Mozzarella cheese ball is a popular Korean snack that is often served with Korean fried chicken. Using a mix of glutinous rice flour and plain flour to make the outer crust, the mochi cheese balls are deep fried till crispy, achieving a chewy texture with a delightful crisp exterior that makes it so addictive. Together with its gooey centre, the signature cheese stretch is the reason why it’s been trending in Korea!
Packed with savoury and creamy flavours, I love to dip these cheese balls with ketchup to neutralise its greasiness with a hint of sweet, tangy flavours. Perfect for serving at a dinner party, I’m sure these Korean mozzarella cheese balls will become your new favourite snack/appetiser!
Table of contents
What are Korean mozzarella cheese balls?
Korean cheese balls are chewy donut holes stuffed with mozzarella cheese that have been trending in Korean ASMR and mukbang videos. Unlike other cheese balls that wrap the cheese inside a flour-based dough then dip into beaten eggs, flour, and breadcrumbs before deep-frying, Korean cheese balls are made with plain flour and glutinous rice flour to achieve a mochi dough with a chewy, bouncy, and puffy texture. Korean cheese balls are fried till golden-brown crisp to achieve a crispy exterior with melted cheese inside, giving you an ultimate cheese pull as you take a bite.
Ingredients for Korean mozzarella cheese balls
- Glutinous rice flour: This is the key ingredient that gives the dough a chewy texture. You can get this in any Asian grocery stores.
- Plain flour: This yields a crispy and crunchy crust after deep-frying!
- Warm water: It helps to mix the ingredients and warm water speeds up the mixing process.
- Butter: This helps to bind and incorporate all ingredients together. Be sure to use softened butter at room temperature for better incorporation.
- Salt and sugar: Korean cheese balls are savoury and slightly sweet, which pairs perfectly well with the creamy melted cheese inside!
- Baking powder: This acts as a leavening agent that allows the cheese balls puff up as you deep-fry them, yielding a light airy texture.
- Mozzarella cheese: The main ingredient for the filling that gives you a stretchy cheese pull!
- Oil: For deep-frying the cheese balls.
How to make Korean mozzarella cheese balls
- Combine together the dry ingredients then add in warm water. Mix until crumbly.
- Add in butter, then use your hands to gently knead and squeeze the dough until you get a smooth and clay-like texture.
- Cover with cling film and let the dough rest for 30 mins.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces.
- Use your thumb to gently press and push out the dough from the centre. Wrap the mochi dough around a mozzarella cube. Roll the dough into a ball. Repeat for the other pieces.
- In a pot, heat the oil to 180ºC and transfer the dough balls into the pot.
- Fry for about 8 mins until golden brown, constantly flipping the balls.
- Take out the cheese balls and let the oil drain on a wire rack before serving.
Success tips on making Korean mozzarella cheese balls
Be sure to wrap the dough around the cheese cube completely.
Make sure you push out the dough to allow enough space to wrap around the cheese cube. Otherwise, the cheese inside will leak out and result in oil splattering as its water content reacts with hot oil. This may cause severe burns or injuries, so be careful!
Monitor the oil temperature when deep-frying.
If the oil is overheated when deep-frying, this will result in undercooked food while burning the outer crust. On the other hand, if the oil temperature is too low, this leads to greasy, soggy food. Use a thermometer to monitor the oil temperature and adjust as needed.
Flip and move the balls constantly when deep-frying.
By flipping the balls and moving them around constantly as you deep-fry them, this allows you to cook them evenly with an even golden-brown colour as well.
Deep-fry the balls in a few batches.
This ensures there’s enough space for the balls to move around when deep-frying. Otherwise, the cheese balls may stick to each other.
What is glutinous rice flour?
Glutinous rice flour is a type of flour that is gluten-free and made by grinding long or short-grain glutinous rice, also known as sticky rice, or sweet rice. Containing a higher amount of starch, glutinous rice flour is characterised by its sticky nature that yields a chewy texture when cooked. Hence, it receives the name “glutinous” due to its characteristics of being sticky and glue-like. It is commonly used in Asian cuisines to make dishes like zong zi (粽子), tangyuan (湯圓), and stir-fried sticky rice (生炒糯米飯)
Can I replace glutinous rice flour with other types of flour?
Unfortunately, there are no other types of flour that can replace glutinous rice flour in this recipe, as they won’t achieve the desired chewy and bouncy texture. You could use various types of glutinous rice flour, such as mochiko flour (also known as Gyuhiko 求肥粉 or Daifukuko 大福粉), or chapssal flour (often labelled as “sweet rice flour” or “찹쌀가루 (chapssalgaru)” in Korean.
How to store Korean cheese balls?
You can make a larger batch of Korean cheese balls in one go and store them in the freezer. Be sure to let them cool down completely at room temperature, then place them in a zip bag or food bag, before storing in the freezer.
How long will these cheese balls last in the freezer?
Stored in a zip bag or food bag, they will last for up to 1 month in the freezer.
How to reheat Korean mozzarella cheese balls?
You can reheat them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, but this method will yield softer cheese balls. To retain their crispiness, reheat them in an air-fryer at 170-180ºC for 10-15 minutes.
Related recipes
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Korean Mozzarella Cheese Balls
Ingredients
- 100 g glutinous rice flour
- 25 g plain flour
- 70 ml warm water
- 15 g butter at room temperature
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- mozzarella cheese cut into cubes
Instructions
- In a large mixer bowl, mix together glutinous rice flour, plain flour, sugar, and salt.
- Add in warm water and mix the ingredients using a spatula until it gets crumbly.
- Add in butter and gently knead the dough until you get a smooth and clay-like texture.
- Cover the mixer bowl with cling film and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces.
- Working on one piece at a time, use your thumb to gently press the dough and push out from the centre. Wrap the mochi dough around a mozzarella cheese cube.
- Roll the dough into balls.
- In a pot, heat the oil to 180°C and transfer the dough balls into the pot.
- Fry the balls for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown, constantly flipping and moving the balls around to cook them evenly.
- Remove the cheese balls from the pot and let the oil drain on a wire rack before serving.
Video
Notes
- Be sure to monitor the oil temperature when cooking. An oil temperature that is too low will result in greasy cheese balls. If the oil temperature is too high, you may risk burning the crusts while the balls are still undercooked inside.
- Deep-fry the balls in a few batches to ensure there’s enough space for the balls to move around. Otherwise, they might stick to each other.