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 (ê¿©).
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
4 Comments
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...
Thank you for commenting!