Mandu (food)

Mandu(Korean:만두), ormandoo, aredumplingsinKorean cuisine.Manducan be steamed, boiled, pan-fried, or deep-fried. The styles also vary across regions in theKorean Peninsula.Manduwere long part ofKorean royal court cuisine, but are now found in supermarkets, restaurants, and snack places such aspojangmachaandbunsikjipthroughout South Korea.
The name iscognatewith the names of similar types of meat-filled dumplings along theSilk RoadinCentral Asia, such asUyghurmanta(مانتا), Turkishmantı, Kazakhmänti(мәнті), Uzbekmanti, Afghanmantu, and Armenianmantʿi(մանթի).Chinesemántou(馒头;饅頭) is also considered a cognate, which used to mean meat-filled dumplings but now refers to steamed buns without any filling.
Manducan be divided intogyoja(교자;餃子) type andpoja(포자;包子) type.In Chinese, the categories of dumplings are calledjiǎozi(饺子;餃子) andbāozi(包子) respectively, which are cognates with the Korean words. In Japanese, the former-type dumplings are calledgyōza(餃子), which is also a cognate. InMongolian, the latter-type dumplings are calledbuuz(бууз) and inNepaleseandTibetan, they are calledmomo(मम, མོག་མོག)  all of which is also cognates with the former.
Manduare believed to have been first brought to Korea from theYuan dynastyin the 14th century during the reign of theGoryeo dynasty.
The state religion of Goryeo wasBuddhism, which discouraged consumption of meat. The Mongolian incursion into Goryeo relaxed the religious prohibition against consuming meat, andmanduwas among the newly imported dishes that included meat.
The first record of dumplings in Korea are seen in the Hyowooyeoljeon (효우열전/孝友列傳) inGoryeosa(고려사, 高麗史), and it is said that they were made by a naturalizedKhitanduring the reign of KingMyeongjongofGoryeo.. When his father, became ill, the doctor said, ‘If you eat your son’s meat, you can cure your illness.’ Then, he cut off his own thigh meat, mixed it with other ingredients, made dumplings, and fed it to his father. After that his father was cured. In 1185, the king heard the story of him filial piety and ordered the ministers to discuss how to reward him. He erected Hongsalmun Gate to commend him and recorded his into historical records.
Another possibility ismanducame to Korea at a much earlier period from theMiddle Eastthrough theSilk Road. Historians point out many cuisines based on wheat, such as dumplings andnoodleswhich originated fromMesopotamiaand gradually spread from there. It also spread east along the Silk Road, leaving many versions ofmanduthroughout Central and East Asia.
A Goryeo-era folk song, "Ssanghwajeom", tells a story of a mandu shop (ssanghwameaning 'dumplings', andjeommeaning 'shop') run by a foreigner, probably ofCentral Asianorigin.
If the dumplings are grilled or pan-fried, they are calledgun-mandu(군만두); when steamed,jjin-mandu(찐만두); and when boiled,mul-mandu(물만두).In North Korea, mandu styles vary in different regions of the country. In particular, Pulmuone is releasing cheese dumplings, sweet seed dumplings with sugar and spicy dumplings.
Mandugukis a variety ofKoreansoup (guk) made withmanduin beef broth. In the Korean royal court, the dish was calledbyeongsi(병시; 餠匙) while in theEumsik dimibang, a 17th-century cookbook, it was called"seokryutang"(석류탕).
In Korean cuisine,mandugenerally denotes a type of filleddumplingsimilar to the Mongolianbuuz, a Tibetan-Nepalesemomoand Turkicmantı, and some variations are similar to the Chinesejiaoziand the Japanesegyoza.
They are similar topelmeniandpierogiin someSlaviccultures.