Kimchi, pork and Asian chives dumplings “Mandu” with spicy dipping sauce

Can you name one person who does not like dumplings? I certainly can’t. I can’t even think of anyone who wouldn’t shout out “I love dumplings!” with a big smile in their face. I think anywhere in the world has its own version of dumplings. And they are often associated with warm fuzzy memories of home, family and holidays. Like every Korean kid who grew up with their grandma, homemade dumplings (Mandu in Korean) were staples that we had to have during the festive seasons.

Two biggest family holidays we celebrate in Korea are “Mid-autumn festival” otherwise known as Korean Thanksgiving and “Lunar new year”. Sitting around a table gossiping and making dumplings together was how my grandma and my aunties started the preparation for those holidays. I, on the other hand, was only interested in eating and busy stealing freshly made dumplings and putting them in my mouth (they were very hot but that didn’t stop me). I know it doesn’t sound like much but what I did was quite naughty, because those dumplings were supposed to be used at family memorial service for our dead ancestors before we, live humans could serve them at our table. The only way I could eat some portion of them was to help my family, and that is how I first learned to make dumplings. Although I didn’t appreciate it much at that time, I am now forever grateful for the experience.

For the first time in almost 20 years I made dumplings for lunar new year in late January, and things were relatively normal back then even in Asia. I don’t usually go to Korea during the lunar new year holiday (it’s too cold!) but I always go see my family a few months after that in spring. And I was planning on doing the same this year… I am not sure when I’ll be able to get on a plane and visit my family and friends again. It makes me too sad to think about it so I’m trying not to do that and stay positive instead.

The situation I’m in right now makes the fun and joy I had while making these dumplings even more special. Although it was just me and my husband, making dumplings had brought all the lovely memories I had with my family back home in Korea. I could almost hear my aunties chatting and laughing loudly and grandma bossing around and pointing at things that we are doing wrong. If my husband had helped me like he’d promised then that’s exactly what I would have done too. But after watching me making the first few Mandu, he changed his mind and took a video for this post instead (so he earned the right to his dumplings I guess ;-)). I can’t remember what my Mandu looked or tasted like 20 years ago but ones I made this year apparently deserved a big A-Plus according to a man who is probably quite biased 😊

You should be able to make about 40-50 dumplings depending on the size of your wrappers. If you mess up a few in the process like I did and end up running out of the wrappers, simply shape the extra filling into little balls and make meatballs/skinless dumplings instead. They’re still extremely delicious on their own.

Ingredients

Dumplings

• 40-50 round dumpling or gyoza wrappers
• 4/3 cup. finely chopped kimchi
• 360g/12.7oz. minced pork
• 2 cup. finely chopped Asian chives, “buchu”
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 tsp. ground white pepper
• a few pinches of salt

Dipping sauce

• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp. chili oil or chili sauce of your choice
• a few pinches of ground white pepper

Make the dipping sauce and set aside.

After chopping kimchi, squeeze out its juice as much as possible with a spoon through a sieve. You can use a muslin cloth too but it might get stained and smell like kimchi afterward. I used the sieve and it worked just fine.

Mix minced pork, garlic, chopped kimchi, chives, eggs and grated ginger.

Add sesame oil, white pepper and a little bit of salt. kimchi itself is quite salty so you don’t need to season heavily.

Separate the wrappers and place them on a board or a tray.

With a spoon, place the filling in the middle of the wrapper (refer to photo above). The key is to make sure there’s enough space (about 1 1/2 inch) around the filling  to seal the dumpling properly.

To see how to shape and seal the dumplings click here to see the video

Not too complicated, right? Trust me you will get the hang of it after making a few :-).

In a pan of boiling water, add dumplings and cook for a few minutes.

When they float, cook for another minute or two, take them out and drain.

Serve them with dipping sauce.

So many people are discovering the joy of cooking at home these days. As always, cooking is definitely getting me through this difficult time. I made these Mandu for a special occasion under a very different circumstance, but I feel like right now may be the perfect time for you to make dumplings with your family at home. I promise you, you will have so much fun even if your dumplings turned out to be less than desirable. And more importantly all your beautiful memories will be cherished by you and your loved ones forever like mine.

Stay safe, healthy and happy!