Top 3 Korean Rice Cakes

여러분 안녕하세요! (yorobun an-nyung-ha-se-yo) 여러분 = everyone. 안녕하세요 = hello. Hello everyone! Today’s post will be a top three countdown from my third favorite to my number one favorite rice cake of all time. We will count down in Sino-Korean numbers and introduce my favorite rice cakes at the same time.

Coming in 삼 (sam) 등 (dung): (삼 등 = third place.) is patinjolmi (팥 인절미). Patinjolmi (팥인절미) is made from white rice and chapssal (찹쌀) or glutinous rice. After the white rice and chapssal (찹쌀) is mixed together, it is steamed in a rice cooker until it becomes soft. After it’s cooled, it’s pounded on a flat wooden board called an anban (안반). Once that’s finnished it’s rolled in powdered soybeans called pat (팥). I like this rice cake because you can reheat it later and still have the softness and taste of soybeans preserved. It can get a little messy eating it though. Sometimes the powder falls all over the place, but it’s a fun activity to do with the kids.

In 이 (e) 등 (dung): (이 등 = second place ) is bek-sol-ki (백설기). Bek-sol-ki (백설기) means white snow in Korean. First you soak the rice and mepssal (맵쌀) overnight and drain the water afterwards. Then you pound it into little pieces with a jolgu (절 구) and a jolgutkongi (절굿공이). A jolgu (절 구) is a mortar while a jol-gut-kong-i (절굿공이) is a pestle. When the pieces start to look like little snowflakes, add some sugar and starch. Then steam it in a siru (시루) or a earthenware steamer. It’s the most simple and basic rice cake out there, but it’s still sweet and tasty.

Lastly, coming in 일 (il) 등 (dung): (일 등 = first place) is ggul-ddok (꿀떡) which means honey rice cake in Korean. First, boil some hot water in a sot (솥) or a cauldron. Then mix the white rice and mepssal (맵쌀). After that, let it cool. When it cools down knead the dough into miniature round balls. Poke a small hole in the balls and pour some Korean candy syrup in it. Then close the balls with some more dough. Make sure you add some grease to the balls so that they don’t stick to each other. I love this rice cake because its sweet, tiny and cute to look at. You can add some food coloring to make it more festive as well.

One thing that you might have noticed is that the main ingredient in rice cakes is rice. Duh! It just goes to show how important rice is to the Korean cuisine. Not only is rice a staple crop but a form of dessert as well. You’ll also notice that a lot of Korean rice cakes have minimal amounts of sugar; especially when you compare it to American cakes. Therefore, if you’re worried about calories, a typical Korean rice cake will contain far fewer calories than a typical American cake with icing. Unfortunately, Korean rice cakes contain a lot of carbohydrates, (It’s starting to show on my hips! I need to work out!) but as long as you have it occasionally it shouldn’t contribute to a significant weight gain.