So, you conquered the 3x spicy Korean noodle challenge, right? Now, treat yourself to Bingsu or Songpyeon—an absolute must for a tasty victory lap!
Korean desserts are getting all the hype, and for good reasons—they're super tasty and easy on the stomach. Koreans really know how to amp up the flavour with ingredients like glutinous rice, honey, and spices, giving their desserts a unique taste. Also, they're big on seasonal fruits like strawberries in spring, watermelon and yellow melon in summer, and apples and pears in fall and winter. If you haven't tried Korean sweets yet, you're missing out. Start with these six, and you'll be hooked, no doubt!
Bingsu is the go-to summer dessert in Korea that everyone raves about. It features a generous heap of shaved ice in a cup, drizzled with condensed milk, and sweet red beans. What's cool is that you can jazz it up with your own twist by experimenting with toppings. Whether it's fresh fruits, jelly, flavoured syrups, green tea, breakfast cereal, or a scoop of ice cream – the possibilities are endless!
Among the top picks, patbingsu reigns supreme with its sweetened red bean topping, adding an extra layer of deliciousness to this popular Korean shaved ice treat.
Songpyeon is a crescent-shaped rice cake (tteok), which is made from rice flour and filled with treats like red bean paste, chestnut, honey, and sesame. This steamed Korean dessert, resembling dumplings, takes the spotlight during Chuseok, the traditional harvest moon festival. With a chewy texture and a mildly sweet and nutty taste, it gets a unique touch of pine tree flavour from steaming in fresh pine needles.
For an extra touch of fun, the dough is sometimes infused with colours using edible food colouring or natural ingredients like kabocha, mugwort, and various dried fruit powders. This makes Songpyeon not just delicious but visually vibrant too!
Kind of like Korean honey cookies, Yakgwa is a traditional sweet that's really rooted in Korean culture. They make it by deep-frying a mix of wheat flour, sesame oil, and honey until it's this glossy, golden brown cookie. Then, they dunk it in honey or syrup to make it extra sweet.
What makes Yakgwa cool is its fancy design, sometimes looking like flowers or intricate patterns. People love it during celebrations because it not only tastes good but also looks pretty. The mix of a crispy outside and a chewy, sweet inside gives you this awesome experience, showing off the careful craftiness in Korean cooking traditions!
If you've seen Squid Game, you might remember this one! In the third episode, contestants had to carve out shapes from their candy without breaking it—that's dalgona. It's a crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth candy made from melted sugar and baking soda. Similar to toffee, it comes in shapes like stars or hearts.
Also known as ppopgi in some parts of Korea, this toasty, caramel-tasting candy is super easy to make at home and surprise your friends!
Sujeonggwa is a standout in the world of Korean desserts, bringing a refreshing change from the usual solid treats. It's like a cold, sweet beverage made with dried persimmons, cinnamon, ginger, and sugar. They simmer all those ingredients to create this rich, spiced liquid, and then chill it before serving.
Sujeonggwa also brings some health perks with those herbal ingredients. The sweet and spiced flavours, combined with that chill vibe, create the ideal ending to a delicious Korean meal. It really highlights how Korean desserts go beyond just solid treats—there's this whole diverse and holistic experience happening.
Dasik has been around for ages; way back, they used to serve it to royalty with traditional tea during special ceremonies and stuff. These bite-sized cookies go great with tea and are made by mixing flour or grains like soybean, glutinous rice, sesame seeds, pine flower powder, bean powder, or chestnut powder with honey. After that, they press the dough into a patterned mould to give them different designs. They are light, just a tad sweet, and they kinda melt in your mouth because they're super soft.
It's pretty awesome because dasik comes in all these different flavors, and the colors totally match what's inside. So, like, a matcha-flavoured one is gonna be all green, and if it's got black sesame seeds, it's gonna be black. Told ya, Korean sweets are not just tasty but also a lot of fun to have!
If you're a fan of Korean delights like noodles, kimchi, and corn dogs, you'll definitely dig the sweets too! Give them a try – they're worth it!
