Colorful Korean Dumplings (Mandu)

Ingredients

This recipe was developed at its original yield. Ingredient amounts are automatically adjusted, but cooking times and steps remain unchanged. Note that not all recipes scale perfectly.

Original recipe (1X) yields 8 servings

For the Filling:

• 1 cup cellophane noodles
• 4 cups chopped cabbage
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, or more as needed
• 1 cup crumbled firm tofu
• 2 tablespoons chopped scallions
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

For the Dough:

• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup beet juice
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 pinch salt

Directions

Step 1: Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the noodles and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 6 to 7 minutes. Drain and dice the noodles.

Step 2: Place cabbage, onion, bell pepper, carrot, garlic, salt, and pepper into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the vegetables are finely diced.

Step 3: Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the vegetable mixture and saut, stirring frequently, until the vegetables soften, about 6 minutes. Add the tofu and continue to saut for an additional 5 minutes.

Step 4: Place the cooked filling in a cheesecloth and squeeze out as much excess water as possible. Transfer the filling to a bowl and mix in the diced noodles, scallions, and sesame oil until well combined.

Step 5: For the dough, combine the flour, beet juice, beaten egg, and salt in a bowl. Knead the mixture until cohesive but not sticky.

Step 6: Roll out the dough using a thin rolling pin or through a pasta machine on the thickest setting. Gradually roll the dough thinner, stopping when it reaches the second-thinnest setting on your pasta machine, or until it is thin enough to be almost see-through.

Step 7: Using a 3 -inch biscuit cutter or a cup, cut out circles for dumpling wrappers. Roll the excess dough through the machine or re-roll it with a rolling pin, repeating the process until all the dough is used up.

Step 8: Place about 2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of each dumpling wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half and pinch the edges all the way around to seal the dumpling securely.

Step 9: Fill a large saucepan with water just below the bottom of a steamer insert. Bring the water to a boil. Working in batches, add the dumplings to the steamer, cover, and steam until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Cook's Notes

• For this recipe, I used dangmyeon, or Korean sweet potato cellophane noodles.
• You can substitute the beet juice with carrot, chard, spinach, or kale juice for different variations.
• Instead of steaming, you can fry the dumplings in hot oil, cooking on each side until golden, for about 3 to 4 minutes.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

• Calories: 417
• Total Fat: 8g (10% DV)
• Saturated Fat: 1g (7% DV)
• Cholesterol: 23mg (8% DV)
• Sodium: 542mg (24% DV)
• Total Carbohydrate: 73g (27% DV)
• Dietary Fiber: 4g (15% DV)
• Total Sugars: 4g
• Protein: 13g (26% DV)
• Vitamin C: 35mg (38% DV)
• Calcium: 153mg (12% DV)
• Iron: 6mg (32% DV)
• Potassium: 371mg (8% DV)

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.