North Korean Mandu or sometimes spelled mandoo actually have many different names. Pyeongyang mandu because this is the area that the mandu originally comes from. Pyeongyang is the capital city of North Korea. These dumplings are also called wang mandu as wang means king in Korean and these are king size dumplings. Sometimes they are called Kimchi mandu because they contain lots of kimchi.
These dumplings take a while to make and we enjoyed them as our intro to North Korean cuisine. These are often made to celebrate the New Year. They can be made ahead and frozen as well. Homemade North Korean mandu is almost becoming a lost art as people tend to by them ready made as opposed to taking the time to make them from scratch. They are totally worth the effort and I hope you make them. You will find photos below to help guide you in making these North Korean Mandu dumplings.
There is nothing like homemade North Korean Mandu dumplings, these are really great made with a combination of beef and pork and yes that wonderful spicy fermented cabbage called Kimchi that is ubiqutious in Korea both North and South. In fact, kimichi is listed as a cultural icon with UNESCO.
North Korean Mandu (Dumplings)
Ingredients
- For the dumpling:
- 3 cups all purpose bread flour
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup water Adding by the tablespoon as necessary
- For the stuffing:
- 1 cup ground beef
- 1 cup ground pork
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup chopped cabbage kimchi
- 1 cup bean sprouts plus 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 8 oz firm tofu plus 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup or about 1 bunch of green onions or Korean chives
- For the dipping sauce:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- chives to garnish
Instructions
- Make the dough:
- Mix together all the dough ingredients and knead for a few minutes until the dough is even throughout. You don't want to see any dry spots and it should not be sticky. Add water by the tablespoon as necessary to get the desired result.
- Keep the dough covered with a wet towel while you put together the stuffing.
- In a pot of boiling water, cook Add in the bean sprouts. When the water comes back to a boil, drain the spouts and rinse with cold water.
- Gently squeeze the sprouts to remove excess water and then rough chop them. Season with sesame oil and salt. Set aside in a large bowl.
- Finely chop cabbage kimchi and remove any excess seasoning so that it is not to liquidy.
- Place in bowl with sprouts
- Put the tofu in cheese cloth or a fine mesh strainer to remove excess water and then crumble. Season with sesame oil and salt put in a bowl with sprouts and kimchi.
- Season the meat with the soy, garlic, ginger salt and pepper.
- Add the meat to the bowl with the other ingredients.
- Finely chop the green onions or chives add to the bowl.
- Mix all the ingredients together
- to assemble:
- tear off a piece of dough about the size of a walnut and roll into a ball
- roll out to a round piece about 5 inches
- Place the round dough in the palm of your hand
- add in two heaping tablespoons of stuffing
- wrap the dough around the stuffing and seal the edges by pressing firmly together.
- scallop them like the picture below
- set on a lightly floured tray
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil
- Add in the dumplings make sure not to overcrowd.
- When the dumplings rise they are cooked.
- Remove with a slotted spoon.
- Serve with some soy sauce and rice vinegar mixed together with some chives to garnish.
- Please note that the dumplings can also be cooked by steaming in a steamer basket. About 15-20 minutes.
- Extra dumplings can be frozen individually before being cooked and then placed in a freezer bag. Steam or boil when thawed.
Nutrition
This is how to hold the round piece of dough and add stuffing
Pinch the sides together to make the dumpling
This is how you scallop the edges
A finished North Korean mandu before boiling or steaming repeat until the dough and stuffing are gone.
Looking for more North Korean recipes? Try Naengmyun (pronounced Nang-myun) is an amazing cold noodle dish. You can find the recipe here along with information about this very estranged nation at “Our Journey to North Korea.”
