[Food]

[Food] Songpyeon (Half-Moon Rice Cake, 송편)

Once upon a time in Korea, around the 7th century, there were three kingdoms named Baekje, Goguryeo and Silla. One day, King Euija of Baekje found a turtle coming out of the ground in his palace with the words 'Baekje is full moon and Silla is half moon' written on the turtle's shell. King Euija found this very strange, so he asked fa amous fortune-teller to translate it. The fortune-teller replied, 'Baekje will decline slowly because it's full-moon, and Silla will rise gradually and become full-moon because it's now half-moon.' Some decades later, this prophecy came true when Silla unified the Korean peninsula.

Since then, people have started making half-moon shaped rice cake on Chuseok (추석, Traditional Korean Thanksgiving Day) as a wish for a prosperous and secure future because the 'half-moon' symbolized richness and success. This half-moon shaped rice cake has been called 'Songpyeon (Half-Moon Rice Cake, 송편)' because 'song' means pine tree and 'pyeon' means cake. Songpyeon need to be steamed on pine leaves.

Today, Koreans still cook and eat songpyeon on Chuseok (and other usual days too) to wish for a plentiful, rich and good fortune and beautiful children :) When Koreans gather to make songpyeon on Chuseok, they usually say, 'You will have beautiful children when you make beautiful songpyeon'.

The dough of songpyeon is usually made of sticky rice and other ingredients to give it color such as mugwort, Korean cactus and more. People usually put sweet nuts inside songpyeon. Its popular ingredients are sesame, chestnut, red bean and peas with black and white sugar :)

Songpyeon with sweet white bean paste

Then why do Koreans use pine leaves to steam songpyeon? Firstly, to prevent songpyeon sticking to each other in a steam pot and to give them a good smell. Secondly, pine leaves have anti-bacterial and anti-carcinogenic properties so songpyeon can be more nutritious. Thirdly, pine tree is an 'everlasting' symbol so people wish for unchanging success when they make songpyeon :)

We don't know the exact time when Koreans started to eat songpyeon (maybe more than 1500 years ago?) but it is true that people hope the moon's power gives success and peace as they gaze at the full-moon on Chuseok :)

How about making songpyeon this Thanksgiving Day with your family? It may bring you an everlasting successful and peaceful life :)

Bon Appétit! 

[Food] Tteokguk and its recipe (떡국, Rice-cake soup and its recipe)

[Food]

[Food] Tteokguk and its recipe (떡국, Rice-cake soup and its recipe)

Every culture in every country has its own tradition to greet the New Year. In particular, East-Asian countries who follow the Lunar Calendar traditionally celebrate New Years at the end of January. Therefore, like China and Japan, Koreans also eat something special on New Years which they call 'Tteokguk (Rice-cake soup)'. 'Tteok' means rice-cake and 'guk' means soup in Korean.

Koran traditional table for ancestral rites

Strong village men gather around a mill to pound steamed rice into cake, and cooked rice cake and rice cake soup for the New Year.

Rice dough pounded in a wooden mortar by a wooden pestle to make rice cake

Sliced rice cake to be put into a soup for rice-cake soup

No one knows how long Koreans have been cooking rice cake soup for the New Year. Scholars can only predict it's been more than 2000 years, which is in ancient Korea. Koreans must eat rice cake soup in the morning of the New Year and serve guests who visit their home.

A long time ago, pheasant stock and its meat was used for rice-cake soup, but as time has gone by, pheasant has become so hard to hunt, so pheasant was only used by nobles and the royal family. Everyday citizens usually used chicken and its stock; today beef is easy to buy and gives a better taste so most Korean families use beef stock for rice-cake soup.

Rice-cake recipe is very simple

1. Separate tough and soft beef. Marinate soft beef with soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Make beef stock with tough meat.

2. Separate the egg yolk from the white, griddle each of them into flat shapes then chop them into thin strips.

3. Heat the stock, and put sliced rice cakes when it boils.

4. Top the dish with chopped marinated beef and eggs.

Koreans say "You become 1 year older per dish of rice cake soup", because they traditionally eat rice cake soup at New Year. So if you visit Korea during the New Year season, don't eat rice cake soup too much if you don't want to become grandma or grandpa earlier than others (LOL)

Bon Appétit!

[Food] Tteok-kkochi (떡꼬치, Rice Cake Skewers)

[Food]

[Food] Tteok-kkochi (떡꼬치, Rice Cake Skewers)

Tteok-kkochi (떡고치, Rice Cake Skewers)

In my previous articles about Korean gourmet, I mentioned that Koreans are big fans of chewy textures and spicy flavors such as sticky rice cake. Dishes made of sticky rice have been a beloved dish since ancient times in Korea. One of them is 'Tteok (rice cake)', which is roasted, boiled, stir-fried or barbecued and enjoyed as a snack.

Today, I would like to introduce you to 'Tteok-kkochi (떡꼬치, Rice Cake Skewers). 'Tteok' means 'rice cake' and 'kkochi' means 'skewer' in Korean. Tteok-kkochi is a simple snack made of rice cake. It's very easy to cook and eat.

Garae tteok (long rice cake): main ingredient of tteok-kkochi

1. Chop garae tteok into small pieces as desired

2. Place chopped tteok pieces into skewers, and deep-fry them in hot oil till they become crispy

3. Mix sugar, chili powder, chili paste, oligosaccharide syrup, ketchup, minced garlic, soy sauce and water into a bowl to make a sweet and spicy tteok-kkochi sauce.

4. Brush sweet and spicy sauce onto deep-fried tteok-skewers

Local Korean snack bar

It is not clear when and how tteok-kkochi was invented, but people suppose it originiated in the 1980s as a new menu in addition to tteok-bokki (Stir fried spicy rice cake). Some people claim that a recipe book from the 15th century Chosun dynasty recorded the name 'tteok-sanjuk' - an origin of tteok-kkochi - in its menu.

Some months ago, a new type of tteok-kkochi became very popular through a comedic reality show. 'So-tteok-so-tteok' is a new kind of Korean-style rice cake skewer made of rice cake and Vienna sausage. Rice cake and Vienna sausages are skewed one after the other. The same sauce used for tteok-kkochi is also used for so-tteok-so-tteok.

Famous and popular Korean snack so-tteok-so-tteok

I remember buying one or two tteok-kkochis at a snack shop near my school and eating them on my way home :) It was a cheap and tasty snack for all ages which also filled our bellies quickly.

There are not many snack shops that sell tteok-kkochi these days but I still miss tteok-kkochi :)


Bon Appétit!