''Yumil-gwa'' () is a variety of ''

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 ...

'', a traditional

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

confection. Different varieties of ''yumil-gwa'' can be made by combining a wheat flour dough with various ingredients such as:

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 ...

cooking oil Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and may be called edible oil. ...

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, nuts,

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

juice,

jujube Jujube (), sometimes jujuba, known by the scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'' and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus ''Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. Description It is a smal ...

, and ''

cheongju Cheongju () is the capital and largest List of cities in South Korea, city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. History Cheongju has been an important provincial town since ancient times. In the Cheongju Mountains, specifically in the ...

'' (rice wine).

Etymology

The word ''yumil-gwa'' consists of three syllables: ''yu'' () meaning "oil", ''mil'' () meaning "honey", and ''gwa'' () meaning "confection".

History

''Yumil-gwa'' varieties have commonly been used and consumed for ''

jesa Jesa (, ) is a ceremony commonly practiced in the East Asian cultural sphere. Jesa functions as a memorial to the ancestors of the participants. Jesa are usually held on the anniversary of the ancestor's death. The majority of Catholics, Budd ...

'' (ancestral rites). During the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

era (918–1392), ''yumil-gwa'' were offered during national feasts, rites, ceremonies, and banquets, including two Buddhist festivals, the Lotus Lantern Festival and the Festival of the Eight Vows. In 1274, ''yumil-gwa'' varieties were used for ''

pyebaek Pyebaek is a Korean wedding custom that is traditionally held a few days after the official ceremony, with only family members present. The ceremony begins with the older couple seated on cushions behind a table in front of a painted screen, with ...

'' (formal greeting) in the

wedding ceremony A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding tradition African customs Ethiopia The Wedding procedure starts with the groom's side sending elders (Shimagle) who then request a union between the parties. The ...

of King Chungnyeol and

Princess Jeguk Princess Supreme Jeguk (; 22 July 1251 – 11 June 1297; ), also known as Queen Jangmok () and Queen Mother Inmyeong () was a Yuan imperial princess as the daughter of Kublai Khan who became the first Goryeo queen consort from Yuan. She was the ...

Yuan China The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

. In 1296, ''yumil-gwa'' was brought to the wedding ceremony of the Crown Prince Won (later King Chungseon) and

Princess Gyeguk Princess Supreme Gyeguk (; 1285 – 15 January 1316; ), also known as Princess of Han State () and Grand Princess of Han State () was a Yuan Dynasty Imperial family member as the great-granddaughter of Kublai Khan and became a Korean queen cons ...

of Yuan, China. Excessive use of ''yumil-gwa'' has led to the introduction of several regulations throughout history. In 1117, King Sukjong issued a restriction on the extravagant usage of ''yumil-gwa''. In 1192, it was commanded that ''yumil-gwa'' had to be replaced with fruits. In 1353, a total ban was placed on ''yumil-gwa''. During the

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

era (1392–1897), the use of ''yumil-gwa'' was restricted solely for rites, weddings, and toasts to longevity.

Preparation and variations

Dough for ''yumil-gwa'' is made by kneading sifted

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bread ...

with

sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. O ...

juice, and ''

'' (rice wine). Additional ingredients for filling and garnishing may include

powder, honey,

, and

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 ...

s. Deep-fried ''yumil-gwa'' is soaked in

or ''

jocheong ''Cheong'' () is a name for various sweetened foods in the form of syrups, marmalades, and fruit preserves. In Korean cuisine, ''cheong'' is used as a tea base, as a honey-or-sugar-substitute in cooking, as a condiment, and also as an alternative ...

'' (rice syrup), and dried. * ''Chasu-gwa'' (; ) is a hand-shaped ''yumil-gwa'' with five fingers. * ''Jungbaekki'' (), also called ''junggye'' (; ), ''jungbakgye'' (; ), or ''junggye-gwa'' (; ), are rectangular ''yumil-gwa'' that are pan-fried before served. * ''

Mandu-gwa ''Mandu-gwa'' () is a Korean sweet dumpling filled with sweetened ingredients and coated with ''jocheong'' (rice syrup). It is a type of '' yumil-gwa'', a deep-fried ''hangwa'' (Korean confection) made with wheat flour. Mandu means "dumplings" ...

'' () is deep-fried sweet dumplings. * ''

Maejap-gwa ''Maejap-gwa'' (), also called ''maejak-gwa'' () or ''tarae-gwa'' (), is a ribbon-shaped ''hangwa'' (traditional Korean confection). Preparation Wheat flour is kneaded with ginger juice and water, then rolled into a flat sheet. The sheet is t ...

'' (), also called ''maejak-gwa'' () or ''tarae-gwa'' (), is a ribbon-shaped ''yumil-gwa''. * ''

Yakgwa ''Yakgwa'' (), also called ''gwajul'' (), is a type of ''yumil-gwa'', which is deep-fried, wheat-based ''hangwa'' (Korean confection) made with honey, ''cheongju'' (rice wine), sesame oil, and ginger juice. Traditionally, the sweet was offered ...

'' (), also called ''gwajul'' (), is flower-shaped ''yumil-gwa'' made by molding and deep-frying sweet dough. * ''Yohwa-gwa'' (; ) is a ''yumil-gwa'' made into the shape of water-pepper flower.

References

{{reflist, 30em Deep fried foods Hangwa