Crisp and Juicy Wang-mandu (Large Dumplings)

How to make it

Amounts in the steps are for 10 servings.

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Dissolve the sugar and active dry yeast in the lukewarm water, pour it over the medium-strength flour, and gather it into one mass. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes until the surface is smooth.

   · Use lukewarm water, never hot.

2. 2

   1st rise

   Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place until it is about 2 times its size.

   · Judge it by volume, not by the clock.

3. 3

   Work the filling

   Add the lard, minced ginger, white pepper, cheongju, soy sauce, sesame oil, and yondu to the ground pork and work it in one direction until it turns sticky.

   · Binding the meat proteins first is what locks in the juices.

4. 4

   Mix in the vegetables

   Add the garlic chives and green onion, mix them in evenly without crushing them, then refrigerate the filling until cold.

   · Adding the vegetables last keeps them from weeping water.

5. 5

   Divide and shape

   Press the gas out of the dough and divide it into 12 to 13 pieces of 60g each. Roll each one out round, leaving the center thicker, put in 60 to 70g of filling, and pleat the edge closed.

   · Keep the filling off the seam or it opens up while steaming.

6. 6

   2nd rise

   Set the shaped mandu in the steamer with space between them and rest them for 10 to 15 minutes.

   · Do not let them over-rise — stop when the surface is just slightly puffy.

7. 7

   Steam

   Steam them for 10 minutes in a steamer with the steam already up, then turn off the heat, wait 2 minutes, and open the lid.

   · From frozen, do not thaw — steam them for 13 to 15 minutes.

8. 8

   Crisp the bottoms

   Film a pan with cooking oil, set the steamed mandu in it, and fry over medium heat for 2 to 5 minutes until the bottoms are a deep golden brown.

   · Steaming first and then frying only the bottoms is what gives them a crisp outside and a moist inside.

No coming back

Things that actually went wrong over 20 years in a kitchen.

• Hot water weakens the yeast.
• Open the lid right away and the sudden temperature drop can make them collapse.

You can fix this

If it hasn't burned or stuck to the pan, it can still be fixed.

• If the sauce is too salty, stretch it with stock and bring the body back with a little starch slurry.