Mandu-gwa facts for kids

Mandu-gwa (Hangul: 만두과; Hanja: 饅頭菓) is a delicious Korean sweet treat. It's like a special dumpling filled with yummy ingredients. After it's made, it gets a sweet coating of jocheong (rice syrup).

This sweet is a type of yumil-gwa. Yumil-gwa are deep-fried Korean sweets made from wheat flour. They are part of a bigger group of traditional Korean confections called hangwa. The name mandu-gwa comes from two words: mandu, which means "dumplings," and gwa, which means "confection" or "sweet." People often enjoy Mandu-gwa as a dessert or as a bamcham (a late-night snack).

How to Make Mandu-gwa

Making Mandu-gwa involves a few fun steps. It starts with preparing the dough and then making the sweet filling.

Preparing the Dough

First, wheat flour is carefully sifted. Then, it's mixed together with sesame oil, honey, and ginger juice. A special clear rice wine, called cheongju, is also added. This mixture is kneaded until it forms a smooth dough.

Making the Filling

The filling for Mandu-gwa is usually made from jujubes. These are sweet fruits that are first steamed, then their seeds are removed. After that, the jujubes are finely chopped. This chopped jujube is mixed with cinnamon powder and more honey. This creates a sweet and fragrant filling.

Shaping and Frying

Only a small amount of this sweet filling goes onto a flat piece of dough. The dough is then folded and shaped into a dumpling. It's important for the dough covering to be thick. This helps stop the sweet dumpling from breaking open when it's cooked. After shaping, the dumplings are deep-fried until they are golden and crispy.

The Sweet Finish

Once the Mandu-gwa dumplings are fried, they get their final touch. They are soaked in jocheong, which is a sweet rice syrup. This syrup gives them a shiny, sticky, and extra delicious coating.