Napjak Mandu

Napjak Mandu

Napjak means flat in Korean, and mandu means dumpling. These are probably my most crowd-pleaser dish. It's vegetarian too so they work as perfect appetizers for everyone to enjoy.

My mom used to take me to a little hole in the wall place in Dongdaemun for late night snackery. Dongdaemun is a central market where wholesale textile buyers across the country would come to sell their goods. It would be open from 9pm to 5am, and hungry merchants would come in, gulf down mandus and leave.

They had a huge griddle sloshing with hot oil, and a lady in pink rubber gloves with giant industrial spatulas pressing down on the mandus. They were cheap too, three giant fist sized mandus for only $2.

These are probably the easiest dumplings to make since it doesn't require rolling the individual doughs into perfect little circles nor does it require carefully pleating the edges. I personally think that these are one of the best fried dumplings you'll every try because the more skin/ dough = the more beautifully crackled dough you'll have. These also freeze extremely well and can be stacked for maximum freezer space.

Ingredients

Wrappers

• 300g bread flour
• 130-150mL boiling water (This depends on your climate!)
• 1 tsp koscher salt

Filling

• 300g firm tofu, drained
• 1 cup kimchi, chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tsp chili oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 bundle scallions, finely chopped
• 1 egg

Instructions

Dough

1. Mix the flour and salt together. Slowly drizzle in the boiling water in circular motion with chopsticks.
2. Once the dough has formed together, knead for ten minutes. Alternatively, if you find the dough too stiff and your arms are tired, put the dough in a ziplock bag and step on it. I recommend this process because you can also pre-shape the dough into a rectangle.
3. Let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Filling

1. Drain the tofu. Squeeze the moisture out by using a cheese cloth.

2. Put the drained tofu in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients in and mix.

3. Set aside the mixture in the fridge until the dough is ready

Assembly

1. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces
2. Preform the dough into rectangles using a rolling pin
3. Using a pasta machine, feed the dough on the lowest setting
4. Fold the dough into thirds. Roll it out with a rolling pin and feed the dough on the lowest setting again.

5. Fold the dough again. This time, roll out by turning the dough 90 degrees. We're laminating the dough to make sure it doesn't crack and to reinforce the gluten structure.
6. Feed the dough through the pasta machine on the lowest setting.
7. Once the dough has laminated, flatten it out until the highest setting. {You can also do this process by hand using a rolling pin!}
8. Once the dough is ready, cut into 4 equally sized rectangles.
9. Dollop out 1 tbsp of filling on two of the dough sheets. Aim for 3 cm of dough on each side.
10. Wet the sides of the dough and where the seams will be.
11. Place the dough sheets on top. Press down on the wetted seams to make sure they stick.
12. Once done, put on a floured baking tray with parchment paper.

Frying

1. Heat your pan on high. Once the pan has gotten hot, turn the heat down to medium low.
2. Drizzle 1 tbsp of neutral oil.
3. Gently place the mandu into the pan. Press down using a spatula. There will be air bubbles, and that's totally normal. Just press it down until it turns golden brown and crispy. This should only take around 2 minutes on each side.
4. Plate and garnish. I chose chili oil and scallions but you can enjoy with soy sauce, black vinegar, peanuts, cilantro, etc… Whatever you want to eat your napjak mandu with!

Napjak Mandu

4 from 28 votes

Recipe by Doobydobap Course: AppetizersCuisine: KoreanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

45

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Napjak means flat in Korean, and mandu means dumpling. These are probably my most crowd-pleaser dish. It's vegetarian too so they work as perfect appetizers for everyone to enjoy.

Ingredients

• Wrappers

• 300 g bread flour

• 130-150mL boiling water (This depends on your climate!)

• 1 tsp koscher salt

• Filling

• 300 g firm tofu, drained

• 1 cup kimchi, chopped

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 3 tsp chili oil

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1 bundle scallions, finely chopped

• 1 egg

Directions

• Dough
• Mix the flour and salt together. Slowly drizzle in the boiling water in circular motion with chopsticks.
• Once the dough has formed together, knead for ten minutes. Alternatively, if you find the dough too stiff and your arms are tired, put the dough in a ziplock bag and step on it. I recommend this process because you can also pre-shape the dough into a rectangle.
• Let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Filling
• Drain the tofu. Squeeze the moisture out by using a cheese cloth.
• Put the drained tofu in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients in and mix.
• Set aside the mixture in the fridge until the dough is ready
• Assembly
• Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces
• Preform the dough into rectangles using a rolling pin
• Using a pasta machine, feed the dough on the lowest setting
• Fold the dough into thirds. Roll it out with a rolling pin and feed the dough on the lowest setting again.
• Fold the dough again. This time, roll out by turning the dough 90 degrees. We're laminating the dough to make sure it doesn't crack and to reinforce the gluten structure.
• Feed the dough through the pasta machine on the lowest setting.
• Once the dough has laminated, flatten it out until the highest setting. {You can also do this process by hand using a rolling pin!}
• Once the dough is ready, cut into 4 equally sized rectangles.
• Dollop out 1 tbsp of filling on two of the dough sheets. Aim for 3 cm of dough on each side.
• Wet the sides of the dough and where the seams will be.
• Place the dough sheets on top. Press down on the wetted seams to make sure they stick.
• Once done, put on a floured baking tray with parchment paper.
• Frying
• Heat your pan on high. Once the pan has gotten hot, turn the heat down to medium low.
• Drizzle 1 tbsp of neutral oil.
• Gently place the mandu into the pan. Press down using a spatula. There will be air bubbles, and that's totally normal. Just press it down until it turns golden brown and crispy. This should only take around 2 minutes on each side.
• Plate and garnish. I chose chili oil and scallions but you can enjoy with soy sauce, black vinegar, peanuts, cilantro, etc... Whatever you want to eat your napjak mandu with!

Notes

• If you’ve never tried Tajin before, it’s a seasoning blend of mild chili powder, lime, and sea salt. It’s usually eaten with fruit, and when you go to Mexico there are lots of street vendors with carts selling fruit on the stick with tajin seasoning. I personally LOVE it, especially with watermelon or pineapple, but if you haven’t tried it before, I recommend trying it with fruit before putting it on your food because it can be a hit or miss for some. 
• The plate I used is a cast iron slab I got in Korea for five bucks in a local market. They might have it in h-mart, but here's the next best thing that I would recommend from Amazon. It's a small lodge cast iron skillet pan that's oven proof + with a handle! It allows the heat to retain for longer and therefore sizzle when you are serving it. All in all, it's very versatile so I would definitely recommend having one!

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