Taco Tuesday? Mandoo Monday!!
I had a chance to visit my home country for the first time in 18 years around 2 years ago since I landed here in the United States. There I met my aunt who was doing well with a restaurant of her own selling — guess what? Mandoo! (korean dumpling) She was selling one of the best dumplings I’ve ever had.
The last time that I saw my aunt was when I was 9 years old. The first question she asked me when I met her was, 밥먹었어? Which means “did you eat?” with tears in her eyes. This question is a common greeting due to our history of poverty. Did you know that “GDP per capita in South Korea in early 1960’s was below $100. Lower than Haiti, Ethiopia or Yemen, making South Korea one of the poorest countries in the world”?
You see, food is not just food for us. Food is social, communal, and meant to be shared. Food is love.
Interesting thing about dumplings
– If you eat a couple, it’s an appetizer
– If you eat a bit more, its a meal
– If you eat it late at night, it’s a snack.
Dumplings are eaten from early morning to late night.
Dumplings are sold from the delicious street vendors of Korea to one of the most expensive and high-end restaurants. Dumplings can be eaten at any time and anywhere.
Here I am, two years later. I’ve received my aunt’s recipe to bring it here in the states.
We just started at Fulton Street Market past month and have been selling out for most of the weeks. Our sales nearly tripled in our 4th time at the market. With the funding, I will take Mandoo to the next step. The cultural market of Korea just began from K-pop, K-drama, K-beauty, to K-food and we call this 한류 (hallyue) which means wave of Korea. Mandoo is not just food but a way to experience Korea through food.
I carefully believe Mandoo can become the face of Korean food. It is time to replace Kimchi and Bulgogi.
(https://www.forbeswoman.ge/en/post/southkorea)