Manduguk (Korean Dumpling Soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart heavy pot
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth for pressing tofu and kimchi
• •Small nonstick skillet for jidan
• •Rimmed tray for folded mandu

Instructions

1. 1

   Simmer the broth

   Put the water, beef, onion, smashed garlic, and scallion whites in a heavy pot. Bring it just to a boil, skim the gray foam, then lower the heat to a quiet simmer for 50 minutes. Do not let it roll hard, because a cloudy broth is usually a broth that was bullied. Lift out the beef and strain the broth. You should have about 6 cups. Slice or shred the beef and reserve it for serving.

   If the broth reduces below 6 cups, add water to bring it back. The seasoning is measured for 6 cups, not for a guessed pot.
2. 2

   Dry the filling

   While the broth simmers, press the tofu under a weighted plate for 20 minutes, then crumble it fine. Blanch the mung bean sprouts for 1 minute, rinse briefly, squeeze hard, and chop. Squeeze the kimchi until it no longer drips, then chop it fine. This is the step mandu lives or dies by. Wet filling swells, leaks, and splits the wrapper.

3. 3

   Mix and test

   In a bowl, combine the pork, beef, tofu, sprouts, kimchi, chives, chopped scallions, minced garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, beaten egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Mix by hand for 1 full minute, until the filling turns sticky and holds together. Cook 1 teaspoon of filling in a small skillet and taste it. It should be savory, not salty, because the broth will season the bowl too.

   손맛 is real, the hand-taste a practiced cook trusts. I still measure it, and then I cook a test piece, because raw pork does not belong on the tongue.
4. 4

   Fold the mandu

   Lay out a few wrappers at a time and keep the rest covered so they do not dry. Put 1 level tablespoon, about 22g, of filling in the center of each wrapper. Wet the edge with water, fold into a half-moon, and press from the center outward to push out air before sealing. Bring the two corners together if you want the old rounded shape. Do not overfill. A proud dumpling in your hand becomes a burst dumpling in the pot.

5. 5

   Cut egg ribbons

   Beat the egg yolks with a pinch of salt in one bowl and the whites in another. Wipe a small oiled skillet almost dry, then cook each into a thin sheet over low heat. Let them cool and slice into narrow jidan ribbons. Dropping beaten egg straight into the soup is fine for a weekday bowl, but jidan keeps the New Year broth clear.

6. 6

   Cook the soup

   Bring 6 cups of strained broth to a gentle simmer. Season with the soup soy sauce and 1 teaspoon kosher salt, then taste. Add the mandu one by one and stir once, gently, so they do not stick to the bottom. Simmer 6 to 8 minutes for fresh mandu, or 8 to 10 minutes from frozen, until they float, the wrappers look slightly translucent, and the filling reaches 74 C or 165 F. If using soaked sliced rice cakes, add them for the last 3 minutes.

7. 7

   Serve the bowls

   Divide the mandu, broth, and reserved beef among bowls. Lay the jidan ribbons on top, scatter with sliced scallion and crumbled gim, and finish with a little black pepper. Carry it to the table at once. On Seollal, people say eating this soup adds a year, but what I remember is quieter: everyone bent over the same clear broth, the room briefly calm.

Chef Tips

• •Drain the wet ingredients harder than feels polite. Tofu, sprouts, and kimchi all carry water, and the wrapper pays for it if you leave that water inside.
• •For an anchovy-kelp broth instead of beef, simmer 7 cups water with 14 large dried anchovies, heads and guts removed, and a 6-inch piece of dasima (kelp). Pull the kelp when the water first simmers, cook the anchovies 10 minutes more, then strain. Technique first: kelp left too long turns the broth slick and bitter.
• •For a milder filling without kimchi, replace the 120g squeezed kimchi with 120g blanched napa cabbage, squeezed dry and minced, and add another 1/4 teaspoon salt to the filling.
• •Freeze extra mandu on a tray until firm, then bag them. Cook them straight from frozen. Thawing makes the wrappers sticky and weak.
• •Do not chase a dark broth with more soy sauce. Soup soy sauce gives aroma and salt, but too much muddies the color. Add salt in small pinches after the measured tablespoon of guk-ganjang.

Advance Preparation

• •The beef broth can be made up to 3 days ahead. Chill it, lift off the fat cap, and reheat gently before seasoning.
• •The mandu can be folded and frozen up to 2 months ahead. Freeze them in a single layer first, then store in a sealed bag or container.
• •The filling can be mixed up to 12 hours ahead and kept cold, but folded mandu freeze better than a bowl of filling waits.
• •Jidan egg ribbons can be made 1 day ahead, cooled, sliced, and refrigerated in a covered container.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 830g)