Vegetable mandu-guk
만두국 · New Year dumpling soup with tofu-and-glass-noodle mandu, rice cake slices and egg ribbons
In Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi province, the first meal of Seollal (Lunar New Year) is often mandu-guk (만두국): plump dumplings and coin-shaped rice cakes floating in clear broth, finished with ribbons of yellow and white egg and strips of toasted laver. The northern half of the peninsula has always favoured dumplings over rice cake soup, and Seoul families tend to combine the two. These mandu are filled with tofu, glass noodles, cabbage, mushrooms and chives, and the broth is a kelp and shiitake stock instead of beef. Fold the dumplings a day ahead and the soup comes together in 15 minutes. Chef's tip: squeeze the tofu and cabbage hard in a cloth; a wet filling turns the wrappers soggy and the dumplings split in the pot.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the mandu filling
For the broth
To finish
Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Put 6 ¾ cups water, 1 piece dried kelp (dasima) and 4 dried shiitake mushrooms in a large pot. Bring to a gentle simmer over a medium heat and cook for 10 minutes, then lift out the kelp. Take out the shiitake, slice them thinly and return them to the pot.
15 minStep 2: Meanwhile, toss 7 oz napa cabbage with ½ tsp salt and leave for 10 minutes. Cook 1 ⅜ oz sweet potato glass noodles (dangmyeon) in boiling water for 6 minutes until soft, rinse under cold water and chop them finely.
10 minStep 3: Wrap 7 oz firm tofu in a clean tea towel and squeeze until no more water drips out; it should crumble like dry ricotta. Squeeze the cabbage hard in the same towel.
Step 4: In a bowl, mix the tofu, cabbage, noodles, 5 fresh shiitake mushrooms, 1 oz garlic chives, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil and ¼ tsp ground black pepper with your hand until the filling holds together when pressed.
Step 5: Place a heaped teaspoon of filling in the centre of each of the 24 round dumpling wrappers. Wet the edge, fold into a half-moon and press out the air, then bring the two corners together and pinch to make a round dumpling. Keep the finished mandu under a damp cloth.
Step 6: Beat the egg yolks and whites from 2 eggs in separate bowls. Wipe a non-stick pan with 1 tsp neutral oil and cook each over a low heat for 1–2 minutes as a thin sheet, without letting it brown. Roll up and cut into thin ribbons.
4 minStep 7: Add 5 ½ oz Korean radish (mu) or daikon to the broth and simmer for 5 minutes until it turns translucent. Season with 1 ½ tbsp Korean soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang) and ½ tsp salt; it should taste a little saltier than you would like, as the dumplings will soften it.
5 minStep 8: Drain 7 oz sliced rice cakes (tteokguk-tteok) and add them with the mandu. Simmer over a medium heat for 5–6 minutes, stirring gently once so nothing sticks, until the dumplings float and their wrappers turn translucent and the rice cakes are soft right through.
6 minStep 9: Add 2 spring onions, ladle into bowls and top with the egg ribbons and 1 sheet roasted seaweed (gim). A common mistake is boiling hard once the dumplings are in: keep it to a gentle bubble so the wrappers don't tear.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 19 g
- Carbs
- 76 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does vegetable mandu-guk take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 50 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of napa cabbage?
- Savoy or spring greens, same weight.
- What can I use instead of fresh shiitake mushrooms?
- Aubergine, diced, same weight.
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