Korea Has Taken Rice Cakes to The Next Level
Rice cakes are nice cakes?
by Cari Kamja
If you're a fan of Korean food, you've most likely tried tteokbokki (or our tteokbokki chips!); that savory, spicy, delicious mix of fish cake, rice cake, and more. Now prepare yourself for the exact opposite use of tteok, or rice cake. Today, we're going to be drooling over Korean rice cake desserts. Try a rice cake dessert for yourself!
There are literally hundreds of ways to make stunning desserts from rice flour, and they range from a super-sweet treat to a nutrient-packed snack. Some are stuffed with red bean, some with honey, or some are just solid rice cake!
The filling, of course, isn't the only thing you can add to make your rice cake extra delicious. Traditional rice cakes can be covered in misugaru, soy bean powder, or a million other options! This is one reason why tteok can seem so colorful. It's common to see green, yellow, and even pink tteok for sale!
But what about the rice cake itself? Sometimes the tteok is mixed with other ingredients so that not only are the filling and outside delicious, but the cake itself is mouth-watering! For a healthier take on tteok, it's common to add beans, jujube, and seeds! You can see these being sold at bus or train stations, or anywhere that people might be heading out on a long journey. Just throw one in your bag, and you'll have one seriously delicious energy bar! ;)
Are you hungry for rice cakes yet? Well, hold on - we're just getting started. Depending on how you use rice flour, your cakes can come out sticky and chewy like most of the tteok we're used to in tteokbokki. But, another traditional way of creating tteok makes a lighter and absolutely beautiful rainbow.
You might have seen a cake like this before; or a more pastel version. This kind of rice cake is definitely not sweet, and is still chewier than the consistency of a typical American cake. It is most common seen at Korean weddings, or certain important birthdays, like a baby's 100 day celebration! Its also become common for Korean idols to give out these cakes on their birthday to fans. Most recently, however, the Korean baking world is taking these cakes to a totally new level. The latest craze is "tteok cakes," but this time as ridiculous works of art.
New bakeries offering classes in decorating tteok cakes are popping up every day! While they aren't as easy to find as traditional rice cake desserts, they sure are gorgeous aren't they!? Have you tried any kind of rice cake dessert? What has been your favorite? I personally love anything stuffed with red bean^^
