This recipe is for traditional, classic Korean dumplings, which everyone loves!
This is my original mandu recipe for pork, beef, and chive dumplings that I posted on May 3, 2008. It shows you how to make dumplings and then fry them or make soup from them. Since then I’ve posted more thorough and better mandu recipes but I’m keeping this classic recipe here for everyone who loves it and loves making it. It may be a little rougher or less clear than my more recent recipes!
Ingredients
Yield: 50 to 60 mandu
- 1 cup of ground pork
- 2 cups of ground beef
- 2 cups of chopped buchu (Asian chives)
- 4-5 soaked Shiitake mushrooms
- half onion
- half package of tofu
- 3 cloves of minced garlic
- kosher salt
- sugar
- toasted sesame oil
- vegetable oil
- fish sauce
- egg
- green onion
- mandu skins (60 discs)
Directions
Make filling
- Place 1 cup of ground pork and 2 cups of ground beef into a big bowl.
- Add 1 ts of kosher salt, 1 tbs of toasted sesame oil, ½ ts of ground pepper and mix it by hand and push the mixture of meat on the side of the bowl.
- Wash some Asian chives (buchu), and dry well with a paper towel or cotton cloth. Chop them into 2 cups’ worth of chives. Add 1 tbs of oil and mix it up. Place it in the big bowl next to the ground meat. (tip: the oil coats the vegetables so they retain their moisture)
- Chop 4-5 soaked shiitake mushrooms and half an onion. Put them into a small bowl.
- Add 1 ts of soy sauce, 1 ts of sugar, and 2 ts of toasted sesame oil to the small bowl. Mix by hand and transfer it to the big bowl.
- Squeeze a half package of tofu with a cotton cloth or paper towel and put it into a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and 1 ts of toasted sesame oil. Mix it by hand and then put it next to chopped chives.
- In the big bowl, add 3 cloves of minced garlic and mix all ingredients by hand. This is your mandu filling.
Shape mandu
- Put some of the filling mixture into the center of a mandu skin.
- Use your fingertips to apply a little cold water to one edge of the skin. This will act as a sealant when you fold it over.
- Fold skin in half over filling and press edges together to make ripple shape.
Fry mandu
- Place some vegetable oil on heated pan and add the mandu you made.
- Lower the heat to low-medium and put the lid on the pan to cook.
- Turn over each mandu a few minutes later. Add 2-3 tbs of water and put the lid back on the pan. Cook a few minutes more over low heat.
- When the mandu is golden brown, transfer it to a plate.
- Serve hot with a dipping sauce made of equal parts vinegar and soy sauce.
Make mandu soup
- In a pot, place 6 cups of water, 8 dried anchovies, the leftover shiitake mushroom stems, and the leftover onion. Boil it over medium heat for 20-30 minutes. If too much water evaporates, add more.
- When the stock is done, remove the anchovies and onion.
- Add 1 ts of fish sauce, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and some of your mandu. Keep the lid on the pot. You can add some more salt if you want.
- When the mandu has cooked, it will float to the top.
- Add 1 beaten egg, 2 sliced green onions: Done!
- Serve hot with a bowl of kimchi, and ground pepper to taste.
Buy this recipe's ingredients online
I really like Weee! they deliver quality packaged and fresh Korean ingredients to the continental USA. Cheaper and better than Amazon! Check them out!
hello maangchi,
i love love love your site, it made me into a good korean cooker.
i have couple question, i was wondering if i could use ground turkey instad of ground beef/pork and also if i want to make kimchee mandu, can i follow the recipe and just add the kimchee and don’t add the meat
thank u
yes, ground turnkey sounds good to me. Yes, if you want to add kimchi, chop it up, squeeze the liquid out of the kimchii,and add to the mandu filling. Since you add kimchi to the filling, you could decrease the amount of some ingredients or skip such as Asian chives and mushrooms.
thank you did i mention how much i love love love your site
heyyy Maangchi i want to do it for tomorow so i wanted to kno if i dont find mandu skins how exacly i have to do it with flour plzzzz help thank youuuu
Check my sujebi recipe. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/sujebi
The dough in the recipe could be used for mandu skin. Spread the dough very thinly with a rolling pin and make disks.
tank youuuu maangchi one lasst question do you have to take some thing out on the shiitake mushroom
I’m adopted from Korea and have never gave korean cooking any thought until I came across your videos. Your have inspired me to start cooking my way through korean food, and I follow your recipes faithfully!! I made mandu and it’s DELICIOUS! My husband doesn’t like store-brand mandu anymore ^^
I have pictures of my mandu on my new blog!
http://cookwithashleigh.blogspot.com/2010/06/mandu-korean-dumplings.html
Thank you!!
The blog doesn’t show anything. It says, “The blog you were looking for was not found.”
Anyway, I’m very happy to hear that you and your husband love my mandu recipe. Thank you very much!
I am thinking about steaming the dumplings instead of frying, however, I am worried that the meat will not cook fully by just steaming. Should I cook the filling in a pan, fill the dumplings and then steam? Or do you think that steaming alone will be enough (and how long to steam)?
Thanks! I love your recipes!
Steam or boil it until cooked. I don’t know exact time but 10-15 minutes over medium high heat will be ok.
Hi, Maangchi, I’m very glad for finding you on the Internet. I am from Venezuela, and very interesting in Korean food. In this moment I have a little problem I don’t think I be able to find the MANDU SKINS, is any chance you post the right ingredients proportion to make them from scratch. I hope you can help me.
PD Sorry, I am not very good writing in English, my first language is Spanish.
I discovered you the other day and just made your dumplings. It was FABULOUS. Even the most discriminating, pickiest eaters in my family loved it. I cannot thank you enough. You are a fantastic chef and teacher!! Big Hug from San Francisco!
yay, good news! Thank you for your update!
I love your website!
I really enjoy Korean food, and used to go to a lot of Korean restaurants, but since I found this website, I just make it all!
I just made Mandu; I fried up a few and froze the rest. The ones I had for dinner were so tasty! I’m so excited that I have a freezer full of them now :D
I left out the pork, and substituted green onion for the chives, and regular brown mushrooms instead of the shiitake. Sooo tasty!
I’ve also made ddukbokkie (which is my favourite dish!) the two tofu side dishes (Dubu buchim yangnyumjang, dubu ganjang jorim), Bulgogi, and kimchi bokkeumbap.
Thank you so much for all the great recipes!
“I’m so excited that I have a freezer full of them now” I know how you feel! : )
Congratulation on your successful Korean cooking.
hi maangchi..thanx you..it taste so good!!i like it..
nice, thank you for your update!
Is it acceptable to use only beef in this recipe? Or perhaps substitute the pork for chicken? Thanks!
yes, you can use only beef in this recipe. It will still be delicious!
This recipe was amazing! I am a vegetarian so I just used tofu and shrimp. It was delicious. Better than store bought dumplings!
Thank you for your update!
Hi Maangchi,
I just finished making mandu. Boy are they great! Thanks for making the video and sharing the recipe. My only problem was I ran out of wrappers long before I ran out of meat. I’ll buy more wrappers next time.
Actually, having too much meat mixture really isn’t really a problem because it’s delicious. Besides, I was happy to run out of wrappers because I was working alone and my back started to hurt. I’m going to make Jjajangmyun next.
Cheers!
haha, I feel my back is hurt when I read your comment. Take it easy and lay down. You worked hard and deserve to take a rest! : )
Hi Maanchi,
I just found you site and have made your dumplings and the dessert made with the edible flowers. My family went wild for it especially the dessert. thank you very much. I also saw a demo for dumblings on another site. Can you tell me the name of the tools used to make the dumplings in different shapes and where I can purchase them? Thank you cecilia.
I think you can get the tool at a Korean grocery store. I am not a big fan of using the tool because the shape of mandu is not pretty. But if you are a busy person, why not using the tool!
Hi Maangchi!
I’m going to try your recipe the next time i make mandu – i’ve never tried putting tofu in the filling, so i’m definitely going to try that.
Also, one of my favourite frozen mandu are those that have dangmyeon in them. Do you have a recipe for this kind of mandu?
Thanks!
dangmyun is starch noodles. I used it in my japchae recipe.https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/japchae
Please watch the video to learn how you cook the noodles. After cooking the noodles, chop them up and add to your mandu filling. very easy.
How do you fry the frozen dumplings? Do you have to thaw them first, or can you fry them from frozen? How high is the temperature you used to fry the fresh dumplings (on an electric stove). Thanks! Love your videos, so clear to understand! My husband and I spent 16 months in Korea with the Army, and we love mandu!
No, you don’t have to thaw it out, just follow the direction in the recipe. You may have to cook longer though until it turns golden brown.
” Place some vegetable oil on heated pan and add mandu.
Lower the heat over low medium and cover the lid of the pan to cook.
A few minutes later, open the lid and turn over each mandu. Place 2-3 tbs of water and cover the lid. Cook a few minutes more over low heat.
When the mandu is golden brown, transfer it to a plate.”
Happy New Year!
Hi how long does it roughly take to boil mandus? about 2 hours?
It should take roughly 15-20 minutes for it to fully cook. This is while cooking on a medium flame. It depends on your stove and the temperature you cook it at though.
Hi Maangchi,
Your mandoo looks nice and amazing :)
I would like to try and make it myself..
and can I request recipe for kimchi mandoo?
kimchi mandoo, sure! Thank you for your request!
hi, maangchi!
i really cant find asian chives in the market and even in grocery stores. may i ask you what substitute i could use instead of asian chives without making a substantial change from the original taste? thank you!
How about using green onions?
I live in India and the beef tends to be more tough is there any way by which i could cook the beef and then stuff and steam them?
i also would like to know the recipe for homemade dumpling skins?
This may sound really stupid but I dont know much about Korean food and was wondering what mandoo skin actually is and also can I use other types of meat i.e. chicken, lamb rather then pork and beaf
You could use chicken or lamb instead of pork and beef.
Mandu skin:
https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/mandu-skins
Hi Maangchi!
Have you seen the Food Network TV Show “Throwdown with Bobby Flay”? Well, my boyfriend and I love that show almost as much as we love your You Tube channel ;) and we decided to do an in home mandu throwndown! The prize was not doing dishes for a month! He is mexican and I am korean so I haaad to win! Right? … Well needless to say your mandu recipe helped me win by a landslide!!!!
Thanks Maangchi!!!! You are the mandu recipe queen!!! :) & you saved me from doing dishes for a month!!!!
Now I am off to go eat more of the prize winning mandu!!!
wow, good news! Congratulation! Sorry about the late reply.
I was just wondering, can I replace the fish sauce with some Korean soy Sauce… I dont want to buy expensive bottles of fish sauce from the market. .. that kind of stuff is really expensive in korea…
yes, you can use korean gukganjang (soup soy sauce): 국간장
Hi Maangchi! I was wondering I don`t have Wrappers at home do you think I could make some? Do you know any recipes I could use?
I made dumplings using your recipe for a class presentation on South Korean culture. It was tricky keeping them fresh between cooking and delivering them to the class.
My dumpling shapes and folds are a little strange looking. I tried making some new shapes as well.
Thank you for the easily-followed instructional video. I had fun making them.
wow, cool! Did your classmates and teacher have your mandu after you finish the presentation! I’m proud of you!!!
“I tried making some new shapes as well” hmmm, I like to see your creative mandu shape. : )
Hi! I’ve been following your recipes from itunes podcasts and only discovered your website today :]
I actually have spare kimchi mandu in the freezer and was wondering do I let it defrost first before putting it in the soup to cook or can I cook it from frozen?
You don’t need to defrost for soup. Put it into the boiling soup directly and cook a few minutes until the mandu floats.
Maangchi, can you offer your recipes in printer-friendly format as well?
Download it for free! : )
https://www.maangchi.com/shop
Can I use square wrappers instead of round? I bought the wrong kind…
yes, you can.
Do I wrap it in a simlar way? I am going to try. I am going to keep my fingers cross it comes out good!!!!!
Maangchi…
I wante dto ask… i bought the mandu skins and have had them in the freezer for over a week.. i want to know .. how long do you leave them out to defrost them? or can you put them in microwave or warm water.. i think they will stick together >.<
how long should i leave them out before preparing the mandu?
Well I’m not an expert but when I made mandu with my mom this summer, we left it out for a while.. maybe 1 hour.. When you peel off a skin, make sure like the middle isnt frozen or it will make a hole in the skins.. and if theres too much de-frosting, it will get all watery making it hard to peel off the pile of skins.. make sure to have extra flour in hand to sprinkle around the edges so it doesnt stick together before you make the dumplings..
do not put them in warm water – they will become a ball of mandu skins..
I would also think that microwaving the skins will dry it up or cook it – which isnt good for the taste..
I defrosted mine in the microwave on low. It almost baked them together because there is apparently enough moisture in the wrappers. The wrappers themselves turned dry. I revived them one by one with wet hands. I was still able to use them for wontons in soup. They weren’t pretty but they tasted great.
Alex, thank you very much for the answer. Frozen mandu skin may be defrosted in an hour at room temperature?
I usually transfer the frozen mandu skin to the refrigerator and let it sit for 6-8 hours. I would not use a microwave oven or soak it in warm water.
thank you !
hi,
can u post a video about how to make broccoli tofu?
my mom made it for me long time ago, and all i remember is, the tofu is really mushed up, and the broccoli is EXTREMELY SMALL
It sounds delicious, but I don’t know about the side dish. If you want to talk about this dish with other readers, leave your comment here: https://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/recipe-request
Someone else may know the recipe. Thank you!
Hi, I am Canadian but I live in Korea and I love to make Korean food. I took a korean cooking course and then I also have watched a few of your videos. I am wondering if you know how to make the dough for the bigger sized mandu. it is more of a bread dough and when finished they look like buns. I am pretty sure the filling is exactly the same, I just was wondering how to make the dough. do you know? thanks, by the way your videos are great and easy to follow!
I think you are talking about steamed mandu.
My steamed mandu recipe will be posted someday in the future.
just spent 10 days in Vietnam building houses for Habitat for Humanity, with the added bonus of an 11 hour layover in Seoul. On the layover, I took the bus to the street market. I spoke NO Korean, and most of them spoke NO english, so I have been scouring the internet to find out about the delicious meals I ate. I think the steamed versions of these were my lunch. Some had a mild filling, like a beerock filling. Others had a spicy, red filling, which I believe had some kimchi mixed in with the meat. But, they were all steamed in HUGE bamboo steamers, with a soft, white puffy wrapper (thick, like raw bread dough). I am posting here, hoping that you can provide me a good link to a recipe to these steamed dumplings, or post your own video on them. Thank you!
I made some dumplings a couple of weeks ago as a side dish for bulgogi dinner. I made some extra soup dumplings and put them in the freezer. Last night I took them out of the freezer and made your mandoo soup. It was so nice to have a fresh hot soup on a fall day and it was very easy to do since I had already made the dumplings. I’m going to have to do another round of dumpling making soon so I can make the soup more often.
Thanks for the recipe Maangchi!
Thank you for your update and good tips for my other readers. Yes, keeping some mandu in the freezer always makes me feel good.
It’s getting cold now, I think it’s time for us to make good soup to warm us! : )
I am SO glad I found your videos :D
I just made some mandu today. Didn’t have the asian chives, so I used green onions instead.
It still turned out fantastic. I can’t make my dumplings look as nice as yours lol, but the taste was fantastic, just like my mom makes :D
I think next time, I’m gonna add in some chopped up rice noodles to the mix.
one more question…is it ok to put the raw meat in there with all the other stuff? a friend of mine cooked her meat and then mixed it in with her ingredients. what do you think?
You can use either cooked meat or raw meat.
hi maangchi. i’m thinking about making your mandoo reciepe this weekend. i know that when my mom makes it she puts the japchae type noodles in it. if i were to use that would i just cook it and mix it in with all the other ingredients?
yes, cook the noodles, chop them up, and add to the filling.
Mandu tasted really delicious. My niece made some a week ago and they were delicious.
I’m looking for a friend and her nickname was: Kim Sooki(Sugi). She looks very similar like you from South Korea. Haha, but your cooking is amazing. Thank you for sharing recipes.
haha, if you find your friend Kim Sooki, please let me know.
Hi Maangchi,
I made mandu last night and my sister gave it a thumbs up! She says its like the mandu our mom makes. I’d like to try to modify this recipe to make oejingeo mandu at some point. You think it would work in place of meat?
Also, a long ago I attempted (unsuccessfully) to make mandu twigim but the steam inside made them explode in the oil lol. Any ideas on how to control the water content? Maybe flour or cornstarch?
Thanks for your recipes!!
/eddie
wow, squid mandu! Interesting!
I think it works well. I don’t know much about mandu twigim, but I think you will have to seal the mandu tightly so that the filling would not come out to hot oil.