How To Upgrade Costco's Bibigo Dumplings To Perfection

Costco is known for bringing its members bargains on bulk purchases. With affordable prices, ample samples, and a food court, Costco offers a particular experience where more is ... well, more. But beyond the obvious bulk offerings, such as pantry goods, the warehouse store offers something more: the ultimate frozen snacks to bring home and stock your freezer.

Amongst the rows of fluorescent lit freezers are all of the snacks you could imagine. We're focusing on one, though: those glorious boxes of Bibigo dumplings. If you're not familiar, we're talking Korean dumplings (also known as mandu) — perfect pockets of dough filled with meat and veggies and delicious, succulent broth. 

Bibigo offers frozen dumpling trays in multiple flavors, including chicken, vegetable, and bulgogi beef. They're delicious by themselves but can also be dressed up into something more special. It's easy to take those store-bought dumplings to the next level using just a few ingredients you probably have on hand: scallions, chili oil, and soy sauce.

One of the best features of the frozen Bibigo dumplings is how fast the preparation is. While traditional soup dumplings require a bit of time (or visiting your local restaurant), these frozen goodies are ready in no time.

Once the microwave pings, it's time to amp those dumplings up. This doesn't require anything fancy; in fact, all you need is a little soy sauce, chili oil, and fresh scallions to create a restaurant worthy dish. You don't even need to dirty a plate — feel free to drizzle the soy sauce and oil right over them in the tray.

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That's not the only way to add some punch to these dumplings, either. In keeping with the Korean theme, you can make a dipping sauce with gochujang paste, sugar, honey, rice wine vinegar, garlic, and sesame oil. And if you're looking for quick heat, you can dip them directly into gochujang.

Costco's Bibigo dumplings are great by themselves with sauce, but that's not the only way you can enjoy them. They also have a great role to play in another traditional Korean dish: Tteok-Mandu Guk, or Korean rice cake soup with dumplings. 

In her book "The Korean Vegan," chef Joanne Lee Molinaro explains how rice cake soup is enhanced with dumplings. She writes, "Tteokguk is ... a rather humble soup that consists of broth and rice cakes. Tteokguk with dumplings makes for a more luxurious dish." 

Those fast frozen dumplings are a time saver when making Korean rice cake soup, but they also can be a quick addition to other things. Want to add a little more protein and flavor to your instant noodles? Microwave some Bibigo dumplings and add them to the soup before you serve it for the ultimate comfort food experience.