NOCCA’s Classical Instrumental Music chair, Dr. Jee Yeoun Ko, hails from South Korea, and instead of a music recommendation, she’s chosen to share a beloved family recipe:
“Hello NOCCA family! I am sharing my mom’s recipe for mandu, traditional Korean dumplings. My family makes these for both western and Korean/Chinese New Year’s day as well as many other occasions. Though I am far away from home, I started carrying on the tradition here in New Orleans by sharing the recipe and making them together with my musician friends and close friends on Korean New Year. It is wonderful to see that my family’s tradition is shared by my NOLA families. Enjoy tiger teacher Dr. Ko’s mom’s recipe for mandu with your loved ones. Don’t forget to wish each other good luck while enjoying this lucky food together!”
INGREDIENTS
Yield: 50 to 60 mandu
• 1 cup of ground pork
• 2 cups of ground beef (or chopped, uncooked shrimp)
• 1 cup packed, finely chopped kimchi
• 2 cups of chopped buchu (Asian chives)
• 2 ounces dangmyeon (sweet starch noodle), soaked in warm water for about 30 min and chopped
• 1 half onion, chopped
• 1 half package of tofu
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• salt
• soy sauce
• sugar
• sesame oil
• vegetable oil
• egg
• green onion
• mandu skins (60 discs)
DIRECTIONS
Make filling:
1. Place 1 cup of ground pork and 2 cups of ground beef (or shrimp) into a big bowl.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, and mix it by hand. Be sure to press the mixture onto the side of the bowl.
3. Wash some Asian chives (buchu), and dry well with a paper towel or cotton cloth. Chop them to yield 2 cups’ worth. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and mix it up. Place it in the big bowl next to the ground meat. (Tip: the oil coats the vegetables so they retain their moisture!)
4. Put the dangmyeon and half onion into a small bowl. Finely chop the kimchi and squeeze out excess liquid by hand, and add to the bowl.
5. Add 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of sesame oil to the small bowl. Mix by hand and transfer it to the big bowl.
6. Squeeze a half package of tofu with a cotton cloth or paper towel and put it into a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Mix it by hand and then put it next to chopped chives.
7. In the big bowl, add 3 cloves of minced garlic and mix all ingredients by hand. This is your mandu filling!
Just enjoy after steaming (serve with soy sauce) or make mandu soup:
1. In a pot, place 6 cups of water, 8 dried anchovies, a handful of shiitake mushroom stems, and the leftover half-onion (whole, not chopped) from above. Boil it over medium heat for 20-30 minutes. If too much water evaporates, add more.
2. When the stock is done, remove the anchovies and onion.
3. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and some of your mandu. Keep the lid on the pot. You can add more salt if you want.
4. When the mandu has cooked, it will float to the top.
5. Add 1 beaten egg, 2 sliced green onions
6. Serve hot with a bowl of kimchi, and ground pepper to taste.