''Chapssal-tteok'' (; ), also called ''chaltteok'' (, ), is a ''

tteok ''Tteok'' ( ko, 떡) is a class of Korean rice cakes made with steamed flour made of various grains, including glutinous or non-glutinous rice. Steamed flour can also be pounded, shaped, or pan-fried to make ''tteok''. In some cases, ''tteok' ...

'', or Korean rice cake, made of

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

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

Etymology

''Chapssal-tteok'' is a compound noun consisting of ''chapssal'' (), meaning "glutinous rice," and ''

'' (), meaning "

rice cake A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten and are particularly preval ...

." The word ''chapssal'' is derived from the

Middle Korean Middle Korean is the period in the history of the Korean language succeeding Old Korean and yielding in 1600 to the Modern period. The boundary between the Old and Middle periods is traditionally identified with the establishment of Goryeo in 9 ...

''chɑl'' (), meaning "glutinous," and ''psɑl'' (), meaning "

." ''Chɑlpsɑl'' () appears in ''Gugeup ganibang'', a 1489 book on medicine. * The word became ''chɑppsɑl'' () with consonant

cluster reduction In phonology and historical linguistics, cluster reduction is the simplification of consonant clusters in certain environments or over time. Cluster reduction can happen in different languages, dialects of those languages, in world Englishes, and ...

and then became ''chɑpsɑl'' () with

degemination In phonetics and phonology, gemination (), or consonant lengthening (from Latin 'doubling', itself from '' gemini'' 'twins'), is an articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant. It is distinct from ...

. Due to the loss of the vowel ''ɑ'' () as well as syllable-initial consonant clusters, the word became ''chapssal'' with the syllable boundary between coda ''p'' and

onset Onset may refer to: *Onset (audio), the beginning of a musical note or sound *Onset, Massachusetts Onset is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Wareham, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,573 at the 2010 census. Geog ...

''ss''. ''Tteok'' is derived from the Middle Korean ''sdeok'' (), which appears in ''Worin seokbo'', a 1459 biography and eulogy of

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

. * The word ''chaltteok'' is a compound consisting of the attributive adjective ''chal'' (), meaning "glutinous," and ''tteok''. ''Chal'' is derived from the Middle Korean ''chɑl'' (), and the word ''chɑlsdeok'' () appears in ''Geumganggyeong Samga hae'', a 1482 book on the '' Diamond Sūtra''. * Accordingly, ''chaltteok'' can mean ''tteok'' made of glutinous grains other than rice, such as

glutinous sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a Poaceae, grass species cultivated for its grain, which is used for food for humans, animal feed, and ethan ...

, but ''chapssal-tteok'' can only refer to ''tteok'' that is made of glutinous rice. In most cases, however, the words are used interchangeably, as ''tteok'' is most often made with glutinous or non-glutinous rice.

Preparation and varieties

''Chapssal-tteok'' can be prepared in several ways. Glutinous rice is soaked, ground into flour, and then steamed in a ''

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 S ...

'' (rice cake steamer). The rice may or may not then be pounded. Sometimes, the rice is ground after being steamed instead of before. ''Chapssal-tteok'' can be coated with ''

gomul ''Gomul'' () refers to a number of powdered coatings, toppings, fillings, or dips in Korean cuisine. Uses ''Gomul'' is used to improve the appearance and taste of ''tteok'' (rice cake), including ''injeolmi'', '' danja'', and '' gyeongdan'', as ...

'' (powdered sesame or beans) and steamed, or it may be boiled and then coated. ''Chapssal-tteok'' can also be made round and filled with various ''so'' (fillings) such as red bean paste. ''Chapssal-tteok'' ice cream is popular in modern South Korea. ''Chapssal-tteok'' is featured in some fusion Korean dishes.

Similar food

Some Japanese ''

mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...

'' varieties are very similar to certain ''chapssal-tteok'' varieties. Both may be made by steaming and pounding soaked glutinous rice.

References

Glutinous rice dishes Tteok {{Korea-cuisine-stub