Mandu (Korean Dumplings)

Honestly, I am not too familiar with Korean food other than with the common kimchi, bibimbap, KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) and bulgogi.

A friend of us married a Korean and she has introduced us to Korean cooking many years ago. I indulged in many wonderful homemade Korean dishes, including Mandu.

Making dumplings at home couldn't be easier with the gow gee wrappers readily available in Asian grocers and selected supermarkets. The filling is usually made with pork mince, prawns, mushrooms, chestnuts and spring onions.

What attracted me to this Korean dumplings recipe is that the filling contains pork mince, tofu, kimchi and sesame salt. It is slightly different from the usual ingredients and gives you a
nice firm and slightly crunchy texture from the tofu and the kimchi. The use of sesame salt and sesame oil gives a wonderful nutty flavour to the dumplings.

If you are a dumpling lover like me, you got to give this recipe a go.

Mandu (Korean Dumplings) Recipe
Adapted from Gourmet Traveller Magazine September 2010 issue
Serves 6 (Makes about 35 dumplings)

GT - "These dumplings are similar to the Japanese gyoza – you could even fry them after steaming if you wanted the extra crunch. Sesame salt is a common seasoning in Korean cooking – make extra to have on hand for seasoning other dishes too."

Ingredients

200 gm finely minced pork
150 gm firm tofu, coarsely mashed with a fork
100 gm drained cabbage kimchi, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
2 tbsp finely chopped garlic chives
½ spring onion, finely chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
35 round gow gee wrappers

Sesame salt:
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tsp fine salt

Dipping sauce:
60 ml (¼ cup) soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Method

1. For sesame salt, dry-roast sesame seeds in a frying pan over medium-high heat until roasted (2-3 minutes). Cool slightly, set aside 1 tsp for dipping sauce, then pound remainder with salt in a mortar and pestle until finely ground.
   

   

2. Combine pork, tofu, kimchi, chives, spring onion, sesame oil and a large pinch of freshly ground pepper in a bowl and season to taste with sesame salt (about 1 tsp). Set aside.
   

   

3. Lay a few wrappers on a work surface, place a teaspoonful of pork mixture in centre of each, then brush edges with a little water. Fold in half to form a semicircle, then trim edges with a 7cm-diameter cutter. Pleat edges and set aside on a lightly floured tray.
   

   

4. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
   

   

5. Cook mandu in batches in boiling water over medium-high heat until cooked through (2-4 minutes). Drain and keep warm.
6. Meanwhile, for dipping sauce, combine ingredients and reserved roasted sesame seeds in a bowl. Serve with mandu, kimchi and extra sesame salt.