Beef Bulgogi Mandu is a Korean dumpling recipe featuring juicy ground beef, hearty vegetables, and sweet and savory bulgogi flavor. It’s inspired by Costco’s Bibigo mandu, but it’s so much more flavorful! Once you try making your own dumplings, you’ll never go back to store-bought again. Serve them as an appetizer, snack, or main course!
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🥟 What Is Mandu?
Mandu (만두) is the Korean word for dumplings. Typically, they are made from glutinous rice flour wrappers and filled with various meats, vegetables, or tofu. They can be steamed, boiled, baked, or fried. Each cooking method results in a slightly different taste, texture, and name.
🥩 What is Bulgogi?
Bulgogi (불고기), meaning “fire meat” in English, is also a Korean dish! It consists of thinly sliced and marinated beef or pork, which is then grilled (or sometimes pan-fried). The meat is usually seasoned with soy sauce, sugar, sesame, garlic, and other ingredients. It’s often served with rice and various side dishes (banchan), but you can also enjoy it in Bulgogi Udon!
🥢 The Best Beef Bulgogi Mandu
Beef Bulgogi Mandu (불고기 만두) starts with ground beef mixed with a delicious variety of vegetables and bulgogi seasonings. Once combined, it’s tucked inside mandu skins (만두피) and pan-fried or steamed until tender.
Many beef bulgogi dumpling recipes include sweet potato glass noodles, but I decided to leave them out. The taste is incredibly juicy as-is, and I much prefer a meatier filling. This easy dish is packed with different textures and flavors that will seriously invigorate your taste buds!
Preparing and folding Beef Bulgogi Mandu takes a bit of time, but I assure you it is worthwhile! Once you take your first bite, you’ll be glad you took the extra effort. Plus, you can make a double or triple batch of Korean beef dumplings to freeze for later.
Feel free to serve this easy dish as a fun snack, appetizer, or a main dish. It's also delicious in traditional Dduk Mandu Guk (Korean Rice Cake and Dumpling Soup)!
Why You'll Love It
- Flavor-packed: This beef mandu recipe is full of savory, umami-rich, and hearty flavors. You can really taste the difference between store-bought and homemade Korean beef dumplings!
- Fan-favorite: Everyone loves dumplings! Prepare these Beef Bulgogi Mandu for holidays, parties, or potlucks, and watch as they quickly disappear.
- Customizable: Swap ground beef for another protein, make a vegetarian version, experiment with different vegetables, or add in your favorite seasonings. The options are endless!
🧂 Ingredients
- Vegetables: I use a classic mixture of white or yellow onion, green onion, carrots, garlic, and ginger. This combination provides savory, slightly sweet, and hearty flavors that hold up well to the beef. Plus, they're all easy to find!
- Ground beef: The fattier, the more flavor and juice in your Korean beef dumplings! I recommended at least 85/15, but you will achieve more flavor and juiciness by opting for 80/20.
- Soy sauce: Adds a savory, umami-rich element. I suggest low-sodium soy sauce to prevent an overly salty filling.
- Brown sugar: Bulgogi meat has a sweet flavor profile, usually achieved with Korean pears. For ease and convenience, I use brown sugar. You could also use white sugar or honey.
- Sesame oil: The flavor characteristics of sesame oil vary greatly depending on the brand, so look for 100% pure sesame oil. If you can get your hands on some Korean sesame oil (like Jin or Ottogi), definitely use that!
- Beef broth: This is the secret to juicy mandu! Much like the soy sauce, opt for a low-sodium beef broth for better control of the seasoning.
- Mandu wrappers: Korean dumpling wrappers are typically on the chewier side since they’re made from glutinous rice flour. You can find them in the refrigerated or frozen section next to egg roll wrappers at Asian grocery stores. Sometimes they're labeled as wonton wrappers or sweet rice flour wrappers. Look for the ones with Korean writing and/or pictures of classic-shaped mandu on them.
Substitutions & Variations
- Can't find Korean dumpling wrappers? Any kind of potsticker, dumpling, wonton, or gyoza wrapper will work in this recipe.
- Instead of the vegetables I’ve listed, experiment with different veggies like cabbage, kimchi, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, peppers, bean sprouts, or celery.
- You can also make mandu with ground pork, chicken, or shrimp. Just replace the ground beef 1:1 or use a combination of meats.
- To make a version more like the ones at Costco, add sweet potato glass noodles as well. Make sure to boil according to package instructions, then drain, rinse with cold water, and dry well. Cu into smaller pieces and mix into the meat mixture.
- Make vegetarian mandu by replacing the ground beef with tofu crumbles or shiitake mushrooms, and swapping out the beef broth for mushroom broth.
👩🏻🍳 How To Make Beef Bulgogi Mandu
STEP ONE: First, prepare the vegetables for the Korean beef dumplings. Add the onion, carrot, green onion, garlic, and ginger to a food processor and process until very finely chopped. You may need to use kitchen shears to cut any remaining large pieces. If you don't have a food processor, simply use a knife to finely chop each veggie.
STEP TWO: Add the chopped vegetables to a large bowl, along with ground beef, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, beef broth, salt, and pepper. Mix well until slightly tacky.
Pro tip: Microwave a small amount (1-2 teaspoons) of the meat mixture for 20-30 seconds to test and adjust the seasoning.
Two Ways To Fold Mandu
STEP THREE: Begin assembling your Beef Bulgogi Mandu. Add about 1 tablespoon of meat filling into the center of a mandu wrapper and lightly spread.
Dip a clean finger into water and wet half the edge.
Fold the mandu in half and begin sealing the wet edge to the dry edge, lightly pressing to remove as much air as possible. You should now have a half moon shape.
You can stop here (which I recommend if you plan to pan-fry the mandu) or continue to a rosebud shape.
STEP FOUR: To fold the Korean beef dumpling into a rosebud shape, face the half moon dumpling with the sealed edges towards you. Dip your index fingers and thumbs of both hands into water and wet the corners of the mandu.
Bring the corners back towards each other, creating a slight overlap.
Press the corners together to seal, and you should now have a rosebud shaped mandu!
How to Cook Mandu
STEP FIVE: To steam, bring a pot of water to a boil. Line your steamer and place mandu inside without any of them touching. Steam for about 10 minutes until wrappers are translucent and meat is cooked.
STEP SIX: To pan fry, heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add a splash of oil. When hot, add a single layer of mandu and pan-fry for 2-3 minutes each side or until golden brown.
💭 Top Tips
- Use a wooden board: Assemble your bulgogi mandu on a wooden cutting board to prevent the wrappers from sticking too much.
- Keep mandu covered: To prevent them from drying out, keep the mandu wrappers and assembled dumplings covered with a clean towel.
- Don’t overfill: Overfilling Korean beef dumplings can result in a big mess when you go to cook them. Don’t use much more than a tablespoon of filling in each one.
- Have fun with folding: Folding the dumplings into a rosebud is the most traditional way to prepare mandu. I recommend folding them in half moons if you’ll be pan-frying your mandu. This creates more surface area for crispy dumplings.
- Steam spaced apart: If you’re steaming bulgogi mandu, make sure to space the dumplings out so they don’t touch. If they’re overlapping, they will end up sticking together and ripping.
- Air fry: Preheat the air fryer to 375ºF. Add a single layer of dumplings, spray with oil, and air fry for 4-6 minutes until golden.
What To Serve With Korean Beef Dumplings
Beef Bulgogi Mandu is a delicious snack on its own or with your favorite dipping sauce like soy sauce, chili oil, or sweet chili sauce. If serving mandu as a side dish, pair it with these delicious Korean dishes:
- Janchi Guksu (Korean Banquet Noodles)
- Tteokkochi (Korean Rice Cake Skewers)
- Gochujang Salmon
- Jumeokbap (Korean Rice Balls)
- Korean Shrimp Tacos
🥡 Storing & Freezing
Storing: Allow the Korean Beef Dumplings to cool to room temperature, then transfer them to an airtight container. They will last up to 3 days in the fridge.
Freezing: Place the dumplings without touching on a baking sheet and transfer them to the freezer for 2 hours. Once frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
Reheating: To reheat bulgogi dumplings, use any of the cooking methods mentioned in this post. You can pan-fry, steam, boil, or even air-fry them.
Make Ahead: You can prepare Beef Bulgogi Mandu ahead of time by following the steps in the recipe card. Instead of cooking them, just freeze them until you are ready to cook.
📖 Recipe FAQs
Mandu is a type of Korean dumpling that is usually filled with ingredients like meat, tofu, or vegetables. It can be baked, fried, boiled, or steamed. Gyoza is a Japanese dumpling that is filled with ground meat and vegetables (typically pork and cabbage) and pan-fried.
This Beef Bulgogi Mandu recipe is not gluten-free since it contains soy sauce. Additionally, some wrappers may contain wheat flour, so read the ingredient list carefully. To prepare a gluten-free bulgogi mandu, use tamari in place of soy sauce and double-check the wrappers.
Yes, you can make bulgogi mandu vegan (although it won’t technically be considered bulgogi). Instead of beef, swap in crumbled tofu, vegan ground round, crumbled tempeh, or mushrooms.
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📋 Recipe
Beef Bulgogi Mandu
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ onion about ⅔ cup
- 2-3 carrots about ⅔ cup
- 2-3 green onion about 3 tbsp
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- ½ inch knob ginger
- 1 lb ground beef 80/20 recommended
- 3 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar tightly packed
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ cup low sodium beef broth
- Mandu dumpling wrappers
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prep the veggies. Add onion, carrot, garlic, ginger, and green onion to a food processor. Pulse until finely minced. Alternatively, manually chop with a knife.
- Make the filling. Transfer minced vegetables to a large bowl and add ground beef, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, beef broth, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Thoroughly mix together until beef is lightly tacky and sticky, about 1 minute.
- Assemble. Set up your assembly station with a wooden cutting board, a small bowl of water, and parchment lined baking sheet. Lay out a single dumpling wrapper onto the cutting board and spoon 1 tablespoon filling into the middle, then lightly press flat.
- Dip a clean finger into water and brush ½ edge of wrapper. Fold dumpling in half and gently press dry and wet edges together while squeezing out any air bubbles, forming a half moon shape. You can stop here if you plan to pan-fry the mandu.
- To form the classic mandu shape, continue on. Rotate the dumpling so the sealed edge is facing you. Dip index fingers and thumbs on both hands into water and wet the two corners of the mandu. Bring corners to the back towards one another, and overlap a little to pinch together.
- Place assembled dumplings onto baking sheet. Repeat until all the filling is used up.
- To steam: Bring water to a boil. Line steamer and place mandu evenly spaced apart inside. Steam for 10 minutes until wrappers are lightly translucent. Let cool slightly before serving.
- To pan fry: Add 1-2 tablespoon oil to a skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add a single layer of mandu, making sure to not overcrowd the pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes until golden. Then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes, then serve.
Notes
- Serving size will depend on size of your wrappers. This recipe should make between 20-40 mandu dumplings.
- Mandu wrappers: Korean dumpling wrappers are typically on the chewier side since they’re made from glutinous rice flour. You can find them in the refrigerated or frozen section next to egg roll wrappers at Asian grocery stores. Sometimes they're labeled as wonton wrappers or sweet rice flour wrappers. Look for the ones with Korean writing and/or pictures of classic-shaped mandu on them.
- Assemble your bulgogi mandu on a wooden cutting board to prevent the wrappers from sticking too much.
- To air fry, preheat the air fryer to 375ºF. Add a single layer of dumplings, spray with oil, and air fry for 4-6 minutes until golden and meat is cooked.
- Substitutions:
- Can't find Korean dumpling wrappers? Any kind of potsticker, dumpling, wonton, or gyoza wrapper will work in this recipe.
- Substitute brown sugar with white sugar or honey.
- Instead of the vegetables I’ve listed, experiment with different veggies like cabbage, kimchi, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, peppers, bean sprouts, or celery.
- You can also make mandu with ground pork, chicken, or shrimp. Just replace the ground beef 1:1 or use a combination of meats.
- To make a version more like the ones at Costco, add sweet potato glass noodles as well. Make sure to boil according to package instructions, then drain, rinse with cold water, and dry well. Cu into smaller pieces and mix into the meat mixture.
Jessica
You can pan fry without steaming first. Make sure the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160°F or is no longer pink.
Trudy
It is so easy to cook and it is really good!
Jessica
Thank you so much Trudy!