Recipe: Mom's Korean Eggrolls (Mandoo)

Ingredients:

-1 pound of extra firm tofu
-1 pound ground beef, and a little oil for cooking
-1/3 pound zucchini-sliced thinly in circles
-1/3 pound onion-sliced thinly
-1/3 pound cabbage, cut thinly and diced roughly
-a generous amount of Kosher salt for salting veggies
- 1 stalk of green onions, chopped finely
-sesame oil (optional) It's hard to find a unrefined aromatic sesame oil even in Asian stores in the states. But you want one that smells strong. I've used Surasang (made in China) and Baek Sur Yoo (Made in Korea) with success. Both are found in most Korean markets.
-1 T minced garlic
-soy sauce
-1 T sesame seeds (optional)
-1 egg
-1 egg yoke and a little water
-square won ton wrappers about 3 small packages (I like Dynasty brand over Korean brands for deep frying)
-a high heat frying oil like canola or peanut. Or, if you have the money, coconut oil that can be used for high temps.

The secret of good mandoo is a good balance of moisture. Too much makes it soggy. Too dry makes it not tasty. So, while you do want to drain the vegetables and tofu well, you don't want to make it bone dry either. Also, the proper amount of salt is essential. They're not tasty if they're too bland. Tricky, I know. After trying to make mandoo a few times, you'll be a pro.

1. Fry the ground beef with a little oil (any oil) and season well with salt and pepper. Drain oil. Make sure to use a spatula to make sure that there are no clumps in the meat. If you decide not to freeze any, you don't even have to cook the beef, but just season it well. My mom never cooks the meat beforehand, but I like to because I've had times when I steamed them after freezing them and it took forever for the meat to cook.

2. Using a cheesecloth or paper towels, drain all the liquid out of the tofu and make sure the tofu is nicely crumbled without any big clumps.

3. Salt all the vegetables generously with Kosher salt (any salt will do in a pinch) and wait until the veggies are wilted. Then use a kitchen towel or paper towels to squeeze the liquid out. Taste the vegetables. They should be more salty than accustomed. Take all the vegetables and chop them roughly to smaller uniform sizes.

4. Mix all the ingredients together and add the garlic, sesame seeds, and sesame oil. Take a small amount and taste. If using raw meat, fry beforehand. If it's too bland, add some more soy sauce. It should be slightly more salty than accustomed, but not too salty. Somehow, the frying process seems to make the food a little more bland...

5. Add an egg to bind all the ingredients well and mix well.

6. In a small bowl, add the egg yoke and a little water and mix. You will use this to seal the wrappers. You don't need the yoke per se, but it sure helps keep the mandoo sealed properly. My mom always uses just water.

To assemble the mandoo:

1. Take the wrapper and put about a tablespoon of the mandoo filling in the middle.

2. Then using a finger, smear a little yoke mixture on two sides.

3. Fold to make a triangle an press gently on the two sides to seal well. Voila!

To freeze:

Put mandoo in a cookie sheet or cutting board lined with a kitchen towel and layer of flour. Just a thin layer of flour works, too. Make sure none of the mandoo is touching or you'll have issues with it sticking together. The flour is to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Flash freeze for about 20 minutes and then transfer to a freezer bag.

Conversely, my friend discovered that you can use plastic wrap to line three egg rolls in a horizontal line lengthwise. Then roll the plastic wrap so it completely covers the three mandoo. Add three more and continue rolling until you have a nice manageable pile. And then start again.

This recipe is versatile. You could even do it without the beef or tofu. I've heard people tell me even complete vegetarian version was very tasty.

By the way, are some of the instructions confusing? If so, I'll post pictures.