Mandu (food)

Mandu

Jjin-mandu (steamed dumplings)
Alternative names	Dumplings
Type	Dumpling
Place of origin	Korea
Associated national cuisine	Korean cuisine, Korean royal court cuisine
Similar dishes	Buuz Jiǎozi Khinkali Manti Momo Pierogi Pelmeni
Cookbook: Mandu  Media: Mandu

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Mandu (만두; 饅頭) are dumplings in Korean cuisine.^[1][2] Mandu can be steamed, boiled, pan-fried, or deep-fried. The styles also vary across regions in Korean Peninsula.^[3] Mandu were long part of Korean royal court cuisine, but are now found in supermarkets, restaurants, and snack places such as pojangmacha, bunsikjip throughout Korea.^[4]

Names and etymology

The name is cognate with the names of similar types of meat-filled dumplings along the Silk Road in Central Asia, such as Uyghur manta (مانتا), Turkish mantı, Kazakh mänti (мәнті), Uzbek manti, and Armenian mantʿi (մանթի).^[5][6] Chinese mántou (馒头; 饅頭) is also considered a cognate, which used to mean meat-filled dumplings, but now refers to steamed buns without any filling.^[5][6] Japanese manjū (饅頭) is another cognate, but it means a sweet, stuffed confection.^[6]

Mandu can be divided into gyoja (교자; 餃子) type and poja (포자; 包子) type.^[7] In Chinese, the categories of dumplings are called jiǎozi (饺子; 餃子) and bāozi (包子) respectively, which are cognates with the Korean words. In Japanese, the former-type dumplings are called gyōza (餃子), which is also a cognate. In Mongolian, the latter-type dumplings are called buuz (бууз), which is also a cognate.

History

Mandu are believed to have been first brought to Korea by Mongolians in the 14th century during the Goryeo Dynasty.^[8] The state religion of Goryeo was Buddhism, which discouraged consumption of meat. Mongolian incursion into Goryeo relaxed the religious prohibition against consuming meat, and mandu was among the newly imported dishes that included meat.

Another possibility is mandu came to Korea at a much earlier period from the Middle East through the Silk Road. Historians point out many cuisines based on wheat, such as dumplings and noodles originated from Mesopotamia and gradually spread from there. It also spread east along the Silk Road, leaving many versions of mandu throughout Central and East Asia.^[9]

Varieties

mul-mandu, boiled dumplings

kimchi-mandu, steamed kimchi dumplings

If the dumplings are grilled or fried, they are called gun-mandu (군만두); when steamed, jjin-mandu (찐만두); and when boiled, mul-mandu (물만두).^[10] In North Korea, mandu styles vary in different regions of the country.

• Mul-mandu (물만두), the word itself means "water mandu" since it is boiled.^[11]
• Gun-mandu (군만두) is pan-fried mandu, it's derived from guun-mandu 구운만두=>군만두 to mean "panned" dumplings. It's sometimes called by its Japanese name, yakimandu.^[12][13]
• Jjin-mandu (찐만두) is steamed, either in a traditional bamboo steamer or modern versions.^[8]
• Gullin-mandu (굴린만두), or called gulmandu is a variety of mandu in a ball shape without a covering. It is mainly eaten in summer.^[14]
• Wang mandu (왕만두), is a bun stuffed with pork and vegetables, similar to the Chinese baozi.
• Pyeonsu (편수), mandu stuffed with vegetables in a rectangular shape. It is mainly eaten in summer and a local specialty of Kaesong, North Korea.^[15]
• Eo-mandu (어만두), mandu wrapped with sliced fish fillet. It was originally eaten in Korean royal court and yangban (noble class) families.^[16]
• Saengchi-mandu (생치만두), mandu stuffed with pheasant meat, beef, and tofu, that was eaten in Korean royal court and in the Seoul area during winter.^[17]
• Seongnyu-mandu (석류만두), literally "pomegranate dumpling" because of the shape ^[18]
• So-mandu (소만두), mandu stuffed with only vegetables, that was originally eaten in Buddhist temples.^[19]
• Gyuasang (규아상), mandu stuffed with shredded cucumber and minced beef in the shape of sea cucumber. It is mainly eaten in summer.^[20][21]
• Kimchi-mandu (김치만두), the stuffing contains kimchi. The addition of kimchi gives it a spicier taste compared to other mandu.^[22]

Dishes made with mandu

Manduguk

Manduguk is a variety of Korean soup (guk) made with mandu in beef broth. In the Korean royal court, the dish was called byeongsi (餠匙) while in Eumsik dimibang, a 17th-century cookbook, it was called "seokryutang" (석류탕).^[23]

Similar food

In Korean cuisine, mandu generally denotes a type of filled dumpling similar to the Mongolian buuz and Turkish mantı, and some variations are similar to the Chinese jiaozi and the Japanese gyoza.

They are similar to pelmeni and pierogi in some Slavic cultures.

In popular culture

• In the 2003 South Korean film Oldboy, the protagonist Oh Dae-Su is fed a steady diet of fried mandu, the food that he detests the most, while he is imprisoned. After he is released, he visits various restaurants serving the dish to get clues and determine where he was held captive.^[24]
• Wonder Girls' member, Ahn Sohee, is often referred to as Mandu due to her cheeks resembling the shape of mandu.^[25]

See also

• List of steamed foods
• Mandugwa

References

External links

• Golden Mandu (Korean Dumplings) (Kate's Global Kitchen, by Kate Heyhoe)
• Traditional Mandu Recipe, Korean-Cooking.com