Mandu (Korean dumplings) filled with pork, beef, tofu and vegetables are a family tradition in our house at both the calendar New Year and the Lunar New Year. Dipped in our Cho Jung dipping sauce, you'll love these savory, comforting dumplings as much as we do!
Place all filling ingredients in a large bowl and blend well.
Have wrappers nearby (covered), a bowl of water, sheet trays with parchment, a small spoon to portion the filling.Grab a wrapper and put about 1 tablespoon of filling in the center.
Wet the outer edge of the wrapper and fold in half and seal carefully. Then wet the half moon edge and create folds by pushing and pressing the outer edge on to itself moving across the half moon until you are out of wrapper.
Place each mandu on a sheet tray and keep the tray covered with a cloth. When you are done with each tray, place it in the refrigerator. When all the dumplings are folded, you can cook some (of course!) or freeze or both.
Make Dipping Sauce
Combine all the ingredients and whisk well. Store in the refrigerator to use as you eat the dumplings.
Boil Dumplings
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once at a rolling boil, place several mandu in the pot - do not crowd them. If not frozen, they will take about 4 minutes to cook. If frozen, 8 - 9 minutes.
Eat immediately with dipping sauce or refrigerate for later consumption.
Pan-fry Dumplings
Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a 12-inch skillet on medium high. Once hot, place dumplings in the pan in either concentric circles or just randomly. They can be fairly close together.
Let them sear/brown on one side, then add about ⅓ cup of water, turn the heat down to medium low then cover and let them cook until the water is gone, about 5 minutes.
Steam Dumplings
Place on parchment paper in steamer baskets and place steamer basket over a pot or pan with boiling water in it.
From frozen, steam the dumplings for 9 minutes.
Video
Notes
Prepare the filling ingredients ahead of time. It's important that everything is dry so don't shortcut the time to dry the sprouts or drain the liquid from the tofu.
Once the filling is mixed, you can refrigerate for later use. But since it's filled with uncooked meat, I would not delay longer than a day.
Be sure you have all of your mandu assembly line ready to go before attempting to fold. If you have helpers, each person should have their own bowl of water, stack of wrappers and access to a tray to put the dumplings on once folded.
Pro-tip - if you want to taste the filling before you stuff and fold the dumplings, microwave a small amount. Adjust seasoning as needed.