger dumplings, like these Haioreum Dumplings, since the lower heat might give them a chance to cook all the way through before they burn. Usually I have to add a little water to the pan after the frying to finish cooking them, and that takes away some of the crispness from frying...)

Score: 4/5 - Very good dumplings!

Samlip Leek Dumpling

These are from H Mart, which honestly has the widest selection of vegetarian dumplings. Most of these are Korean-branded (from North America or from South Korea), while some are Chinese-branded, a few Japanese-branded. Many of the brands have multiple flavors of vegetarian dumpling. So far, these Samlip Leek Dumplings are the best! I've fried these, I've steamed these, and both ways they were great. The filling has little green pieces of chive and leek, and little soy protein chunks, the filling is chopped fine but not mushy. The flavor is that onion/leek flavor. The skins are on the thinner side, but held up well in all the cooking. They didn't fall apart when bitten and stood up to sauce dipping. These are great. I don't have any real complaints, I could nit-pick a little I guess; the flavor could be a little more exciting, but as is it's savory and anyone would go for it... These are on the buy-again list, and I bought another flavor of the same brand to try. I have high hopes!

Score: 4.5/5 - Best all around dumplings yet. On the smaller side, with a good filling, savory oniony flavor. Delicious!

Haioreum Korean Pancake with Corn

I bought these at H Mart, frozen. I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, and I was pleasantly surprised. I followed the instructions on the box, and pan fried these with a little oil. As I was cooking them, I thought, "Mmm... smells like donuts..." This turned out to be the general gist. These cakes were basically a chewy sweet fried dough, with a mild sweet cinnamon filling. The dough was dense but springy, and the frying made a nice crust on the outside. The filling had some bits of softened peanut and perhaps red bean, not a lot. While I don't think those bits really added anything, I don't think they took anything away. As far as the corn part goes, I guess the dough could have been slightly corn flavored? It was certainly yellow in color! I did really like these, I would definitely buy these again, and now I am interested in looking for more of these Korean pancake style items. Definitely a pleasant surprise!

Score: 4/5 - Sweet fried dough with a cinnamon filling... Great chewy texture, mild pleasing flavor. Would buy again.

Haioreum Mushroom Dumpling

Another selection from H Mart! These are Haioreum brand dumplings, which seems to be a common Korean brand. As you can see in the second picture, I steamed these dumplings. These dumplings are larger than most of the dumplings I buy, except maybe the circular ones. The skin is thicker than on some of the other dumplings I've bought, but seems in proportion to the size! The thick skin does help when steaming, since it's less likely to rip when you are pulling these out of the steamer. (Side note, I should really start buying the pre-punched steamer liner papers instead of cutting little squares for each dumpling, which is tedious. Gotta find those...) As the dumplings cool post-steaming, the skin toughens up but I actually like the bit of added chewiness. As for the filling, it's OK. It's not very mushroom-y for a mushroom dumpling. There are noodle bits, small pieces of scallion or leek, and some vegetable protein crumbles as well. The texture was OK, the dumplings weren't over-filled so it didn't try to escape too much. I wasn't that impressed with the filling flavor or texture, really. I did like the skins, so I would try these dumplings in another flavor for sure.

Again, look at how huge these things are!

Score: 3.5/5 - Awesomely huge with good dumpling wrapper, wish the flavor were more exciting.

Sonaco Vegetarian Spring Roll

It's been a while since I have been out of town for work a lot and running myself ragged in my personal life as well. But I still get to H Mart occasionally! These spring rolls were a recent pick-up, and the brand Sonaco is new to me. Overall, I would say these were pretty good spring rolls. The filling is a little pasty, but not dry. It's a got a little sweetness to it from the taro, but not enough to make these desert-y by any means. I like the texture because it's not stringy and doesn't try to escape, but has some vegetables like carrot and mushroom. The outer wrapper is good, too. It cooks up well in the toaster oven and ends up crispy but not tough or flaky. I would go with these again!

The downside was that the spring rolls were frozen pretty solid into a block. I cheated and microwaved them a bit so I could separate them, after trying and failing to butter-knife them apart. I was surprised that this didn't lead to shredding with the outer layers of the wrappers sticking together, they actually survived intact.

Score: 3.5/5 - Good filling, a blend of sweet and savory, and does well in my usual lazy toasting!

Haioreum Frozen Cooked Kimchi Flavored Vegetable Dumplings

Another trip to H Mart means another round of dim sum. There are a million different brands of the same types of dumpling, so I took a hint from blogger Lizziebeth and bought the Haioreum take on Kimchi Dumplings. These are big rolled up dumplings, and they're stuffed pretty full. I've made these in the steamer, and I've fried them up, and they work either way. The flavor is pretty good. There are actual chunks of cabbage in there, along with noodle bits. These have pretty good kim chi flavor. I served them to my friends one evening, and they were a hit with Eds, he must have had a dozen of them. He had them with plain soy sauce, but I like them with a thick sauce, like vegetarian mushroom sauce.

Score: 4/5 - Good kim chi dumplings!

Shanghai Garden Spring Rolls

Are these Shanghai Garden Spring Rolls the same as these? I don't have the package from that previous batch of spring rolls, but the descriptions seem the same on the box versus the the plastic bag. I do think they're the same, but I liked them a lot better this second time around. I again put them in the toaster oven, but I think I let them bake less so they were less dried out. I tasted the mushroom bits more. So, I guess I am upgrading my grade!

Score: 3.5/5 - I liked them better than last time. Baking them less leaves everything more tender.