''Mandu'' (), or mandoo, are

dumplings Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fish ...

Korean cuisine Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in Korea and southern Manchuria, Korean cuisine reflects a complex interaction of the natural envi ...

. * ''Mandu'' can be steamed, boiled, pan-fried, or deep-fried. The styles also vary across regions in the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

. ''Mandu'' were long part of

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 cooker ...

, but are now found in supermarkets, restaurants, and snack places such as '' pojangmacha'' and '' bunsikjip'' throughout Korea.

Names and etymology

The name is

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical ef ...

with the names of similar types of meat-filled dumplings along the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

, such as Uyghur ''

manta Manta or mantas may refer to: * Manta ray, large fish belonging to the genus ''Manta'' Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * Manta (comics), a character in American Marvel Comics publications * Manta (''Uridium''), a spaceship in the Bri ...

'' (), Turkish ', Kazakh '' mänti'' (), Uzbek ', Afghan ' and Armenian '' mantʿi'' (). Chinese '' mántou'' (; ) is also considered a cognate, which used to mean meat-filled dumplings, but now refers to steamed buns without any filling. ''Mandu'' can be divided into ''gyoja'' () type and ''poja'' () type. In Chinese, the categories of dumplings are called '' jiǎozi'' (; ) and '' bāozi'' () respectively, which are cognates with the Korean words. In Japanese, the former-type dumplings are called '' gyōza'' (), which is also a cognate. In Mongolian, the latter-type dumplings are called '' buuz'' (), which is also a cognate.

History

''Mandu'' are believed to have been first brought to Korea by Yuan Mongolians in the 14th century during the reign of the

Goryeo dynasty 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 ...

.Mandu
at

Doosan Encyclopedia ''Doosan Encyclopedia'' is a Korean language encyclopedia published by Doosan Group, Doosan Donga (두산동아). The encyclopedia is based on the ''Dong-A Color Encyclopedia'' (동아원색세계대백과사전), which comprises 30 volumes and ...

The state religion of Goryeo was

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, which discouraged consumption of meat. The 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 The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

through the

. Historians point out many cuisines based on wheat, such as dumplings and

noodles Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, Ind ...

which originated from

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

and gradually spread from there. It also spread east along the Silk Road, leaving many versions of ''mandu'' throughout Central and East Asia. A Goryeo-era folk song, "''Ssanghwajeom''", tells a story of a mandu shop (''ssanghwa'' meaning 'dumplings', and ''jeom'' meaning 'shop') run by a foreigner, probably of

n origin.

Varieties

If the dumplings are grilled or pan-fried, they are called ''gun-mandu'' (군만두); when steamed, ''jjin-mandu'' (찐만두); and when boiled, ''mul-mandu'' (물만두). In North Korea, mandu styles vary in different regions of the country. In particular, Pulmuone is releasing cheese dumplings, sweet seed dumplings with sugar and spicy dumplings. *''Mul-mandu'' (물만두) means "boiled ''mandu''". *''Gun-mandu'' (군만두) is pan-fried ''mandu''. It is derived from guun-mandu 구운만두=>군만두 to mean "panned" dumplings.'. *''Jjin-mandu'' (찐만두) is steamed, either in a traditional bamboo steamer or modern versions. *'' Gullin-mandu'' (굴린만두), also called ''gulmandu'', is a variety of ''mandu'' in a ball shape without a covering. It is mainly eaten in summer. *''Wang mandu'' (왕만두) is a bun stuffed with pork and vegetables, similar to the Chinese ''

baozi Baozi (), Pao-tsih or bao, is a type of yeast-leavened filled bun in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings (meat or vegetarian) and preparations, though the buns are most often steamed. They are a variation of '' m ...

''. *'' Pyeonsu'' (편수), mandu stuffed with vegetables in a rectangular shape. It is mainly eaten in summer and a local specialty of

Kaesong 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 t ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

. *'' Eo-mandu'' (어만두), mandu wrapped with sliced

fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

fillet. It was originally eaten in Korean royal court and

yangban The ''yangban'' () were part of the traditional ruling class or gentry of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The ''yangban'' were mainly composed of highly educated civil servants and military officers—landed or unlanded aristocrats ...

(noble class) families. *''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. *'' Seongnyu-mandu'' (석류만두), literally "

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...

dumpling" because of the shape. *'' So-mandu'' (소만두), mandu stuffed with only vegetables, which were originally eaten in Buddhist temples. *'' Gyuasang'' (규아상), mandu stuffed with shredded cucumber and minced beef in the shape of a

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothuri ...

. It is mainly eaten in the summer. *''Kimchi-mandu'' (김치만두), mandu with stuffing which contains kimchi. The addition of kimchi gives it a spicier taste compared to other ''mandu''. *''Napjak-mandu'' (납작만두), a

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

specialty. As the name suggests (''napjak'' in Korean means 'flat'), the mandu is not as plump as the other types. A small amount of chopped glass noodles and chopped vegetables go inside the mandu. The mandu is then boiled once and pan-fried once, finished off with a dipping sauce made with soy sauce and red pepper powder, and garnished on top with vegetables. Pork ravioli, Hangang, Paris 002.jpg, ''Gun-mandu'' (pan-fried dumplings) Jjin-mandu 3.jpg, ''Jjin-mandu'' (steamed dumplings) Mulmandu (boiled dumplings).jpg, ''Mul-mandu'' (boiled dumplings) Wang-mandu.jpg, ''Wang-mandu'' (steamed bun dumplings) 10미-납작만두.jpg,

''napjak-mandu'' (flat dumplings) Korean mandu dumplings.jpg, Common dumplings sold in Korean street restaurants

Dishes made with mandu

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

Similar food

In Korean cuisine, ''mandu'' generally denotes a type of filled

dumpling Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, ...

similar to the Mongolian '' buuz'' and Turkic '' mantı'', and some variations are similar to the Chinese '' jiaozi'' and the Japanese '' gyoza''. They are similar to '' pelmeni'' and ''

pierogi Pierogi are filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water. They are often pan-fried before serving. Pierogi or their varieties are associated with the cuisines of Central, Ea ...

'' 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. *

Wonder Girls Wonder Girls () was a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in February 2007 with the single " Irony" and 5 members: Yeeun, Sunye, Sunmi, Hyuna and Sohee. After Hyuna's departure in July, Yubin was added int ...

member Ahn Sohee is often referred to as ''Mandu'' due to her cheeks resembling the shape of ''mandu''.Sohee hates nickname Mandu
Joy News 24, 2008-01-14 *In the 2020 DreamWorks animated series '' Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts'', Kipo finds a mutated pig and names it ''Mandu'' because it resembles the dumpling.

References

External links

Golden Mandu (Korean Dumplings)
(Kate's Global Kitchen, by Kate Heyhoe)
Traditional Mandu Recipe
Korean-Cooking.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mandu (Dumpling) Dumplings Korean cuisine Steamed foods Street food in South Korea