I’m happy to introduce my delicious sweet manju pastry recipe to you today.
I researched the origin of this pastry on the internet, some bloggers and Wikipedia say the idea of this pastry originated a long ways back in China, as Chinese dumplings are made with fillings and dough skin. When these dumplings were introduced to Japan, the Japanese modified the dumplings and made them into pastries by adding fillings made with sweet beans. They called this manju.
Eventually manju came to Korea, which is where I learned it. I’m not sure if the taste of my manju is different from the original Japanese manju because I’ve never tasted Japanese manju. If you know more about the history and tastes of different manju, please let us know about it in the comments.
Where did I get this recipe?
I was very excited the first time I had this homemade manju visiting my friend Jeongjin’s house in Korea. Jeongjin would make so many delicious dishes and I loved whatever she made. She was generous about sharing her recipes with me and my other friends. It was a big revelation for me to see that we could make such delicious sweet pastries at home and not have to buy them at a bakery. As soon as I tasted these, I knew I had to make them. This is Jeongjin’s recipe.
She and I lost touch years ago. I’m wondering if she still keeps cooking these days. Whenever we met each other, we talked about new delicious dishes and recipes and learned from each other.
If you feel your heart beating quickly when you see this video recipe today, you’ll know how I felt the first time I saw them being made. You and I are really in the same boat. : ) If so, “Cheers” to you!
Ingredients (for 8 manju)
1 cup lima beans, ½ cup sugar, ½ ts salt, ¾ cup flour and ½ cup extra flour, 2 eggs, ¼ cup sesame seeds, ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk, 2 ts of vanilla extract.
Directions
Let’s make sweet filling first!
- Soak 1 cup of lima beans in cold water overnight (for about 10-12 hours).
- Pop the beans out of the skins with your fingers.
- Place the beans in a heavy bottomed pot with 1¼ cup of water and bring to a boil over medium high heat for 10 minutes.
- Lower the heat and simmer for about 35-50 minutes until the beans are soft and fluffy.
- Mash the beans with a wooden spoon until they have the consistency and look of mashed potatoes.
*tip: If you need to make a large quantity, using a food processor will be faster
- Add ½ cup sugar, ¼ ts salt, and 1 ts vanilla extract and keep stirring for about 1-2 minutes with a wooden spoon to thicken the filling. Keep stirring so the filling doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Turn the heat off and cool down.
Make dough:
- Add ¾ cup flour, 1 egg, ¼ ts salt, ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk, and 1 ts vanilla extract to a mixing bowl.
- Mix it well with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Make 8 manju:
- Divide the dough and the filling into 8 same-sized balls on a floured cutting board.
- Flatten out each dough ball by pressing it down with the palm of your hand.
- Place a filling ball into the center of a flattened dough ball. Wrap the dough around the filling.
- Seal the edges of the wrapped dough and form into the shape of an egg. To make a chestnut, first make a ball and then gently pinch a point at one end. Leave the other end rounded.
- Dip the side of egg shaped manju into water first, and then dip into sesame seeds so the seeds stick to side. For chestnut shaped manju, dip the top into water, and then dip the top into seeds.
- Brush the egg yolk over the sesame seeds on egg shaped manju. For chestnut shaped manju, brush egg yolk below the part where sesame seeds are on so that the color will change into brown when it’s baked.
- Repeat for each pastry, and place the manju on a cookie pan lined with a baking sheet, with the sealed part of the manju on the bottom.
- Bake in the oven at 350°F on the middle rack for about 20 minutes.
- If you make chestnut shaped manju, bake them a little longer for a deep, rich color.
- Serve as a dessert or snack.
Posted Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011 at 2:37 pm.
Tagged: baked beans, bean recipe, delicious dessert, dessert recipe, 만주, 밤만주, Japanese pastries, korean dessert, Korean kitchen, Korean pastries, lima bean recipe, Maangchi's recipes, manju, pastries, sweet bean filling, sweet dessert, sweet manju pastry
Jun 23rd
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Apr 20th
Hi, Maangchi,
I am making manju for a fundraiser and I was wondering if I could make them a few days in advance. How long do they keep for?
Thanks!
hello , I want try it but can i use another kind of beans ( small one) in my country we haven’t this one
thanks a lot for your explanation
Yes, sure! You can use red beans (azuki beans https://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/red-beans) too!
Hi Maangchi. This is my first time to post my comment and I just want to say that I am so happy to know you and your Korean recipe. I really want to try everything you have shared especially since some of them are my favorite delicious foods. What I want to ask here is about the red bean you have to use instead of the bean you used in this recipe.
After I soak the red bean in the water, do I need to pop the bean out of the skin just like you did or just boil it with the skin?
Here is Maangchi’s red bean paste recipe: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/patbingsu
If you’re using adzuki beans, you don’t need to do anything with the skin. Just rinse the beans first. Also, if you want to make more of a paste, I recommend stirring the cooked beans for a bit longer than 5 min. Around 10? Make sure you’re using low heat though. Canned red bean paste can also be pretty good. Hope this helps!
So my first batch had failed, the skin was way too hard.
I made the second batch and it turned out great. The failing point was from the bean. The shop around my house only has small lima beans and they need more time to soak (I soaked the second batch 24 hrs) and to make sure to close lid while boiling.
Because the filling was too dry the first time (the bean was hard I couldn’t mash after 50 mins boiling, so I use mixer to blend them) it cannot help moistening up the skin while cooking I guess.
I made this delicious pastry today. I think I might have had some air space or too much moisture inside because many of my pastries burst. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
I tried making these today! However, I am not sure I got them right. what should the consistency of the filling be when they have finished baking? I baked them for 20 minutes, and it still looks the same as before I put it into the oven… I might have cooked the filling for too short (however, it was possible to shape it to balls)
Are the cups in the recipe US or Metric cups?
Hi Maangchi,
Can the bean paste you made in this recipe by used for Sangtu Gwaja? i have been wanting to make these for the last two years but I’ve been unable to find the bean paste. can you please do a video on Sangtu Gwaja? :D
Hi Maangchi! When i cooked the lima beans, i must have put in too much water! Now its all runny and doesnt thicken.. What should i do?
oh, it sometimes happens to me, too. I dehydrate the paste with a microwave oven. I just put the paste in my microwave oven and cook a few minutes and take it out and stir it with a wooden spoon. If it’s still wet, repeat it again.
Hi Maangchi! I’m going to try making these tomorrow, but I was wondering if they froze well. Like if I made a lot, but wanted to freeze some to use later. Let me know, thanks!
yes, you can freeze it up to 3 months! Thaw it out at room temperature when you eat it. Good luck with making delicious manju!
Hi,I’m a newbie here…
Just found out your ‘drooling’ site recently.Since you haven’t posted much on pastries..so I have one request on this one recipe..I’ve once watched it in a Korean variety show..it is called Chap Ssal Bbang or Mochi bread. I’ve search high and low for this recipe but have only found a premixed flour version..not homemade scratch version.So I wonder you could post the tuts for this.Your kindness is greatly appreciated.
if you use baby lima beans, they are green and the manju looks like nokja manju~! the taste is still the same :D
I made it today Maangchi! I’m so happy. They’re so delicious, I made photo too, but I don’t know how to upload it at your site.
Thank you for your hard work and the will to let us know the Korean cousine.
wow, congratulations! I want to see your manju photo! Check out the Korean food photo page. https://www.maangchi.com/photos and click “upload it here” https://www.maangchi.com/photos/upload
You’re awesome and I really thank you for all your efford!
Thank you very much, with all my heart!
Thank you for uploading the photo! Looking at the photo makes me crave manju! https://www.maangchi.com/photo/manju_koreandessert
I made according to the recipe and even doubled the recipe so that I have enough to feed my family and neighbor. They turned out great. But too bad I forgot to take a picture of it. Will do it again tomorrow and send you the picture soon ;)
no problem! I’m so happy to hear that your manju turned out delicious!
Thank you so much for your videos! I tried to make this twice but I FAILED. So being the momma’s girl I am, I asked my mom for help. I can’t really translate this to korean. Could you possibly send me instructions in korean? Thank you!
Hi Maangch,
Where can i buy those cups?
Because i live in Holland and i don’t know where i can buy it T_T
Can you help me or do you know if there is a site or something?
Maangchi-ssi! I just roasted my sesame seeds. Is that wrong? Should I be using non-roasted sesame seeds? =( I thought you are using roasted seeds, but in the video, it looks non-roasted. Please clarify, thank you much! :)
Happy holidays!!!
I use roasted sesame seeds. Happy cooking!
*whew!* Thank you for that confirmation! =D I roasted them, and they have darker coloration than your roasted sesame seeds, so I didn’t know. =\ I’m kind of worried that they will be burnt if I bake them for 35-40 minutes on the pastry. Do you recommend putting the sesame seeds on, in the last 5 minutes of baking instead of at the beginning? =?
Okay, so I’ve finally finished making them just now. The cooked dough turned out the be tough (not too much, but it’s not soft like the ones I’ve had at a bakery). Is there anything I can do to fix it? I followed your directions word for word. =((
I’m sorry to hear that your dough turned out tough. Follow the ratio of dough mix tightly in the recipe.
mAANGCHI…the bread turned out really tough! any suggestions?
Also, the glaze from the egg wash was very light….ne suggestions on that? Otherwise, thanks for your enthusiastic spirit!!!
Yeah, the dough for me was tough, also. I think it’s not supposed to be all purpose flour. =|
I Make this and It was very Sweet :D
I will make this again ^^
These look delicious! I think sometime soon I’ll try my hand at making a vegan version of these. I can make homemade sweetened condensed almond or soymilk, pureed silken tofu instead of egg in the dough, and maybe a little margarine instead of egg yolk for the glaze.
wow, it sounds great! Cheers, chef!
Could I use mung beans for the filling?
Yes, mung beans will work well.
Can I use something else instead of lima beans?
You can use red beans (azuki beans). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azuki_bean
hey Maangchi!
i was wandering if you could switch the recipe up! do you think i could use the sweet red bean filing insted?
–Abby
Abby, yes, some of my readers have submitted their manju made with sweet red beans. Delicious! : )
Hello Maangchi ! First of all, congratulations for this amazing website, if it weren’t for you, I would have never had the opportunity to experiment Korean cuisine. Thank you very much!
I tried this recipe of yours today for a family dinner. I was delightful with the result and so was my family!
Here’s a picture of it http://i52.tinypic.com/20ffhgn.jpg
What do you think? :D
Fantastic! So beautiful manju! I’m very impressed! Upload the photo here please https://www.maangchi.com/photos/upload
Let’s impress more people!
안녕하세요!I am so happy to find this recipe as I was looking for 경주빵’s recipe. I miss it so much~!I really appreciate your style of cooking that infuses tradition and simplicity. Always a fan of you and your delicious cooking^^*
Your id is funcooking which means you have fun while cooking. So do I! ^^
I just made you Fantastic recipe! It was fun and really easy, and everyone in my family loved it. My sister said it was too sweet, but i thought it was perfect with a glass of ice cold milk! I will definitely be making it again, and will try some of your other recipes (I’m thinking hoddok next!).
P.S. Here’s a picture of my Manju!
[IMG]http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad213/whodudis/100_1129.jpg[/IMG]
“..perfect with a glass of ice cold milk!” I agree with you! Upload your photo here please, for some reason, I can’t see the photo. https://www.maangchi.com/photos/upload
Hi Maangchi!!
Here in Indonesia there is a very similar dish called “Pia” it is filled with mung bean and it’s really delicious. And since Indonesia is such a melting pot of people from different ethnics, The filling varieties are crazily yummy!! Cheese, chocolate, milk etc. Also the region that is very famous for its pia is Bali (I’m sure you’ve heard of that island). I’ll make this one for sure, but it is almost impossible to find lima beans in Jakarta. Perhaps I’ll substitute it with other bean.
yes, you can use filling made with mung beans, too. Pia, I should remember the name. Use mung beans or red beans to make manju.
so…I’m not sure what I did wrong, but it took over 3 hours of simmering after 10 minutes of boiling to get the beans mashable. Any idea what happened?
I think you skip the first step: “Soak 1 cup of lima beans in cold water overnight (for about 10-12 hours)”
Hi Maangchi! Mmm this looks so delicious! I have baby lima beans, will those work the same as the large ones?
yes, you will have the same result as if you used large beans, but it will take more time to remove all the skins, right? : )
lol … I used baby lima beans since that was all the store had at the time AND as you said, it DID take more time to peel the skins off! I was ready to say, “Never again!” before I even did 1/4 of them! However, I am very glad I did, because in the end, they were delicious! You will note that I made sure to find a bag of regular sized lima beans for the next time! Confession time: I, um, sorta hate you, Maangchi! You make wrapping the filling look so easy! I struggled with that step, rrrr … Although they ended up delish, they didn’t look as pretty as yours, hmmm. Oh, well, I “forgive you” for being so talented! As always, thank you for sharing with us your talents and recipes! Komapsumnida …
Hi Maangchi,how about “Han Cook” as the title for your new show??
Maangchi, I found your website a few months ago and have been watching all your videos when I have time. I really want to try every recipe here! This is the first recipe I am going to try, since its one of the recipes I have all the ingredients for(It’s hard to find asian markets here!) I hope it goes well. Love your videos!!!!
Hi!
I made these today, but while they were baking the filling exploded out of the cakes! It looks like lava bursting from rocks! :O
They are all ruined in looks, but they still taste good though. :)
Do you know why this might have happened?
thank you!
I had the same problem! They looked ok at 20 minutes but since I made the chestnut shape, I wanted to bake them longer for the colour, but 2 minutes later, they had all exploded!
I hope Maangchi has some idea – they were very tasty, but not presentable as gifts xD
I’ve never tried making manju, but I know these are common mistakes in making mooncakes.
Make sure you wrap them tight. If there’s air between the layers then it will expand during cooking.
Also make sure you cook out enough water in you bean filling. If you don’t the water in the filling will expand during baking and could cause you dough to crack.
Yes, it sometimes happens. I suggest lowering your oven temperature and bake them longer. Maybe 325ºF ?
Made this for a bbq and it was a huge huge hit! Great recipe and super easy!
http://ikkin-bot.blogspot.com/2011/06/cooking-korean-manju-sweet-white-bean.html
yay, you doubled the recipe! yummy!
Looking good! These beans are also known as butter beans. I use them for a greek recipe for ‘gigantes’ (meaning huge beans) with tomato sauce and spices, i never knew you could make these buns with them.
yes, butter beans. : )
Wow, this looks great, Maangchi! I ran out to buy lima beans and condensed milk last night. Will be making this recipe this weekend. I also plan to make this with red bean fillings as well. The lima beans and the red beans are now soaking in water.
I have a question about storage if you don’t finish all of the manjus at once. What is the best way to store these? Do you leave them at room temperature? Or put them in the fridge (or even freezer)? What sort of container would you use? How long would the leftover manjus last?
Thanks!
I hope your manju turned out delicious! If you have any leftover, put them in a plastic bag or plastic container and keep them in the fridge or freezer. If you keep them in the fridge, you will have to eat them in a few days because they will dry out.
This looks so good!!! (And I think that’s the first time I’ve said that about anything with lima beans in it…) :)
Hi Maangchi!
Just as iichan mentiones, I also know Manju as steamed ones with azuki bean filling, but this variety looks great and delicious as well.
If you want to have the Japanese recipe, I would like to show you a site (unfortunately in German) that contains many Japanese recipes, like Manju, or Patbingsu (of course in its Japanese variety).
Well here’s the link for the Manju recipe http://nekobento.com/?page=manju
thank you very much :)
It looks like jjinppang (steamed bun with sweet red bean filling).
Have you checked out my jjinppang mandu (steamed pork buns) recipe? https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/jjinppang-mandu
Jjinppang is made with sweet red bean filling instead of mixture of meat and vegetables.
I see :). So the Japanese Manju is very different from the Korean Manju :)
Well, just at this moment, I remember a Japanese recipe, that is very equal to the Korean Manju (in its creation and ingredients). It’s called “Anpan”. The creation is very simmilar, but Anpan is filled with sweet red bean paste, instead of white beans.
But I think I like the Korean ones more :)
My mom makes something very similar and she calls it “bam gwaja” or chestnut cookie. Although there are no chestnuts in it – just that lima bean paste -, it looks like one (kind of) once she brushes the top with egg yolk/alcohol mix. Never heard of “manju.” Love it!
Your mom must be a good cook. Not many people make their own bamgwaja at home. yum!
Turns out she knew the other name for bamgwaja was manju – she never tells me these things=P Yes, she’s a good cook/baker, but she hasn’t been able to teach me any recipes (difficulty understanding her way of measuring) and that is where you come in! Thanks again for your recipes and videos, Maangchi!
Looks real yummy. May I know if I may fry them, too?
Hi Maangchi….
So far this year I have prepared Kimchi every other month from Feb…
gonna made again in late June. Each batch yields 10- 12jam jars!
My colleagues at school & Church friends love them…& offered me more glass bottles to fill up with Kimchi!
You r inspiring….U made me to be successful in Korean cuisine!
& u make me wanna try out this pastry..
The Chinese have lots of sweet pastry too.
Just that to make them flaky— we usually have oil & water pastry..
Wow..Discussing with you about recipes & food is really fun in itself…
It sets my heart pumnping…
I have recipes that i would love to share with u but more of cakes…
lvoe,
Annie toh from Singapore
” ..offered me more glass bottles to fill up with Kimchi!” funny! I hope you get some compensation!
You must be passionate about cooking and sharing!
Hi Maangchi! I am Japanese and I love Korean food! I love your recipes and have made many dishes thanks to you!! I didn’t know Korea had Manju as well! In Japan we have many different varieties of manju but I think most popular will always be the original steamed manju. We also use different filling as well but again I think the most popular would be red azuki bean paste.
Thank you so much for the information! Steamed manju sounds delicious!
look so yummy maangchi , def. going to try this in the weekend !!!
I know you would be interested in this recipe! I hope Nic loves it, too.
thanks emily !! i soaked the beans overnight already , couldn’t wait til weekend , i am making it today LOL , wish me luck !! :D i think he’ll enjoy it :D