Recipe: Insa’s Gogi Mandu (Pork, Beef and Chive Dumpling)
Insa's Pork and Chive Dumplings
After Sohui Kim bested Bobby Flay on "Throwdown" with her dumplings, her trajectory changed with a dish she’ll forever be known for. After appearing on her first menu, dumplings have been a constant in Kim’s kitchens for a decade. They remain one of the most popular items consistently ordered at Insa in Brooklyn, New York.
Kim has been kind enough to share her famed recipe for dumplings, and notes they can be made with any kind of filling. Kim’s dumplings are pan-fried, but they can also be boiled or deep fried.
Enjoy!
Dumpling Ingredients
- Canola oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 ½ cup finely-chopped Chinese garlic chives, or use scallions or regular chives
- 1 cup crumbled soft tofu
- ⅓ - ½ cup hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- 2 pounds of ground pork
- 1 package dumpling wrappers
Dipping Sauce Ingredients
- ½ cup dark soy sauce
- ½ cup rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 star anise
Making the Dumplings
In a large sauté pan, heat two teaspoons of oil over medium heat and sauté the onions, garlic and ginger until translucent and slightly caramelized. Add the chives or scallions and cook just to soften, about a minute longer. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and let it cool.
Once the onions have cooled, add the tofu, ⅓ cup hoisin sauce, salt and pepper and mix well. Add the pork to the bowl and mix it with the seasonings until you can see that the chives and tofu are evenly distributed throughout the meat.
In a small frying pan, cook a small spoonful of the meat mixture in a little bit of oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning of the meat with more hoisin sauce and/or salt, if necessary.
To prepare the dumplings, prepare a small dish of water and several sheet pans. Place about a tablespoon of filling in each dumpling wrapper. Using your finger, paint a little water around the edge of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper shut and simply pinch it closed, or crimp it. Place each finished dumpling on the sheet pan, and repeat until you’ve used all the filling.
For dumplings you don’t plan to eat, freeze them directly on the cookie sheet until they harden, then pack them into plastic freezer bags. (They do not refrigerate well.)
To cook fresh dumplings, heat a non-stick frying pan or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet with just enough oil to coat the bottom. Brown the dumplings on one side, then add about ¼ inch of water, cover and steam until nearly all the water evaporates.
Remove the cover, and let the dumplings begin to fry again, just long enough to crisp them slightly, then serve immediately with dipping sauce. Note: To cook frozen dumplings, follow the same procedure above for fresh dumplings, but with slightly more water so they steam a little longer and cook through.
Making the Dipping Sauce
To make the dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring them to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring so the sugar dissolves. Once it does, remove the pot from the heat and let the mixture cool. Discard the star anise before serving.
Attribution
This recipe is courtesy of the Chef Sohui Kim of Insa
