Bibigo Beef Bulgogi Mandu

I’ve never heard anyone say, “I went to Costco, and no one was there.” If you have, can you please let me know when you went? It would be nice to shop there without feeling like I’m playing the video game, Frogger, with my cart. I can see why Costco is so busy and popular though. If you have a big family, store, or restaurant, you can save a decent amount of money by buying items in bulk. I also like that you can find unique, quality products at a good price there. I stumbled upon such a product the last time I was at Costco – Bibigo Beef Bulgogi, and it cost $21.59 for a 1.36 kg bag.

I love dumplings; it doesn’t matter if they are boiled, steamed, pan-fried, or deep-fried. However, last week was my first time trying mandu (traditional Korean dumplings) using the Bibigo Beef Bulgogi Mandu from Costco. I followed the instructions on the packaging, which was to pan-fry them, but instead of using vegetable oil, I used sesame oil, and I sprinkled some black pepper on top. I also made a sauce to dip them in by mixing hoisin, teriyaki, and sriracha. 

Getting the Bibigo Beef Bulgogi Mandu from Costco turned out to be an excellent choice, even though they barely fit in our packed freezer. They were the best frozen dumplings I have ever purchased from a supermarket or store. It was like eating beef bulgogi with glass noodles, cabbage, and green onions in a crispy wrapper. The mandu were flavourful, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought those dumplings came from a restaurant. 

P.S. The instructions on the package had said to “place 4 frozen mandu pieces onto the pan”, but I rebelled and put 14. Good thing I did because we have some room in the freezer again, but more importantly, I didn’t want to stop eating the Bibigo Beef Bulgogi Mandu after seven (I had to share with my husband), let alone four (I wouldn’t have shared any!).

If you want a good main course to accompany this, check out my Ground Beef and Vegetables blog post.