
Chef Jeong-sun
Gun-mandu (Pan-Fried Korean Dumplings)
Crescent mandu with a browned, crackling belly and a juicy pork, tofu, chive, and noodle filling, cooked by the plain restaurant trick: oil first, water next, lid on, then crisp again.

Updated June 11, 2026
The Korean dumpling family that arrived in Goryeo and never left: steamed, pan-fried, and boiled mandu; kimchi and shrimp and galbi fillings; the market's wang-mandu; Daegu's flat nabjak-mandu and Gangwon's potato gamja-mandu; the court's summer eomandu, pyeonsu, and gyuasang; and the manduguk that shares the New Year table. Pleats measured, fillings weighed.
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Chef Jeong-sun
Crescent mandu with a browned, crackling belly and a juicy pork, tofu, chive, and noodle filling, cooked by the plain restaurant trick: oil first, water next, lid on, then crisp again.

Chef Jeong-sun
A summer court dumpling with thin wheat skins, beef, cucumber, and shiitake, pleated into ridged crescents to resemble prized haesam and served cool for a special table.

Chef Jeong-sun
Blistered bunsik-shop dumplings filled with pork, tofu, chives, and just enough glass noodle, fried from cold so the wrapper crisps before the filling dries out.

Chef Jeong-sun
Gangwon-style potato dumplings with a bouncy, near-translucent wrapper made from grated raw potato and starch, wrapped around pork and garlic chives, then steamed until tender and glossy.

Chef Jeong-sun
Thin dumpling skins wrapped around pork, tofu, cabbage, and chives, set over a covered pot until tender, with the filling squeezed dry so the pleats stay closed.

Chef Jeong-sun
Daegu's thin, nearly empty market dumpling, filled with just enough glass noodle and chive to count, griddled flat until crisp at the edges and eaten with sharp scallion soy.

Chef Jeong-sun
Meatless Korean dumplings packed with cabbage, chives, mushrooms, tofu, and glass noodles, folded for the freezer or the pan, with the filling wrung dry before it ever meets the wrapper.

Chef Jeong-sun
Square summer mandu from Kaesong, filled with zucchini, beef, tofu, and pine nuts, boiled just until tender and chilled in clear broth so the green filling shows through.

Chef Jeong-sun
Where the rice-cake New Year bowl meets northern dumpling comfort: chewy oval tteok and plump mandu in clear broth, finished cleanly for Seollal.

Chef Jeong-sun
Shrimp dumplings with snap inside the bite, half the shrimp chopped into the pork and tofu filling, half left in pieces so each mandu tastes clearly of the sea.

Chef Jeong-sun
Thin slices of white fish stand in for dumpling wrappers, folded around a restrained beef and mushroom filling, then steamed until pale, tender, and worthy of a summer dinner table.

Chef Jeong-sun
A clear Seollal bowl of handmade mandu in beef broth, finished with egg ribbons and gim, the northern and Seoul way of greeting the year one dumpling at a time.

Chef Jeong-sun
Daegu market flat dumplings, crisp at the edges and soft in the middle, tossed with cold shredded vegetables and a measured gochujang-vinegar sauce that should bite, not bury the cabbage.

Chef Jeong-sun
A recorded late-Joseon dumpling wrapped in blanched cabbage instead of dough, filled with beef, tofu, sprouts, and mushroom, then steamed until the leaf turns translucent over the clean, savory center.

Chef Jeong-sun
Thin-skinned Korean dumplings boiled until the wrappers turn glossy and the filling sets, served hot with a sharp soy-vinegar dip, light enough for a weeknight and careful enough to write down.

Chef Jeong-sun
Well-sour kimchi, wrung out hard and chopped fine, folded with pork, tofu, and glass noodles into dumplings that can be boiled for soup or pan-fried for the table.

Chef Jeong-sun
The big market-cart mandu with a soft leavened wrapper and a generous pork, tofu, noodle, and vegetable filling, built large enough that one dumpling can feed a hungry person.

Chef Jeong-sun
Large, thin-skinned Kaesong mandu filled with pork, tofu, kimchi, and bean sprouts, poached gently and served two to a bowl in clear beef broth for the New Year table.

Chef Jeong-sun
The mandu all the others grow from: pork, tofu, garlic chives, cabbage, and glass noodles wrung dry, seasoned carefully, test-fried once, then folded for the pan, pot, or freezer.

Chef Jeong-sun
The wrapper that never was: northern dumpling filling rolled into tender balls, dusted with flour, dipped in egg, and simmered until a thin skin forms in the broth.

Chef Jeong-sun
A modern market dumpling filled with pork seasoned in the galbi manner: soy, pear, garlic, sesame, and scallion, folded thin so the wrapper stays tender and the meat still tastes of meat.
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