Memory of Mandu
I had a cat named Mandu and he was a great cat. He was tough and small and crazy. The woman I got him from was a professional billiards player in New York City. I got Mandu when he was just a kitten and he took charge right away. Anyway, going through old e-mail, I see the woman who gave him to me was skeptical of the name I chose. She wrote: "Let's hope he doesn't wander near any Korean restaurants.... Mandu - A meat dumpling similar to Japanese gyozas, mandu can be served in soup (mandu guk), or fried (mandu tuigim). Mandu is beef or pork, bean sprouts, tofu, mushrooms, kimchi and eggs all wrapped in a flour dumpling shell. The freshly made dumplings are tossed into a boiling beef broth and garnished with crumbled laver, fried egg and black pepper before serving. This dish, like ttok guk, is also popular on New Year's Day."