From the blog “Change It Up!”
By Sarah Ortiz
I don’t use measurements.
It starts with a simple recipe, maybe one passed down, maybe one already tried. Dumplings, potstickers, Mandu — however they are known — my recipe is mixed between two Korean Mandu recipes and one trying-to-remember-the-original-way-it-was-given recipe. The outcome: little pouches of heaven.
Mandu is absolutely great because it can be made meatless, veggie-less, or the happy medium of combining meat with veggies, which is the more traditional way of eating them.
Ingredients:
- 1lb ground beef (leaner is better)
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- finely chopped cabbage (about half a head)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 oz mung bean noodles (sweet potato noodles work too), soaked and then chopped
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 package wonton wrappers (for faster prep time use egg roll wrappers)
With quite a bit of Korean influences in my life, learning and experimenting with different techniques results in one heck of a tasty snack or meal. Lately, beef doesn’t quite appeal to my eyes, so for this trial run, I tried ground chicken for the meat portion.
Luckily, consumerism yields quick and easy dinners in any form or fashion. Browsing for a nice head of cabbage, I happened to stumble upon a cole slaw ready package of already finely chopped cabbage. Bingo! I don’t have to pull out my knife sharpener. Not far away I found shredded carrots. Hmmm, cabbage and carrots go together nicely. Carrots are going into the mix.
Looks like I’ll have to pull out the knife sharpener after all since onions don’t come pre-chopped. However, minced garlic can usually be found by the olives. Pre-packaged, freshly made sushi rolls at the grocery store contain ginger packets with the perfect amount of ginger, plus the sushi could be the snack before the Mandu.
I always forget the noodles. No need to fret; the trying-to-remember-the-original-way-it-was-given recipe, which was the first one I learned, lack the necessity of noodles.
Meat:
- In a skillet, over medium heat, add sesame oil.
- Once warm, add garlic, ginger and onion (personally, they taste better sauteed).
- Add meat (in this case ground chicken). Sprinkle salt and pepper over the meat.
- Stirring frequently, cook until done.
I never use measurements. The tangy, sweet aroma of sauteed garlic and ginger warms my soul so my hand may scoop more than the equivalent of 3 cloves of garlic. Salt and pepper should never be measured. Taste buds know what they like, translate the knowledge to the eyes, who then translate the taste buds wants to the hand shaking the shakers (use shakers instead of the salt container to avoid accidental slips).
Mixing bowl:
Mix the cabbage and carrots together (with noodles if they were remembered). Not a cabbage fan? Don’t use cabbage. Not a carrot fan? Skip the step. Prefer meatless Mandu? Skip the meat part and slightly sautee the veggies for extra flavoring.
Once the meat is cooked, mix in the meat and soy sauce. Works best with hands, but for sanitary purposes, pick the weapons of choice (salad tossers, forks, spoons, ect).
Here comes the not hardest, but time consuming part: stuffing the wonton wrappers.
A small bowl of water, the index finger and a small spoon make the timely process sail smoothly.
- Using round wonton wrappers are the easiest.
- Dip the index finger in the water. glide it on half the round wrapper.
- Spoon a little of the meat/veggie mix in the middle of the wrapper.
- Fold the dry edge onto to wet one and press until sealed. A little more water may help to glue the edges together so never be shy to try.
Viola! A heavenly pouch has been created!
Only a little longer to go until the wrappers or the mix run out.
Once prepared, the Mandu can be steamed, boiled, fried or sauteed.
Steamed or boiled Mandu are great for freezing when there is way too much left over, that is if eating them ever stops. When ready to enjoy the delicious pouches of heaven again, just place the Ziploc baggie in the microwave for about a minute and boom badda boom they are ready to be consumed.
Also, try dipping the Mandu in a little soy sauce for extra flavoring.
Mad creators do not use measurements. Mad creators use the senses.
