Sujeonggwa is a

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

n traditional cinnamon punch. Dark reddish brown in color, it is made from mainly cinnamon, sugar, water and ginger. It's often served with ''

gotgam Dried persimmon is a type of traditional dried fruit snack in East Asia. Known as ''shìbǐng'' () in Chinese, ''hoshigaki'' () in Japanese, and ''gotgam'' () in Korean, it is traditionally made in the winter, by air drying Oriental persimmon ...

'' (dried persimmon) and garnished with

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 trad ...

s. The punch is made by brewing first the cinnamon sticks and ginger at a slow boil. The solids are then removed for clarification and the remaining liquid is boiled again after adding either

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 ...

brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

. The dried persimmons are cut into portions and are added to soak and soften after the brew has completely cooled. This is usually done several hours before serving, as extensive soaking of the fruit may thicken the clear liquid to a murky appearance. Sujeonggwa is served cold and commonly as a dessert, much like ''

sikhye ''Sikhye'' (식혜, also spelled ''shikhye'' or ''shikeh''; also occasionally termed ''dansul'' or ''gamju'') is a traditional sweet Korean rice beverage, usually served as a dessert. In addition to its liquid ingredients, S''ikhye'' contains g ...

'', due to its sweet taste. It is also widely available in canned form.

History

The earliest mention of sujeonggwa dates back to 1849 in the book ''

Dongguksesigi Dongguksesigi (동국세시기,東國歲時記) is a book explaining the traditional customs of the year in Korea, written during the Joseon Dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), offi ...

'' (동국세시기, 東國歲時記), a book of seasonal customs written by scholar Hong Seok-mo (홍석모). The sujeonggwa recipe mentioned in the book is a

dried persimmon Dried persimmon is a type of traditional dried fruit snack in East Asia. Known as ''shìbǐng'' () in Chinese, ''hoshigaki'' () in Japanese, and ''gotgam'' () in Korean, it is traditionally made in the winter, by air drying Oriental persimmon. ...

brew with added ginger and pine nuts. In the book ''Haedongjukji'' (해동죽지, 海東竹枝) written in 1921, sujeonggwa is known to have been prepared in 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 unificat ...

era by palace women on New Year's Day. Then they were boiling ginger and adding persimmons to the brew. Its former name was ''baekjeho'' (백제호), literally meaning "white milky beverage", and was named after the white appearance of sugar-coated persimmons. Nowadays sujeonggwa is a popular traditional beverage drank year-round. The recipe of sujeonggwa has changed over time. The recipe of sujeonggwa is first mentioned in ''Sujaguigwe'' (수작의궤,受爵儀軌). Ginger was not used in ''Gunhakoedeung'' (군학회등, 群學會騰), and cinnamon was first used in ''The Recipes of Joseon'' (조선요리법, 朝鮮料理法). Pear was used in ''The New Making of Joseon Food'' (조선무쌍신식요리제법, 朝鮮無雙新式料理製法) and liquorice,

mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

peels, whole

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...

was also sometimes added. Honey was originally used for sweetening but it was replaced with sugar after ''The Recipes of Joseon''.

Variants

Geonsisujeonggwa (cinnamon punch with dried persimmon)

Geonsisujeonggwa is an original kind of sujeonggwa. It uses ginger and cinnamon as its main ingredients, and usually adds honey or sugar to taste sweet. Garnish with pine nut or ''

'' (dried persimmon) on last.

Galyeonsujeonggwa (lotus cinnamon punch)

Galyeonsujeonggwa uses ''

schisandra ''Schisandra'', the magnolia vines, is a genus of twining shrubs that generally climb on other vegetation. Various authors have included the plants in the Illiciaceae ''Schisandra'' (also spelled ''Schizandra'') is native to Asia and North Amer ...

'' as its main ingredients, and adds honey or sugar to keep it sweet and the inside flower petal of lotus in the water. The leaves must be boiled and coated by starch powder.

Jabgwasujeonggwa (cinnamon punch with miscellaneous fruits)

Jabgwasujeonggwa adds chopped citron or pear in the sweet water. It is very similar to ''

Hwachae ''Hwachae'' () is a general term for traditional Korean punches, made with various fruits or edible flower petals. The fruits and flowers are soaked in honeyed water or honeyed magnolia berry juice. In modern South Korea, carbonated drinks and ...

''.

Cinnamon punch with pear

This variant uses pear instead of

. In the past, people ate boiled pears (another name of Cinnamon Punch with Pear, in Korean, is ''Insug'') because most high quality pears are so stiff to eat. In order to make it easier to eat pears, they made them into a kind of cinnamon punch.

Cinnamon punch with pumpkin

This variant adds pumpkin to the original. It is usually enjoyed in Gangwon-do.

Recipe

Ingredients

Ginger, whole cinnamon,

white sugar White sugar, also called table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, is a commonly used type of sugar, made either of beet sugar or cane sugar, which has undergone a refining process. Description The refining process completely removes ...

, dried persimmon (

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

Process

# Put some gingers and pour water in a big pot. Heat it up about 10 minutes on high heat. When it boils, lower to medium heat and boil for an hour. Filter the liquid with cotton cloths. # Put some whole cinnamons and pour some water in a pot. Heat it up about 10 minutes on high heat. When it boils, lower to medium heat and boil for an hour. Filter it with cotton cloths. # Pour ginger water and cinnamon water in a pot and add brown sugar and white sugar. Boil it on high heat for 11 minutes. As it boils, lower the heat level to medium and boil for 10 minutes. Cool the liquid after boiling. # Garnish with dried persimmon ssam and pine nuts before serving.

Tip

* It is recommended to boil ginger and whole cinnamon separately in order to maximize the fragrance and flavor. * Whole dried persimmon (

Gotgam Dried persimmon is a type of traditional dried fruit snack in East Asia. Known as ''shìbǐng'' () in Chinese, ''hoshigaki'' () in Japanese, and ''gotgam'' () in Korean, it is traditionally made in the winter, by air drying Oriental persimmon ...

) could be used instead of dried persimmon ssam.

References

External links

Sujeonggwa - Official Seoul City TourismHistory and Recipe
{{Korean cuisine Korean drinks Non-alcoholic drinks