Mandu

They go by many names. In California I've heard them called dumplings, pot stickers, and gyozas. It seems that no matter where you go, you can find dishes consisting of dough stuffed with filling. In Korea, these dumplings are called Mandu (만두). There are many different ways to cook them. You can steam them, you can deep-fry them. You can fill them with kimchi, meat, vegetables, pretty much anything. In this post, I will show you how to make Vegan Mandu.

Ingredients:
-1-2 tbls. vegetable oil

-2-3 tbls. soy sauce

-1/2 block of extra firm tofu (crumbled)

-A couple handfuls of glass noodles, broken into small pieces

-Vegetables of your choice (Minced). I used:

-1/2 carrot

-4 garlic cloves

-1 onion

-1/2 zucchini
-1/2 potato

-1-2 stalks of green onion

-3-4 white mushrooms

-1/2 cup water
-1 frozen package of Mandu dough (Thawed) (You can also make your own, but buying it pre-made is so easy!)

You can blend the ingredients in a food processor if you prefer, but I think finely chopping is fine.
First, boil the glass noodles and set them aside. Then, heat some oil in a frying pan until hot. Add the vegetables, tofu, and glass noodles to the pan and sauté them with soy sauce until they're cooked. Then turn off the heat and wait for the filling to cool down enough to handle.

Use a clean surface to lay out the mandu dough.

Then scoop spoonfuls of filling onto the dough.
Dip your fingers into some water and moisten half of the dough so it will stick to the other half. Fold the dough in half, make sure the dough is stuck together, and make any shape you want!

I'm not an expert by any means, but watch my video to get an idea:

Once you have shaped your mandu you have a few options. You can cook them and eat them right away, refrigerate them to eat the next day, or freeze them. To freeze them, you should put them in the freezer for a few hours (not touching, or they'll get stuck together), then you can put them in a Tupperware or plastic freezer bag to save space.

To cook them, you can steam them or fry them. I prefer mine crispy, so I fry them. Just put a little oil in a frying pan, lightly brown both sides of the mandu, then put in a little water and cover the pan to make sure they are moist and cooked on the inside.

Serve with some soy sauce, hot sauce (I like Sriracha), whatever you like... and enjoy!