Dairy
Melting cheese
Also called mozzarella, processed cheese, pizza cheese
Here, a mild melting cheese — mozzarella, pizza shreds, processed slices — used for stretch on rose tteokbokki, dakgalbi, budae-jjigae and corn dogs. It is not a tasting-plate cheddar or a salty pecorino.
Origin
European dairy techniques, then a global factory melt. Korean fusion pots want the stretch and fat of mozzarella-style cheese, a habit that arrived with processed food and pizza.
Flavour
Mild, milky and salty. Good melting cheese tastes of cream when it stretches; split cheese tastes of grease.
How it is made
Milk is soured, set, cut and, for mozzarella, stretched in hot water. Processed slices include emulsifiers so they melt in a sheet.
How to use it
Scatter cheese at the end of a bubbling pot so it melts on contact and you still get strings, not a cooked skin. For rose tteokbokki, stir a handful into the creamy sauce off a fierce boil so it emulsifies. On dakgalbi, cover the pan briefly. Do not boil mozzarella for ten minutes — it will oil out. Salt the dish first; cheese adds more. If all you have is cheddar, use less.
Storage
Fridge, wrapped so it does not dry or pick up onion smells. Wet mozzarella lasts days; harder blocks last longer.
Recipes using it
Checking your allergy settings…
Showing 18 of 23. Search all recipes using melting cheese
