Mandu - Korean Dumplings

I made Mandu today - korean dumplings filled with minced meat (pork or a mixture of pork and beef), tofu, shiitake mushrooms, various types of onions and egg. Mandu tastes similar to Jiaozi (chinese dumplings), but I think that the main difference between these two types of dumplings is that korean dumplings usually use tofu but chinese dumplings do not.

Dumplings are one of my most favourite foods. (Before I moved to Germany, I loved to indulge myself with dumplings from various Dim Sum/ Yum Cha restaurants and food courts in Sydney China Town - it's such a shame that there are so little Dim Sum restaurants in Germany, at least not in the area where I live...).

There are countless variations of dumplings around the world, unfortunately I am only familiar with the types of dumplings from some regions in Asia. I used to try Pelmeni, Russian dumplings filled with pork - they tasted great, even though I got them from the frozen section of a supermarket. I guess one day I need to try the real thing...! I know German Maultaschen, I also like them, but they are not really something that I can eat again and again and again like Mandu, Jiaozi or Gyoza (japanese dumplings).

Well, however, enough rambling for now. Here is my Mandu recipe. You can of course always change the filling as you want, as dumplings are very versatile.

Ingredients:

• Mandu/Wonton wrappers
• 1 cup of ground pork
• 1 cup of minced tofu
• 1 egg
• Shiitake mushrooms, chooped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• Green onions, chooped
• Chives, chopped
• 3 tbs fish sauce
• 3 tbs oyster sauce
• Sesame oil
• Salt and pepper
• A pinch of sugar

Ground pork, shiitake mushrooms, tofu, onion, green onion, chives and egg
(Yes, you need to do a lot of chopping!)

Add fish sauce, oyster sauce, salt, pepper, sugar, sesame oil then mix all up.

I shaped the mandu like a tortellini. I actually wanted to pleat the mandu like a traditional-looking jiaozi, but my mandu skins were square, not round, that's why I decided to shape it like tortellini. The last two pictures at the bottom look completely different, but they are actually the same, it's just the front and back view of the mandu.

You can steam, boil, pan-fry or deep-fry the dumplings. The most healthy choice is of course to either steam or boil the dumplings, but the taste of pan-fried dumplings can be heavenly...! Have fun in the kitchen...!