I've been searching for a good plate of vegetarian mandu for a while, and haven't had much luck. (Anyone have any recommendations?) So on a recent breakfast stop in Gangwondo, I was surprised to hear that the restaurant actually served chicken mandu.
Uncle: Try the mandu guk.
Me: No, thanks. I'll eat that kalguksu over there.
Uncle: There's no pork in this mandu. It's made of chicken.
Me: Chicken? *shoots incredulous look*
Uncle: Ajumma! What's in the mandu?
Ajumma: Kweong (꿩).
Me: What's kweong?
Uncle: It's chicken.
Me: No, it's not.
After multiple (failed) attempts to
Ohhh, "kweong" = pheasant!
Googled results tell me that kweong was originally used in ddeok mandu guk but these days, wild pheasant meat is used mostly on special occasion.
Personally, I'm a fan of tofu and veggie mandu, which I like to make at home. At Trader Joe's, it's easy to find chicken gyoza, which is pretty decent, and of course, a wide variety of frozen mandu is available at any good Korean grocery store. What's your favorite mandu filling?
"Netherland Kweong Mandu"
Heongseong, Gangwondo
342 7888
did you say pheasant or pleasant^^
ReplyDeleteHaha... pheasant as in those gamey birds... my cousin didn't think they were very pleasant (the mandu) but the soup was great. :P
ReplyDeleteAs for blowfish... if tmr or Friday works for you, that sounds like fun! As long as you promise I won't die. ;) I have to go to Incheon Airport on Thurs...
cheri... how do you make tofu or veggie mandu? is it easy?
ReplyDeleteCarol - it's a sinch!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a "recipe" as I tend to just throw things in and taste as I go, but the fun thing about tofu/veggie mandu is that you can put just about anything in it!
To keep it simple, I typically take a couple blocks of firm tofu and squeeze out the water by hand (using something like a cheesecloth), then add chopped green cabbage, carrots, onions, (sometimes zucchini and other veggies I might have on hand), garlic, and salt/pepper to taste. I also add a beat egg or two to keep the batch together. And from there, it's just a matter of finding some fresh mandu pi and making sure you have the right mandu pi to filling ratio. ; ) I stick them in a pot of boiling water, and bam! It's super easy and comes out tasting really fresh and clean! I personally like it when you can taste all the ingredients in it, and it's not just a mushed up ball of meat. I've also done the same thing, but added a portion of ground turkey/chicken meat, which is also yummy. If you want, you could also add shoyu/brown sugar for more flavor, but I usually prefer to taste the veggies, and if you need to - dip it in shoyu/vinegar later...