← Nouns Cooking · Korean

Ingredients

• 300 g wet-milled short-grain rice flour (frozen, thawed) or fine rice flour
• ½ tsp Salt, skip if the flour is pre-salted
• 80 ml boiling water, plus more as needed
• 40 g steamed, mashed kabocha (for yellow dough) (optional)
• 60 g toasted sesame seeds, coarsely ground
• 1½ tbsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp Honey
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 tbsp Toasted sesame oil, for brushing

Method

1. Mix the rice flour and salt in a bowl. Add the boiling water a spoonful at a time, stirring with a spoon, then knead with your hands for 5 min until smooth and soft like play dough. Dry rice flour needs more water than wet-milled. For yellow dough, knead the pumpkin into half of it.
2. Keep the dough covered with a damp cloth. Mix the filling ingredients; they should clump when pressed.
3. Roll a walnut-sized piece of dough into a ball, press your thumb in to make a cup and add about 1 tsp filling. Pinch the edges closed, pressing out the air, and shape into a little half-moon.
4. Line a steamer with a damp cloth (or clean pine needles for the traditional scent) and arrange the cakes in a single layer, not touching.
5. Steam over high heat for 20–25 min, until the rice cakes look glossy and slightly translucent.
6. Rinse them very briefly in cold water, drain, then toss with sesame oil so they shine and do not stick. Eat on the day.

Tips

• Leftover songpyeon harden in the fridge; freeze them instead and re-steam for a few minutes.
• Sweetened chestnut, red bean or mung bean pastes are other classic fillings.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Korean Bapsang Kimchimari