Mandu

Mandu is an umbrella term for the dumpling.  There are a variety of names based on what ingredients are inside.  For example gogi mandu indicates that the dumpling is filled with meat.  Yachae mandu is a dumpling filled with only vegetables.  Kimchi mandu is filled with only kimchi.[i]  There are also a variety of names based on the preparation of the dumpling.  Mul-mandu represents a boiled dumpling.  Boiling is said to be the quickest preparation. The Tchin-mandu, also called the jjin-mandu, is steamed.  The difference between the boiled and steamed dumplings is the texture of the dough.  A boiled dumpling is doughier, where as the steamed dumpling is lighter and softer.[ii]  The Kun-mandu, also called the gun-mandu, is pan-fried.  When the dumpling is pan-fried the skin becomes light and crusty.  Although the outside has more of a crunch, the way it is fried traps in most of the moisture.[iii]  This gives the dumpling a nice contrast with each bite.  Another way to eat the dumpling is by putting it in a liquid.  In the dish mandu-guk, dumplings are boiled within a beef broth and served together.[iv]  When served mandu guk you are given a stainless steal bowl of broth with six fist sized mandu dumplings emerged inside of it.  The dumplings in mandu guk, unlike the other types, are bigger.[v]  Ttokkuk, eaten on the morning of every New Year, is a soup made with thinly sliced ovals of rice cake.  It can also include the addition of mandu. While it is not essential to the soup, it gives the dish more substance.  A bowl of this soup marks the end of the old year and the start of all things new in the universe, which is a theory found in ancient religious practices.[vi]  Finally, there is the wang mandu, translated to “king mandu”.  The wang mandu is significantly different than the other varieties mostly because of its size.  Instead of wrapped in thin wheat dough, the wang mandu is made with fluffy dough, which makes it larger.  These dumplings are steamed in massive steamers and usually found on the streets on Korea.[vii]