🥟 Homemade Korean Mandu (만두)

China has its jiaozi, Japan its gyōza, and South Korea has its mandu!
These Korean dumplings, both crispy and soft, are pan-fried then steamed in the same pan. Very popular for celebrations or as a family meal, they are prepared by hand, often with several people gathered around the table. Once you've mastered the technique, mandu can be endlessly adapted to suit your tastes and the season.

In this recipe, we offer a classic version, stuffed with pork, tofu, vegetables, and noodles, with a homemade dough for you to shape yourself.

🍳 Ingredients for Mandu

For 4 people (approx. 35 to 40 mandu)

Mandu Dough

• 500 g Asian dumpling flour
• 220 ml water

Filling

• 300 g ground pork
• 200 g firm tofu, chopped
• 200 g chopped napa cabbage
• 200 g fresh shiitake mushrooms, or 30 g dried mushrooms
• 50 g dangmyeon noodles (sweet potato vermicelli), cooked and drained
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Vegetable oil for cooking

Find our complete kit here

⏱️ Duration

• Preparation: 40 minutes
• Cooking: 20 minutes
• Total time: 1h

🔪 Preparation

Prepare the mandu dough
In a large bowl, mix the flour and water. Knead until you get a soft, homogeneous dough. Let rest for 15 minutes under a clean cloth. Divide the dough into balls of about 10 g and flatten them with a rolling pin to form thin discs.

Prepare the filling ingredients
– Rehydrate dried mushrooms for 10 minutes in hot water, then chop them.
– Cook dangmyeon noodles for 5 minutes, drain, then roughly chop them.

Sauté the filling
In a large skillet, heat a drizzle of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the ground pork, scallions, and garlic. Sauté, breaking up the meat with a spatula.
Then add the mushrooms, tofu, and cabbage. Cook for about ten minutes, until the cabbage is tender.

Stir in the soy sauce, remove from heat, then add the sesame oil. Let cool slightly.

Shape the mandu
Place 1 to 2 spoonfuls of filling in the center of each disc.

Lightly moisten the edges, then fold into a half-moon shape. Press the edges firmly with your fingers to seal the mandu.

Arrange them on a floured plate.

Pan-frying
In a large skillet, heat a drizzle of vegetable oil over medium heat. Place the mandu on one side and grill for 2 minutes. Flip them over, add 1 tablespoon of water, cover, and steam for 2 minutes.

Serve hot
Serve immediately, piping hot, accompanied by a chojang sauce: half soy sauce, half rice vinegar.

📌 Tips and variations

Quantities: plan for 8 mandu per person for dinner, 4 for an appetizer.
Vegetarian option: replace pork with cooked and mashed squash.
Spicier version: add chopped kimchi to the filling, or a pinch of gochugaru.