Today I’m going to show you how to make extra-large dumpling wrappers big enough to make king-sized Korean dumplings. Korean dumplings are called mandu and these wrappers are called mandu-pi. Ever since I posted my first mandu recipe in 2008 many people who don’t have access to a Korean grocery store have asked me how to make the wrappers at home. It lead me to develop this recipe, which took me some time to perfect.
From experimentation I learned that homemade mandu-pi are a lot tastier than mandu-pi from the grocery store. They are big noodles used to wrap around fillings, so taking time and care to get them right will make your dumplings that much better.
Not only that, but they are easy to make!
This recipe makes king-sized wrappers (or skins), but you could also use this recipe to make smaller wrappers, too. Just divide them into smaller pieces before you roll them out.
Enjoy my recipe, and I hope you make some nice delicious mandu-pi from it. Let me know how your mandu turn out!
Ingredients
(makes 16 large wrappers, each one 5½ to 6 inches in diameter)
- 2 cups all purpose flour plus ¼ cup extra for dusting
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅔ cup water
Directions
- Combine 2 cups of flour, kosher salt, and water in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until it turns into a lump. Then knead it by hand for a few minutes until the dough gets a little softer. Put it in a plastic bag to keep it from the air and let it sit for 10 to 30 minutes on the kitchen counter.
- Take the dough out of the plastic bag. It will be a little softer and moist and easier to handle. Knead it for 5 to 7 minutes, until it’s smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough on a cutting board dusted with a bit of flour and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Put one half into the plastic bag to keep it from getting dried out as your work on the other half.
- Cut the piece of dough into 8 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece out with a rolling pin into 5½ to 6 inch round circle disks. They should be a little thinner on the edges than in the middle, because we’ll eventually be pinching the edges together when we make mandu, so you don’t want them too thick and doughy.
- Take the second half out of the bag and make mandu wrappers out of it using the same method.
- Use them right away to make mandu, or freeze them for later.
To freeze:
- Cover a large platter with plastic wrap and put the wrappers on it. Place them so they don’t touch each other, and separate layers of skins with sheets of plastic wrap.
- When it’s full of skins, cover the entire tray with plastic wrap and freeze it for up to 1 month.
How to use frozen mandupi:
- Thaw out at room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes before using them to make mandu.
Would it be ok to use a pasta machine to roll out the dough, then cut out circles?
Can we use wheat flour to prepare dumpling wrappers?
I use 1/4 whole wheat flour when I make mine, to make it a tiny bit healthier. I have found this works. I think more than this could start to become a problem, though. It would change the texture.
When you use whole wheat, you also need to add about 1tbsp of water, and let it sit out for longer in the plastic bag. I usually let mine sit for a full 30 minutes. Whole wheat takes longer to soften up and soak up the moisture.
To clarify, I mean 1/4 of your flour can be whole wheat. I usually double this recipe because I have a big family—four kids, plus my husband and me! So that means I use 4 cups of flour, with 1 cup being whole wheat, and then I use 2 tbsp of extra water.
Hi! I’m so happy to have found your amazing recipes. I was hoping to make mandu for my son who has many food allergies. He cannot have wheat or eggs (or sesame), do you have any advice on how to make mandu-pi and mandu without these ingredients? I want him to enjoy the foods I grew up on, your help would be very appreciated ☺️
Hi Maangchi,
Look what I found in my local supermarket today! A Mandu Maker! Certainly gonna be helpful to a non professional cook like me, saving me lots of time.
It´s a set of 5 each, from 2 1/4 inch (5.5 cm) up to 6 inch (15.5 cm), so you can even make king size Mandu with it. I´ll soon be making Mandu again, which is one of my favorites. Then I´ll let you know how it works for me, including a pic or two.
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And this is how it works:
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It looks good! Whatever method you use, just wrap the filling and cook! That’s mandu! : )
Mi first try at Mandu-Pi. First fresh ones I used for Mandu in chicken broth: turned out fine. Next day I made fried Mandu. The dough had become sticky and very elastic in the fridge over night, but it worked well enough with some skill, and dusting them with flour, and sticking the edges together with egg white. So I definitely used the wrong flour. Tasted delicious though, with some Dakgangjeom sauce.
For giving them the nice round shape, I used a 4 3/4 inch (12 cm) small bowl, cutting the edges of protruding dough off with a knife. So they became a little bigger than the regular ones, allowing to put in some more filling, but still smaller than the king size Pi. And with all that flour, I´m definitely gonna need an apron… ;)
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Hi Maangchi, it’s me – again! I want to make some gluten-free dumplings for a friend who is celiac, so I guess I can use glutinous rice flour, yes? I would mix it with a little potato starch. I guess they would definitely change flavour and texture; maybe using this kind of dough, they’re called something else completely! will using the glutinous rice flour and cornstarch be enough, or should I add another (gluten-free) medium? Do you already have such a recipe?
You’re such a wonderful lady; so patient with those of us who ask and ask and ask so many questions, over and over again!
Thank you for everything you do for us, and have done for so long!
Ive made the Mandu-pi
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Good Day,
I am Valeria and I have a doubt.
Fist of all, I live in Mexico City.
Second, I tried to look for the “all purpose flour”, but I couldn’t find it, instead, I tried it with “wheat flour” and, at the begining, it looked similar, but when I cooked it, it didn’t looked like yours, it was like bread.
Can you please help me to know what kind of flour I have to use?
Hola Valeria, soy de Argentina y yo uso la harina 0000, que es la que se conoce como harina para todo propósito. Espero que te ayude. (La hemos probado en todo tipo de recetas coreanas que llevan all purpose flour y nos salen bien)