Much like our spring rolls, Korean dumplings, aka mandu (만두), require a little extra work but the end result are these little pockets of deliciousness that are worth the effort.
There’s many different variations of mandu that you can find out there – and you can even take this recipe and tweak it to your liking. A lot of recipes call for ground pork which is also quite tasty! We don’t cook with pork in our house so the recipe below is a version that uses only beef and tofu.
The preparation for these mandu are also partially fried and partially steamed, vs completely fried or completely steamed which are also alternative methods to cooking mandu.
Here’s what you need:
- 1 lbs ground beef
- 1 small package of soft tofu
- 1.5 cups chopped of Korean chives
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- 1 small onion
- ~3 rehydrated shitake mushrooms
- 1.5-2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1-2 tsp sugar/sugar substitute
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 package of dumpling wrappers
- Small bowl/cup of water
Place your shitake mushrooms into a bowl of water for at least 30 minutes. As your mushrooms soak, start chopping your onion, chives, and garlic and place into a large bowl. When your shitake mushrooms are rehydrated, remove from the water and squeeze out the excess water. Cut into small pieces and add to the bowl. You now also add the ground beef, tofu, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and black pepper. Mix well with your hands.
Now you’re going to wrap your mandu. Take a small spoon and place in the center of the wrapper. Dip your finger into the small bowl of water and rub onto the edge of one half of the wrapper, which will be the glue the holds the wrapper together. Pull the opposite site of the wrapper over and press together.
Once you’ve finished wrapping, you’re ready to cook! These should be cooked and served right away, so if you’re prepping ahead of time, make sure to cover with plastic or else the wrappers will dry out.
In a large pan that also has a lid, add in a little bit of oil and spread around the pan. Add in several dumplings and let cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip the dumplings and add in 2 tablespoons of water and immediately cover with the lid. You will see a lot of steam in the pan. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes before removing from the pan.
Serve right away, you can use the same dipping sauce we use for spring rolls or serve as is.
Enjoy!
Mandu - Korean Dumplings with Beef & Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 lbs ground beef
- 1 small package of soft tofu
- 1.5 cups chopped of Korean chives
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- 1 small onion
- ~3 rehydrated shitake mushrooms
- 1.5-2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1-2 tsp sugar/sugar substitute
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 package of dumpling wrappers
- Small bowl/cup of water
Instructions
Place your shitake mushrooms into a bowl of water for at least 30 minutes.
As your mushrooms soak, start chopping your onion, chives, and garlic and place into a large bowl.
When your shitake mushrooms are rehydrated, remove from the water and squeeze out the excess water.
Cut into small pieces and add to the bowl. You now also add the ground beef, tofu, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and black pepper. Mix well with your hands.
Take a small spoon and place in the center of the wrapper.
Dip your finger into the small bowl of water and rub onto the edge of one half of the wrapper, which will be the glue the holds the wrapper together. Pull the opposite site of the wrapper over and press together.
In a large pan that also has a lid, add in a little bit of oil and spread around the pan. Add in several dumplings and let cook for 1-2 minutes.
Flip the dumplings and add in 2 tablespoons of water and immediately cover with the lid. You will see a lot of steam in the pan. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes before removing from the pan.
Serve right away, you can use the same dipping sauce we use for spring rolls (see post above for link) or serve as is.
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