( ko, 편수) is a square-shaped '' mandu'' (dumpling) in Korean cuisine. It is a food typically served in summer, served chilled, and dipped in soy sauce and

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

. The city of

Gaeseong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close to ...

in North Hwanghae Province is famous for its ''pyeonsu''.

Etymology

The origin of the word () is obscure. Some claim that it was derived from (), which appears in the 1527 book '' Collection of Characters for Training the Unenlightened'' as a borrowing from the

Old Mandarin Old Mandarin or Early Mandarin was the speech of northern China during the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty and the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (12th to 14th centuries). New genres of vernacular literature were based on this language, including verse, dram ...

Chinese (, ) that meant " dumplings" at the time. In

Korean royal court cuisine Korean royal court cuisine (''Joseon Wangjo Gungjung yori'') was the style of cookery within Korean cuisine traditionally consumed at the court of the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910. There has been a revival of this cookery ...

during the Joseon era (1392–1897), wheat-skin dumplings boiled in water were called (, ), with the letters (, meaning any flour dough food) and (, meaning "spoon") which, combined, could refer to dumplings that are eaten with a spoon. It is also said that the name is Sino-Korean (, , ), as the dumplings are served floating on water. Another claim is that the word was derived from (, ), which means "Byeon's dumplings", because it was first made by a person whose family name was (, ).

History

Although Korean '' mandu'' are believed to have first been brought to Korea by Yuan Mongolians in the 14th century during the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...

, the variety ''pyeonsu'' is thought to be derived from

Ming Chinese The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

dumplings brought into the Korean peninsula by the Joseon merchants based in

. During the Joseon era (1392–1897), wheat flour was a rare and expensive ingredient in most regions, except in

Hwanghae Province Hwanghae Province (''Hwanghae-do'' ) was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon era. Hwanghae was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Haeju. The regional name for the province was Haeseo. History In 139 ...

, where wheat was very common. Many dumpling varieties in that period were made with

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as ''Fagopy ...

-flour, while in

, where the wheat was abundant, dumpling skins were made with wheat flour. Wheat dumplings, called ''pyeonsu'', were made with simple

tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super f ...

and

mung bean sprout Mung bean sprouts are a culinary vegetable grown by sprouting mung beans. They can be grown by placing and watering the sprouted beans in the shade until the hypocotyls grow long. Mung bean sprouts are extensively cultivated and consumed in Eas ...

stuffings in poorer households, while extravagant versions with

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

and fresh

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

were made in wealthier households in Gaeseong. The 1809 compendium '' Women's Encyclopedia'' records that ''pyeonsu'' of Songdo (name of Gaeseong at the time) is famous and is made during the festivities around Korean New Year. Unlike other dumpling varieties, ''pyeonsu'' was not popularized on a nationwide scale during the 20th century and remains a regional specialty usually served only in Gaeseong-style restaurants.

Preparation

Wheat flour dough is made by mixing

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bread ...

with boiling water. The dough is then rolled thin and cut into squares to make ''pyeonsu''. Common fillings include meat and vegetables such as

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

and

pheasant meat Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Euras ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

, and a couple of whole

pine nut Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), pignoli or chilgoza (), are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are trad ...

s per dumpling. The stuffings are seasoned with salt and

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...

, ground toasted sesame,

sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. ...

, and minced aromatic vegetables such as

scallion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus '' Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, c ...

s, ginger, and garlic. The dumplings are boiled in a

and soy sauce based broth, chilled, and served as is or in cold

chicken broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...

. Soy sauce mixed with

is usually served as dipping sauce. Sometimes, ''pyeonsu'' can be served as warm ''pyeonsu-

guk ''Guk'' (), also sometimes known as ''tang'' (), is a class of soup-like dishes in Korean cuisine. ''Guk'' and ''tang'' are commonly grouped together and regarded as the same type of dish, although ''tang'' can sometimes be less watery than ...

'' (dumpling soup), with '' gomyeong'' (garnish) such as

egg garnish Egg garnish, called ''al-gomyeong'' () in Korean, is a common topping in Korean cuisine, made with egg whites and egg yolks. Egg yolks and egg whites are separated, beaten without creating foam, pan-fried with little oil into thin sheets withou ...

and chopped

s on top.

References

{{Dumplings Dumplings Korean cuisine Kaesong

Etymology

History

Preparation

See also

References