Korean🍰 Sweets & drinks

Songpyeon Rice Cake

Name: Songpyeon Rice Cake
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 3½ cups Korean rice flour (for rice cakes); ½ tsp salt; ½ cup hot water; fresh pine needles; gardenia fruit (natural food coloring); 1 tsp gardenia water; blueberries; ¼ cups adzuki beans; 3 tbsp pine nuts; 3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds; 3 tbsp honey; sesame oil

⏱ 60 min

Songpyeon is a traditional Korean rice cake made for Chuseok, the Korean harvest moon festival. Steamed with fresh pine needles and filled with nuts, sesame seeds, and beans, it has a chewy, sweet, and nutty flavor.

Adapted from a video by Maangchi

Songpyeon rice cake (송편)

Watch on YouTube

Ingredients

Korean rice flour (for rice cakes)Keep frozen; used for white and purple dough portions3½ cups
saltdivided between white and purple dough½ tsp
hot waterdivided, used to make dough soft and moldable½ cup
fresh pine needlesfor steaming; imparts pine needle flavor
gardenia fruit (natural food coloring)for yellow dough; soak 7-8 hours in advance
gardenia watersoaked gardenia liquid for yellow dough1 tsp
blueberriesfor purple dough; Korean grapes can be used as alternative
adzuki beans

Steps

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1
Wash the fresh pine needles thoroughly and set aside for steaming.
2
Sift the frozen rice flour through a sieve or fine strainer, discarding any coarse particles.
3
Measure 1.5 cups rice flour, add 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 cup boiling water, then mix by hand until it becomes a soft, pliable dough for the white songpyeon.
4
For the yellow dough, combine about 2 tbsp rice flour with a pinch of salt, 1 tsp soaked gardenia water, and 1/2 tsp hot water, kneading until a lovely yellow color forms.
5
Wash the blueberries, place in a small pot, bring to a boil, then crush with a potato masher or similar tool.
6
Strain the blueberry liquid and use about 1/4 cup. Mix 1.5 cups rice flour with 1/4 tsp salt, add the blueberry liquid and hot water until the dough is soft and moldable (for purple dough).
7
Prepare three fillings: (1) 1/4 cup adzuki beans mixed with 2 tsp honey; (2) 3 tbsp crushed pine nuts mixed with 1 tbsp honey; (3) 3 tbsp ground toasted sesame seeds with a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp honey.
8
Take about 1 oz of dough, flatten the center, add filling, wrap and roll into a ball, sealing the edges. Repeat with remaining dough and fillings.
9
Using leftover yellow and purple dough, shape decorative flowers with yellow centers and purple petals.
10
Line the steamer basket with a damp cotton cloth, arrange cleaned pine needles, place the songpyeon on top (crowding is fine), cover with another damp cloth to prevent condensation, and close the lid.
11
Steam over medium-high heat for 30 minutes, then reduce to very low heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
12
Let cool slightly, transfer to a serving plate, and drizzle with sesame oil. Remove pine needles before serving.

Songpyeon Rice Cake

Ingredients

Steps

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