The story of mandu: Korean dumplings wrapped in the kitchen
In the kitchen in the evening, you wrap tofu in a cloth and squeeze, and a little milky liquid pools at the bottom of the bowl. Chopping kimchi releases a tangy aroma, and the cooked Korean glass noodles shine translucent. Mix in ground pork, garlic chives, scallion and sesame oil, and you get a filling that is softer and juicier than the one in a typical potsticker. Mandu are Korean dumplings where the wrapping itself becomes part of the meal.
Mandu (만두) are filled dumplings that have long been eaten on the Korean peninsula. English-language Korean recipes often present a home-style version filled with napa cabbage kimchi, tofu, pork and Korean glass noodles. The same filling can be eaten different ways: steamed and eaten as is (jjinmandu), pan-fried until browned (gunmandu), or simmered in soup (manduguk).
One theory holds that mandu arrived in the 14th century, during the Goryeo period, by way of the Mongol Yuan dynasty. In the northern regions, where winters are harsh, large mandu packed with filling are well known, and the shape and filling change from region to region and from home to home.
What tends to trip people up is the moisture in the wrappers and the filling. Store-bought dumpling wrappers work fine, but if the filling is watery, the dumplings tear when steamed, and when pan-fried, the bottoms burn while the centers stay lukewarm. Control the moisture of the tofu, kimchi and glass noodles first, and the wrappers puff nicely and the filling falls apart pleasantly as you eat.
This recipe is a home version with ground pork, firm tofu, napa cabbage kimchi and Korean glass noodles. Large round dumpling wrappers stand in for homemade ones, and the same filling can be finished three ways: steamed, pan-fried or in soup. On a day you want something spicy alongside, add tteokbokki; for a richer soup, kimchi jjigae; and to put meat center stage, bulgogi (all in Japanese). Any of them makes it easy to build a Korean menu.
In Korean it is written 만두. In English you'll usually see mandu, sometimes simply "Korean dumplings." Like Chinese jiaozi, Japanese gyoza and Central Asian manti, mandu belong to a broad culture of fillings wrapped in wheat dough.
Ingredients and substitutes: settle the moisture of the tofu and noodles first
This makes 4 servings, 40–44 dumplings. As a main dish it serves 4; with plenty of soups and side dishes it stretches to 5 or 6. Use large round dumpling wrappers about 9 cm (3.5 in) across. If you only have small wrappers, reduce the filling to about 18 g per dumpling.
The main allergens to watch are wheat, pork, egg, soy and sesame. Store-bought dumpling wrappers, kimchi and soy sauce may contain wheat or soy. Because the filling is raw ground meat, it is also important to cook it all the way through. Aim for at least 75°C (167°F) at the center; without a thermometer, cut one dumpling open and check that no pink remains in the center and the juices run clear.
Unlike a typical potsticker, mandu contain tofu and glass noodles, so they eat lighter and can be made larger. But skipping the draining step quickly leads to failure. Press the tofu in a cloth or thick paper towels, give the kimchi a light squeeze before chopping, and cut the glass noodles short after cooking. Do these three things first, and wrapping becomes much easier.
Choosing specialty ingredients and tools
Ground pork, tofu, scallions, chives and eggs from your local supermarket are fine. The items worth thinking about are the wrappers, Korean glass noodles, kimchi, sesame oil and a steamer. Ordinary dumpling wrappers work, but choose large, thick ones if you can. Thin wrappers pan-fry up light but tear easily when steamed and turn soggy in soup.
| What to buy | Priority | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Large dumpling wrappers | High | Hold more filling and resist tearing when steamed |
| Korean glass noodles (dangmyeon) | Medium | Stay springy inside the filling and absorb meat juices and kimchi liquid |
| Well-fermented kimchi | Medium | A sour kimchi tastes brighter after cooking |
| Korean sesame oil | High | Strongly aromatic even in small amounts, and also used in the dipping sauce |
| Steamer | Medium | Makes it easy to cook a batch of steamed mandu at once |
| Probe thermometer | Medium | Makes it easier to check doneness in large dumplings filled with ground meat |
Korean glass noodles also go into japchae (in Japanese). A 500 g bag will leave you with extra, but if you cut a little short for mandu and use the rest for japchae or hot pots, it's easy to finish. If you can't find them, ordinary glass noodles will do, but thin noodles break easily once they absorb moisture, so cook them for less time.
Korean sesame oil goes in three places: the filling, the frying and the dipping sauce. Oil that has been open for a long time leaves the aroma flat, however carefully you wrap. It also goes into bibimbap, japchae and tteokbokki, so it's worth having if you'll keep cooking Korean food.
A steamer isn't essential. A deep pot with a steaming rack and a sheet of parchment paper with holes poked in it works too. But if you're making around 40 dumplings at once, a steamer that lets you lay them flat keeps the wrappers from sticking together.
Because the filling contains raw ground meat, the larger you make the dumplings, the harder it is to judge doneness. You don't need a thermometer every time, but it is good insurance the first time you make them, when cooking frozen mandu, or when switching to ground chicken.
Method: wrap, then steam, pan-fry or add to soup
It's easiest to wrap the whole batch first, steam only what you'll eat, and freeze the rest. Here you wrap 40–44 dumplings, steam half, and use the rest for pan-frying or soup. Raw wrapped dumplings left sitting out get damp, so dust a tray lightly with potato starch and work with a dry cloth draped loosely over them.
The filling already contains salt from the kimchi and soy sauce. If the dipping sauce is too strong, the first dumpling tastes great but the rest start to feel heavy. Mix soy sauce, vinegar and water 2:1:1, with just a little gochugaru for heat. Add a little sesame oil for pan-fried mandu; for soup, skip the sesame oil and make it more vinegary so you don't tire of it.
Troubleshooting: fixing watery, torn and undercooked mandu
If the filling is watery, the culprit is the tofu, the kimchi or the glass noodles. If the tofu still drips when you squeeze it, it hasn't been drained enough. Adding kimchi with all its juice brings tang but makes the wrappers tear easily. Long noodles tangle inside the filling and stretch the wrapper as you fold. If liquid comes out after mixing, rather than relying only on starch to absorb it, set the filling in a strainer for 5 minutes to drain the excess before wrapping.
If the wrappers tear, look at the amount of filling and how you seal them. Even with large wrappers, more than 24 g per dumpling gets hard to close. Oil from the filling or kimchi juice on the edges keeps them from sticking, so place the filling in the center. Crowding wrapped dumplings tightly on a tray makes them stick to each other and tear when lifted. Leave at least 1 cm between them, and cover with a cloth to keep them from drying out.
If they're steamed but lukewarm inside, the steam is too weak or the steamer is too crowded. Bring the water to a full boil first, and only add the dumplings when steam billows out as you lift the lid. When steaming in two tiers, the upper tier cooks more slowly, so after 12 minutes swap the tiers and steam for another 2 minutes. If you have a probe thermometer, insert it into the center of the largest dumpling.
If only the bottoms burn when pan-frying, there was too little water after browning, or the heat was too high. Brown for 3 minutes over medium heat, then add 70 ml water and cover to steam-fry. If the water evaporates all at once, lower the heat; if the wrappers are still white and stiff, add 2 tbsp water and cook 2 more minutes. Uncovering at the end to dry the bottoms brings the crispness back.
If the flavor is flat, check the moisture before adding more salt. Adding salt or soy sauce to a loose filling only draws out more water. Before wrapping, add 2 tsp potato starch; after wrapping, adjust with the dipping sauce once they're cooked. If your kimchi is young and not very sour, raising the vinegar in the dipping sauce to 1 1/2 tbsp tastes cleaner than adding vinegar to the filling.
Storage and menus: freeze them for the next meal
Raw mandu can be frozen right after wrapping. Line a tray with parchment paper, arrange the mandu so they don't touch, and freeze for 2–3 hours. Once firm, transfer them to a freezer bag and press out as much air as possible. Use within about 3 weeks. If you bag them before they're frozen, the wrappers stick together and tear before cooking.
To steam frozen mandu, put them in the steamer without thawing. Get the steam going over high heat, arrange them, and steam over medium-high heat for 14–16 minutes. For soup, add them frozen and simmer over medium-low heat for 8–9 minutes. To pan-fry, brown them from frozen over medium heat, add 90 ml water, cover and steam-fry for 6 minutes, then dry the bottoms.
Cool cooked mandu and refrigerate within 2 hours. They keep about 2 days in the refrigerator. To reheat steamed mandu, arrange them on a microwave-safe plate, sprinkle with 2 tsp water, cover loosely with plastic wrap and heat at 600 W for 1 minute 30 seconds, then another 30 seconds if needed. For pan-fried mandu, arrange them in a frying pan, add 2 tbsp water, cover and warm over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, then uncover to dry the bottoms.
For a menu, steamed mandu with white rice, kimchi and seaweed soup make a light dinner. Pan-fried mandu have a toasty oil aroma that pairs well with a mixed-grain rice like kongbap (in Japanese) and a sour kimchi. On a soup day, making bulgogi (in Japanese) the main dish keeps the table from getting too heavy.
If you prep the day before, stop after draining the tofu, cooking the noodles and chopping the kimchi. A filling with meat, egg and salt mixed in releases water overnight and turns loose by the time you wrap. On the day, mix the prepped ingredients from the refrigerator with the ground meat, then wrap and cook right away. If the family is wrapping together, divide the tray at the start into what goes in the steamer, what gets pan-fried and what gets frozen, so you can cook just what's going to the table without rushing.
On a day you want mandu to be the whole meal, use thicker wrappers and plan on about 10 per person. When they're a side dish, plan on 4–5 per person and round out the meal with japchae or bibimbap (both in Japanese). Wrapping takes a bit of work, so make a big batch and freeze half to make your next Korean dinner easier.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use regular gyoza or potsticker wrappers?
Yes. Choose large wrappers about 9 cm across, ideally thick ones. With small wrappers, reduce the filling to about 18 g and focus on pan-fried mandu. Thick wrappers made for boiled dumplings also suit soup. If you use thin wrappers in soup, simmer them briefly and eat them before they turn soggy.
Can I make them without pork?
You can use ground chicken. Use 320 g ground chicken and add 1 tsp more Korean sesame oil. Chicken is lean, so if you squeeze the tofu too dry, the filling turns dry. All ground beef gives a strong flavor, so a mix of 150 g beef and 150 g pork is easier to work with. For a completely meatless version, coarsely chop 120 g shiitake mushrooms, sauté them over medium heat for 3 minutes to drive off the moisture, then add them.
Can I make white mandu without kimchi?
Yes. Leave out the 160 g kimchi, coarsely chop 200 g napa cabbage, rub it with 1/2 tsp salt, let it sit for 10 minutes and squeeze it. Add 2 tsp more soy sauce and increase the black pepper to 1/2 tsp. Without the sourness of kimchi, a slightly more vinegary dipping sauce tightens the flavor.
Which is most authentic: steamed, pan-fried or in soup?
All three are eaten in Korea. Steamed mandu let you taste the wrapper and filling most clearly, and pan-fried mandu bring a toasty flavor. Manduguk, mandu in soup, is an easy, warming meal. The first time, steam a few to check doneness and moisture, then pan-fry the rest; that makes it easier to find the cause of any problems.
Should I freeze them raw or cooked?
Raw is easier to use next time. Freeze them on a tray right after wrapping, and bag them once firm. Cooked mandu tend to crack when frozen and turn watery when reheated. If you want to keep a few for a packed lunch, pan-fry them, refrigerate, and eat them by the next day.
Can I make them mild for kids?
Yes. Rinse the kimchi lightly in water and squeeze it well before using. Rinsing too much washes away the flavor, though, so rinsed well-fermented kimchi with 1 tsp soy sauce added holds together better than using young kimchi. Leave the gochugaru out of the dipping sauce and use just green onion and sesame seeds.
Sources
The background and spelling of mandu were checked against the Wikipedia article on mandu. Filling combinations, draining the tofu and kimchi, and handling the glass noodles were cross-checked against Korean recipes from Maangchi, Korean Bapsang and My Korean Kitchen. For cooking ground meat through, the heating guideline from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare was also consulted.
