The Drama: Two Doctors, One Kitchen, and the Quiet Act of Making Dumplings
The apartment smells like sesame oil and scallions. Nam Ha-neul sits cross-legged on the kitchen floor, a mountain of dumpling wrappers in front of her, filling smeared across her fingers. Across from her, Yeo Jeong-woo folds a mandu with surgical precision — muscle memory from a different kind of operating table.
Neither of them planned to be here.
In Netflix’s Doctor Slump (닥터 슬럼프, 2024), two former academic rivals — both doctors, both burnt out, both spiraling — find themselves living next door to each other at the lowest points of their careers. Ha-neul (Park Shin-hye), once a top anesthesiologist, has lost her license. Jeong-woo (Park Hyung-sik), a celebrated plastic surgeon, faces a malpractice lawsuit that has shattered his confidence.
They don’t fall in love in glamorous restaurants or rooftop bars. They fall in love in kitchens and convenience stores, over ramyeon at 2 AM and dumplings folded on a Tuesday afternoon. The mandu scenes in Doctor Slump aren’t background — they’re the thesis. Healing doesn’t happen in the operating room. It happens in the repetitive, meditative rhythm of filling, folding, and pressing dough together with someone who understands your silence.
When Ha-neul and Jeong-woo sit together making mandu, they’re not just cooking. They’re rebuilding — one dumpling at a time.
The History of Mandu
What Is Mandu?
Mandu (만두) is the Korean dumpling — a thin wheat or buckwheat wrapper encasing a filling of minced pork, tofu, vegetables, and glass noodles. The name comes from the Chinese mántou (饅頭), though the Korean version diverged dramatically, developing its own identity through centuries of adaptation.
A Dumpling Older Than the Joseon Dynasty
Mandu arrived on the Korean peninsula through Central Asian and Chinese trade routes, likely during the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392). The earliest Korean records of mandu appear in cookbooks from the Joseon era, where they were considered a delicacy reserved for royal banquets and ancestral rites.
But mandu’s true power has always been democratic. By the 20th century, mandu had become one of Korea’s most universal foods — sold by street vendors, served in army mess halls, packed into school lunchboxes, and, most importantly, made at home by families gathered around kitchen tables during Lunar New Year.
The act of making mandu together is itself a cultural tradition. On Seollal (설날, Lunar New Year) and Chuseok (추석, Harvest Festival), Korean families sit in circles, assembly-line style, filling and folding hundreds of dumplings. Grandmothers critique technique. Children sneak raw filling. Someone inevitably overstuffs a wrapper and it bursts during cooking. It’s chaotic, repetitive, and deeply bonding — which is exactly what makes it the perfect metaphor for Ha-neul and Jeong-woo’s quiet healing in Doctor Slump.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Central Asian/Chinese, adapted during Goryeo Dynasty |
| Traditional occasion | Seollal (Lunar New Year), family gatherings |
| Wrapper | Thin wheat flour dough |
| Classic filling | Pork, tofu, kimchi, glass noodles, vegetables |
| Cooking methods | Steamed (jjin-mandu), pan-fried (gun-mandu), boiled in soup (mandu-guk), deep-fried (twigim-mandu) |
| Cultural significance | Family bonding activity, communal cooking |
Four Ways to Cook, One Soul
What makes mandu extraordinary is its versatility. The same dumpling transforms completely depending on how you cook it:
- Jjin-mandu (찐만두): Steamed. Delicate, translucent skin. Pure, clean flavors.
- Gun-mandu (군만두): Pan-fried. Golden, crispy bottom with a soft top. The crowd favorite.
- Mandu-guk (만두국): Boiled in clear beef broth. The traditional Seollal dish.
- Twigim-mandu (튀김만두): Deep-fried. Shattering crunch. Street food perfection.
The Recipe: Ha-neul and Jeong-woo’s Comfort Mandu
This recipe makes classic Korean pork and vegetable mandu — the kind you fold on a quiet afternoon with someone you’re starting to trust again.
Ingredients
- 1 pack round mandu wrappers (about 40 sheets) Amazon →
- 250g ground pork
- 200g firm tofu, drained and crumbled
- 100g Korean glass noodles (dangmyeon, soaked and chopped) Amazon →
- 150g napa cabbage, finely chopped and salted
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil Amazon →
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten (for sealing)
- Vegetable oil for pan-frying
Dipping Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon gochugaru (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Non-stick skillet with lid
- Bamboo steamer (optional) (for jjin-mandu) Amazon →
Video Tutorial
Video by Maangchi
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Filling Salt the chopped napa cabbage and let it sit for 10 minutes, then squeeze out all excess water — this is crucial. Soggy filling makes soggy dumplings. In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, crumbled tofu, squeezed cabbage, soaked and chopped glass noodles, green onions, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly with your hands until everything is evenly distributed.
Step 2: Fill and Fold Place a wrapper in your palm. Add about 1 tablespoon of filling to the center. Brush the edges with beaten egg. Fold the wrapper in half to form a half-moon shape and press the edges firmly to seal, pushing out any air pockets. For a traditional pleated look, make 3-4 small folds along the sealed edge. Set each finished mandu on a lightly floured tray.
Step 3: Pan-Fry (Gun-Mandu) Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Place the mandu in a single layer, flat side down. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the bottoms are golden and crispy. Add 3 tablespoons of water and immediately cover with a lid. Steam for 4-5 minutes until the wrappers are translucent and the filling is cooked through. Remove the lid and cook for another 30 seconds to re-crisp the bottoms.
Step 4: Steam (Jjin-Mandu) — Alternative Method Line a bamboo steamer with parchment paper or cabbage leaves. Arrange the mandu with space between each one. Steam over boiling water for 12-15 minutes until the wrappers are translucent.
Step 5: Make the Dipping Sauce Stir together soy sauce, rice vinegar, gochugaru (if using), and sesame seeds. Serve alongside the hot mandu.
FAQ
What’s the difference between mandu and Chinese jiaozi?
They share ancestry, but Korean mandu has a distinct filling profile. Korean mandu typically includes tofu and glass noodles (dangmyeon), which give the filling a lighter, more textured quality compared to the meat-heavy Chinese jiaozi. The wrappers also tend to be thinner.
Can I make mandu with kimchi?
Absolutely — kimchi mandu (김치만두) is one of the most popular variations. Replace the napa cabbage with 200g of well-squeezed, chopped aged kimchi. The fermented tang adds incredible depth. Reduce or omit the salt since kimchi is already salty.
How do I prevent mandu from sticking together?
Dust the finished mandu lightly with flour or cornstarch and keep them on parchment paper. If freezing, place them on a tray in a single layer first, freeze until solid (about 2 hours), then transfer to a bag. This prevents them from fusing into a dumpling brick.
Can I freeze mandu?
Yes, and you should. Mandu freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Cook frozen mandu directly — don’t thaw first. Add an extra 2-3 minutes to the cooking time. This is why Korean families make hundreds at once during holidays.
What’s the best cooking method?
Gun-mandu (pan-fried) gives the best texture contrast — crispy golden bottom, soft steamed top. But mandu-guk (dumpling soup) is the traditional Seollal method and is deeply comforting. For a quick snack, deep-fried twigim-mandu can’t be beat.
Why is making mandu together a Korean tradition?
Making mandu is labor-intensive — filling, folding, and pleating dozens or hundreds of dumplings. Korean families turn this into a communal activity, especially during Seollal (Lunar New Year). It’s a time to talk, catch up, and work together. In Doctor Slump, the mandu-making scene mirrors this tradition: two people finding connection through the simple, repetitive act of creating something together.
What dipping sauce goes best with mandu?
The classic is soy sauce mixed with rice vinegar and a touch of gochugaru. Some add a drop of sesame oil or a squeeze of lemon. For gun-mandu, the sauce cuts through the oil beautifully. For mandu-guk, no sauce is needed — the broth does the work.
Make It Tonight
There’s a reason Korean families make mandu together. It’s not efficient — one person could do it faster alone. But that’s not the point. The point is the sitting, the folding, the quiet conversation that happens when your hands are busy and your guard is down.
Ha-neul and Jeong-woo didn’t heal each other with grand gestures or dramatic confessions. They healed each other with presence — with the willingness to sit on a kitchen floor and fold dumplings until the afternoon light faded. Tonight, find your person. Clear the table, lay out the wrappers, and start folding. The mandu doesn’t have to be perfect. Neither do you.
오늘 밤, 닥터 슬럼프 정주행하면서 직접 빚은 만두와 함께하는 건 어떨까요?
Hero image: “Mandu in Korean restaurant” CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Part of our K-Drama Kitchen series — cooking the dishes that made us hungry while watching.
