Mandu (Korean Pork and Kimchi Dumplings)

About This Recipe

Mandu are Korea's take on the dumpling, carried south along old trade routes from northern China and Manchuria and adapted with kimchi, the ingredient that gives the filling its distinctive tang and gentle heat. The filling combines ground pork with finely chopped napa kimchi, glass noodles, tofu, and garlic chives, bound with egg and sesame oil so it stays juicy through both steaming and pan-frying. Cooked mandu-jeon style, they are steamed briefly then seared in a hot pan until the bottoms turn deep golden and crackling-crisp, served with a soy-vinegar dip that cuts through the richness of the pork.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 200 gground pork
• 1 cupnapa kimchi(well-drained and finely chopped)
• 1 cupdangmyeon glass noodles(cooked and chopped)
• 1/2 cupfirm tofu(pressed and crumbled)
• 3 tbspgarlic chives(chopped)
• 1 tbspgarlic(minced)
• 1 tspginger(grated)
• 1 tbspsesame oil
• 1egg
• 1 tspsalt
• 1/2 tspblack pepper
• 30round dumpling wrappers(store-bought)
• 2 tbspvegetable oil(for pan-frying)
• 2 tbspsoy sauce(for dipping sauce)
• 1 tbsprice vinegar(for dipping sauce)
• 1 tsptoasted sesame seeds(for dipping sauce)

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the filling

   Combine pork, kimchi, glass noodles, tofu, chives, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl until sticky and well bound.

2. 2

   Fill the wrappers

   Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of each wrapper, wet the edge with water, fold in half and pleat to seal tightly.

3. 3

   Steam first

   Arrange dumplings in a lined steamer basket and steam over boiling water for 6-7 minutes until the wrapper turns translucent.

4. 4

   Pan-fry to finish

   Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high, add the steamed dumplings, and fry 2-3 minutes per side until deep golden and crisp.

   Don't crowd the pan or they'll steam instead of crisping.

5. 5

   Make the dip

   Stir together soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame seeds.

6. 6

   Serve hot

   Serve immediately with the dipping sauce while the bottoms are still crackling.

Variations

• •

  Kimchi mandu can be made vegetarian with mushrooms and extra tofu replacing the pork.

• •

  Mul-mandu (boiled dumplings) skip the pan-frying step and are served in a light broth.

• •

  Wangmandu are oversized steamed versions sold from street carts, filled the same way but the size of a fist.

Storage

Store uncooked mandu in a single layer in the freezer, then transfer to a bag once solid; cook straight from frozen, adding 2 extra minutes of steaming. Cooked leftovers reheat well in a dry skillet over medium heat.

Frequently Asked Questions