The dish eomandu is cooked with fish fillet or fish skin as the dumpling skin instead of regular thin flour dough. Considering the special significance the dish holds in the royal court menu, the traditional cuisine has been enjoyed since the early Joseon Dynasty. As a dumpling dish originated from China, it was completely localized during Joseon era. So, it’s a totally different haute cuisine cooked without flour. In particular, since the fish fillet dumpling skin required other ingredients such as starch to hold it, the dish required a very advanced cooking technique.

Main Ingredients :
(Serves 2)
1 codfish (dumpling skin), fillings (100 g rump beef, 3 brown oak mushrooms, 50 g mung bean sprouts, 200 g summer squash, 100 g cucumber, 100 g tofu), 1 tbsp pine nuts, 2 tbsp starch

Spices :
Spices for meat and mushrooms: 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp ground sesame mixed with salt, 1/8 tsp ground pepper
Filling condiments: 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp sesame seeds, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp ground pepper
Dipping sauce: 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tsp sugar



☑ It is better to use white-flesh fish such as croaker or codfish when making dumpling skin.
☑ Sprinkled salt and ground pepper on the fillets flavor and harden them.
☑ Do not oil the pan when stir-frying seasoned beef and brown oak mushroom strips in order to maintain the savory taste.
☑ Either have the lid on or remove it throughout the cooking when blanching bean sprouts or mung bean sprouts.
☑ Remember to squeeze out water completely from the mashed bean curd to keep the dumpling skin from opening during steaming.
☑ Coat the fillet with starch to hold the ingredients well or use a blanched water parsley stem to tie it.


Kim Su-jin: Hansik Researcher

- Director of Association for Research on Taste of Korea
- Head Director of Food & Culture Korea Academy
- Nation’s First Film Food Director
(Major works: “Ssanghwajeom”, “The Painter of Wind”, “King and the Clown”, “Best Chef”)