Mandu

Last week my friend Tom came over to share his family recipe for Mandu.  What is Mandu you ask?  Well it is a traditional Korean dumpling.  They are served fried crisp and are absolutely delicious.

Crispy and delicious
Crispy and delicious

Mandu (from Tom the bowling guru)

  • 1/2 lb ground pork
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 bundle scallions
  • 8 oz bag of Bean Sprouts
  • 2 egg whites
  • 4 tbs soy sauce
  • 2 tbs sugar
  • 1 tbs sesame seeds
  • 1 tbs sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • wonton wrappers
This is the ingredients for a double batch
This is the ingredients for a double batch

First things first you need to quickly boil the bean sprouts.  Heat a pan of water until boiling.  Then remove it from the heat and place the bean sprouts in there for 2 minutes.  After the two minutes, remove from the pan and rinse under cold water.  Now squeeze the sprouts to remove the excess water.  Tip – make sure to rinse the sprouts long enough so that you don’t burn yourself when you squeeze them.  Trust me, it hurts.

Beans Sprouts after cooking
Beans Sprouts after cooking

Now roughly dice up the sprouts and finely dice up the scallions.

You can get the job done faster using your hands.
You can get the job done faster using your hands.

In a large mixing bowl add the meat, scallions, sprouts, soy sauce, seseme seeds, sesame oil, garlic powder, sugar and black pepper. 

As you can see everything is fully incorporated
As you can see everything is fully incorporated

Once you have the mixture fully incorporated time to make the dumplings.

Take a wonton wrapper and lie it on a flat surface.  Using the egg white brush all four edges of the wrapper.  Now make silver dollar sided patties of the meat mixture. 

The meat should be portioned to be about the size of a silver dollar.
The meat should be portioned to be about the size of a silver dollar.

Place the meat in the center of the wrapper, and place another wrapper over the top.  Using your fingers press the edges of the two wrappers together.  The egg white will act as glue.  Your final product should look like a ravioli.

The final mandu should look similar to this.
The final mandu should look similar to this.

 As you make the mondu you should cover the finished ones with damp rag or paper towl to keep them from drying out while you make the rest. 

This is only half of the Mandu that we made!
This is only half of the Mandu that we made!

To cook heat up a pan with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  Cook 2-3 minutes on each side.  Check for a nice browned color before flipping.

This was about the third batch that we fried.  Totally delicious.
This was about the third batch that we fried. Totally delicious.

Dipping Sauce:

  • 1 cup of soy sauce
  • 3 Tbs of vinegar
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp of sesame seeds

Serve with a side of rice and your favorite dipping sauce. 

Look at those tasty mandu
Look at those tasty mandu

These were crispy and had an awesome flavor.  The dipping sauce gave them a nice zing from the vinegar.  Overall they were awesome.  I hope you get a change to make them.  I would also like to thank Tom again for coming over and sharing his recipe. 

Rex

Rex is an avid griller, barbecuer and bacon enthusiast. He is the Pitmaster for the Rex BBQ competition team. Rex was also featured on the TV show American Grilled. If you have any questions or wish to have Rex decode your favorite dish, click on the ASK REX link in the menu above.

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6 thoughts on “Mandu

  1. in turkey this meal name is "mant?" and they are same 🙂

    but mant? is smaller then mandu.

    mant? – mandu, they look like when reading.

  2. yeap – thats the difference in general between this recipe and the mandu that you find in a restaurant or frozen aisle section of a grocery store . . the ingredients are much better and the mandu is huge – btw, don't make the dumplings too big cuz this shell will burn before the meat cooks through . . . not sure if Rex already mentioned that

  3. Hello, you used to write wonderful, but the last few posts have been kinda boring¡K I miss your tremendous writings. Past few posts are just a little bit out of track! come on!

  4. 5 stars
    The ingredients are much better and the mandu is huge – btw, don’t make the dumplings too big cuz this shell will burn before the meat cooks through . . . not sure if Rex already mentioned that

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