''Gangjeong'' () is a ''

hangwa ''Hangwa'' () is a general term for traditional Korean confections. With ''tteok'' (rice cakes), ''hangwa'' forms the sweet food category in Korean cuisine. Common ingredients of ''hangwa'' include grain flour, fruits and roots, sweet ingredien ...

'' (, traditional Korean confection) made with

glutinous rice flour Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated animals, or domesticated plants. These traits were identified by Charles Darwin in '' The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication. ...

. It is a deep-fried "rice puff" with hollow inside, coated with

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

followed by nutty beans, nuts, seeds, pollen, or spice powders. ''Gangjeong'' is often served during important events such as weddings, ancestral rites, and

Korean New Year Seollal () is a festival and national holiday commemorating the first day of the Chinese lunisolar calendar. It is one of the most important traditional holidays in both North and South Korea. The celebration usually lasts three days: the day ...

celebrations. Yugwa was widely distributed after the Goryeo Dynasty due to the influence of Buddhism, and was called "Goryeo dessert" in the Yuan Dynasty of China.

Preparation

Glutinous rice Glutinous rice (''Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose ...

is soaked in water for four to five days, then pounded or ground into fine powder. Ten cups of glutinous rice flour is mixed with half cup ''cheongju'' (rice wine) and half cup

, and steamed in ''

siru ''Siru'' () is an earthenware steamer used to steam grain or grain flour dishes such as ''tteok'' (rice cakes). Gallery Si-lu (side2).jpg, A Bronze Age ''siru'' See also * List of cooking vessels * Bamboo steamer * ''Siru-tteok Si ...

'' (steamer) lined with wet ''

bojagi A bojagi (, sometimes shortened to ) is a traditional Korean wrapping cloth. Bojagi are typically square and can be made from a variety of materials, though silk or ramie are common. Embroidered bojagi are known as subo, while patchwork or scrap b ...

'' (cloth). Steamed dough is kneaded, rolled into thick sheets, cut into long and wide rectangles, and dried in shade. Well-dried ''gangjeong'' is first soaked in room-temperature cooking oil, then let rise a little more in warm oil, and deep-fried at a high temperature. When all excess oil is drained, the rice puff is coated with

followed by nutty grains or powders such as toasted

sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

seeds,

pine nut Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), pignoli or chilgoza (), are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are trade ...

powder,

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...

powder,

pine pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as Iceland, Lapland, and Greenland. They grow t ...

leaf powder, and

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

powder. Gangjeong 2.png, Pink ''gangjeong'' Gangjeong 3.png, Black sesame ''gangjeong'' Gangjeong 4.png, White sesame ''gangjeong'' Gangjeong.png, Gangjeong of many colors

References

Deep fried foods Glutinous rice dishes Hangwa {{Korea-dessert-stub