CY's Mandoo 만두 (Korean Dumplings)

My grandmother 할머니 used to make me & my younger sister, Debbie, make these for what felt like hours! We’d sit on newspapers laid on the floor with our own tray, bowl of filling and wrappers, and we’d make HUNDREDS of mandoo. My grandma is this super cute little woman; she was always laughing, which made us laugh too. Debbie visited our grandmother in Korea last year, and she asked her how many 만두 I would eat when we'd make them, and my 90+ year old grandmother responded (in Korean), “100!! She'd eat so many, it must've been 100!" Back then, I liked the crispy fried wrappers more than the filling, so I would put only a little filling in mine, just to be scolded by my 할머니 for wasting wrappers! But she would still fry my mostly-wrapper mandoo just for me so the rewards were well worth it 🤩

Mandoo 만두 was one of the dishes that we always had at holidays when our extended family would visit. We would prepare them the day before and then cook them earlier in the day. I would always sneak at least 20 of them before anyone would even arrive; it was naughty, but I couldn't help it!

If you have kids, get them to help to make them! They’ll appreciate eating them more when they understand the tedium behind making them, and it goes by much quicker with helping hands! Or if you have no little (or big) ones to help, do what I do: make them while watching Korean dramas 😁 I highly recommend Crash Landing into You! Hyun Bin 현빈 is 🔥! 

Boiled Mandoo topped with CY Mala Chili Oil

Makes ~50 Mandoo

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb ground beef, pork or chicken (I used 85% lean ground beef)

• 8 oz tofu, drained

• ¼ large Napa cabbage, finely chopped

• 3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms

• 2 oz garlic chives, finely chopped

• 2-3 scallions, finely chopped

• 1 Tbsp minced garlic

• 1 Tbsp minced ginger (I prefer to omit ginger for beef mandoo)

• 1 Tbsp Sesame oil

• ½ Tbsp fish sauce (use can also use soup soy sauce, regular soy sauce, tamari or salt)

• Kosher salt

• White pepper

• 1-2 package dumpling wrappers (I like Nanka Seimen Gyoza Skin)

• Vegetable or canola oil if frying

• CY Eats MaLa Chili Oil for topping

• Soy sauce for dipping

Rehydrate dried mushrooms by pouring boiling water over them to cover. Make sure mushrooms float stems up while soaking.

Meanwhile, salt chopped Napa cabbage with 3 Tbsp Kosher salt and toss so salt is well distributed. Let rest until mushrooms are rehydrated.

Slice tofu into 6-8 slices and then lay on a kitchen towel folded in half. Put another towel (or fold unused portion of towel) over tofu and put a ¼ sheet pan on top with a weight (I use canned beans or a bowl of water) to press liquid out of tofu. Let it sit until the mushrooms finish rehydrating.

Once mushrooms are hydrated (water should be cool to the touch), remove stems & discard, then squeeze out liquid from the mushroom caps and finely chop caps.

Take handfuls of cabbage and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. I find it easier to put the salted cabbage in a kitchen towel and squeeze out the liquid by wringing the towel. You should have ¾-1 cup of salted squeezed cabbage.

In a large bowl, add ground meat, drained & pressed tofu (break it up with your fingers as you add), cabbage, mushrooms, garlic chives, scallions, garlic & ginger (if using). Mix together until very well incorporated. I use my hands to break everything apart and really feel that everything is well dispersed; I think that’s the best way.

After everything’s mixed together well, add sesame oil, fish sauce & a sprinkle of white pepper and mix once more. At this point, you need to taste for seasoning. To do this, take a small spoonful of filling mixture and microwave in a small bowl for 30 seconds. If it needs more salt or pepper, now’s your time!

Now get your mandoo filling station ready. I line a half sheet pan with Silpat to put my filled mandoo on. I use the damp kitchen towel on which I drained the tofu to cover the dumpling wrappers so they don’t dry out. Prepare a small bowl of water for sealing the mandoo. I like to use a teaspoon for filling the wrappers. Put a heaping teaspoon full in the center of the wrapper, moisten half the wrapper edge then fold the wrapper in half like a half circle. I start at the top and work my way around the edge to one end, making sure no filling is stuck between the edges and pushing air out of the filling. Then repeat to other edge of the mandoo. If you get an air pocket in the filling, they will bubble up when you boil. Pan frying is more forgiving! Once sealed, place flat on a tray so they aren’t touching and won’t stick together when freezing. Repeat until you fill tray, then place in freezer. Finish remainder of dumpling filling to another tray. If you’re not using right away, freeze on tray for about 1-2 hours, then put individually frozen dumplings in a zippie bag until you’re ready to eat!

Cooking instructions are generally the same for freshly made and frozen dumplings, except frozen will take a little longer.

For boiled mandoo: Boil water, add 8-12 dumplings and stir gently so the dumplings don’t stick to the bottom. Once dumplings come back to a boil, they’ll cook pretty quickly, about 6-8 minutes.

For pan-fried mandoo: Add ¼” vegetable or canola oil to a frying pan large enough to hold as many dumplings that you’re making in one layer. Heat oil until hot over medium-high heat then place dumplings in the pan.  Fry about 2 minutes per side until each side is golden brown. If dumplings are frozen, drain excess oil from pan, then return to heat. Add ½ cup water and cover until all the water evaporates.

For steamed mandoo: Spray steamer with nonstick cooking spray or line with cabbage or other leafy vegetable. Place steamer over pot of boiling water. Steam dumplings in one layer, covered, for about 10-12 minutes.