Korean mandu — dumplings filled with a mixture of pork, tofu, kimchi, glass noodles, and vegetables — demonstrate the Korean approach to dumpling construction: a filling that balances texture (the firm pork, the yielding tofu, the chewy noodles), flavour (the fermented kimchi, the garlic, the sesame), and moisture control (the tofu and kimchi must be squeezed thoroughly before combining — excess moisture produces a soggy dumpling that breaks during cooking).
- **Moisture control in the filling:** The tofu must be pressed dry (wrapped in a cloth and squeezed); the kimchi must be squeezed of its brine. Both are high-moisture ingredients whose water will prevent the filling from holding together and will make the dumpling skin soggy. - **The filling:** Ground pork + squeezed tofu + squeezed kimchi + glass noodles (cooked, chopped short) + garlic + ginger + sesame oil + soy sauce. The glass noodles absorb excess moisture from the filling during cooking. - **The pleating:** The mandu fold — a crimped, sealed edge. Multiple pleat styles exist; the key is a completely sealed edge that will not open during boiling. - **Cooking:** Boiled in broth (manduguk — soup), pan-fried then steamed (gunmandu — the Korean equivalent of gyoza), or steamed only (jjinmandu). - **The soup:** Dashima (kelp) and dried anchovy broth — the same base as all Korean soups.
Maangchi