Korean people have been eating many different kinds of rice cakes as desserts or snacks for a long time. As Westerners eat cookies, pies, cakes, and candy, Koreans eat rice cakes, fruits, and other Korean desserts. Nowadays, Korean people also eat many Western desserts; so, Korean rice cakes are eaten less than before. However, Koreans still eat rice cakes on special days such as traditional holidays, birthdays, etc. Chapssaltteok (찹쌀떡) is a Korean dessert that is mainly made with sweet rice flour and red bean paste. It is almost similar to Japanese mocchi. It will be best to make your own red bean paste at home, but you can buy a can of red bean paste from the store. This time I just used red bean paste from a can. I hope you will like this chewy and sweet rice cake dessert.
Yield: 8 Pieces
Short Korean Lesson
- SahGwa (사과) = Apple
- SahGwa (사과) = Apologize
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 1 Cup Sweet Rice Flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- 3½ Tbsp Sugar
- 1 Cup Water
- ¾ Cup Red Bean Paste
- Some Corn Starch
Directions
In a bowl, add 1 cup of sweet rice flour, 3½ Tbsp of sugar, and ½ tsp of salt. Stir it.
Slowly, add 1 cup of water. Stir it until all of the ingredients are blended.
Cover it with plastic wrap. Cook it in the microwave for 3 minutes, take it out, and stir it again. (Depending on your microwave’s power, you might have to cook for a longer or shorter period of time. Mine was high power for 3 minutes.)
If the dough is as pictured, it is done. (Please check the video if you can’t figure it out.) Stir the dough for at least 3 minutes.
Divide ¾ cup of red bean paste into 8 ping-pong sized balls.
You can adjust the amount of red bean paste according to your taste.
Sprinkle a little cornstarch on a cutting board. Roll the dough into a 16 inch long loaf. Cut the dough into eight 2-inch pieces.
Flatten a piece.
Place the bean ball in the center.
Wrap the ball with the rice dough.
Roll it out smooth. Cover it with more cornstarch.
Enjoy! 😀
Ha Anh says
June 16, 2016 at 10:47 PMHello Aeri,
Can I use other kind of flour to cover the rice cake instead of cornstarch??
Thank you!!:)
Aeri Lee says
June 23, 2016 at 7:24 AMhi Ha Anh,
The reason we use cornstarch is.. it doesn’t effect too much flavor to the rice cakes..and it is very fine powder.. so it will not be crumbly when you work with it.. so I don’t want to recommend other kinds of flour.. so I thought of it a little more.. then I came up with this idea.. if.. if you can handle the sweetness.. how about powdered sugar little bit ?? if you use that instead of cornstarch.. maybe you can reduce some sweetness for your rice cake.. thanks
George C says
March 12, 2014 at 12:58 PMAeri, I served in the US Army in 1985-1987 in ROK, and had these brought to me while in the field by some nice Korean farmers. (Along with some Soju) I often wondered if they were available in the US. THank you for this page, and your recipe. It is much appreciated. George
Aeri Lee says
April 20, 2014 at 6:14 AMhi George C,
You are very welcome. Thanks for your military service in Korea. You can try it at home now. 😉
Lidya says
March 6, 2014 at 3:50 AMHello, Aeri
I am interested in Korean rice cakes very much. I found out that there are so many varieties of it. I wonder if you can help me with a rice cake with beans. I don’t know the name. If you have time, please have a look at the rice cake that I mean at: http://www.joinchase.org/2013/06/change-in-taste.html
It is the first picture on the page.
I do hope to hear from you soon. Thank you in advance.
Lidya
Aeri Lee says
March 7, 2014 at 3:26 PMhi Lidya,
I looked at the picture.. if you are asking me the name for the rice cake… it is called “완두콩 시루떡 (=WanDuKong SiRuTteok)” in Korean. Thanks
Lidya says
March 13, 2014 at 3:14 AMDo you happen to have the recipe? 😀
lidya
Aeri Lee says
April 20, 2014 at 6:12 AMhi Lidya,
Sorry but what recipe ?? ^^:; I’m confused. Thanks
Foodfreak says
November 8, 2013 at 7:44 PMAeri, u r a mastermind. I nvr knew u could make these so fast and easy! The only cooking part is the microwave?
Aeri Lee says
November 18, 2013 at 3:12 PMhi Foodfreak,
hehe.. yep.. simple and easy but super delicious. 😉 Try it someday.
Sammy says
October 19, 2013 at 9:38 PMHi Aeri,
I was wondering if I could substitute sweet rice flour for glutinous rice flour? thanks. 😆
Aeri Lee says
October 21, 2013 at 5:38 PMhi Sammy,
Those two are the same thing just different name. 😉
pow says
November 24, 2012 at 3:57 AMI just finished eating rice cakes I brought to my friends (ups). It was perfect. And now want more. How long those cakes are valid? As I understood if I buy from supermarket I should eat it asap. On some packages there were something like 7 days.
Aeri Lee says
January 8, 2013 at 8:10 AMhi pow,
Rice cakes become hard soon… and the texture and taste change..that’s why they say it’s best to eat soon.. but if you want to eat later.. freeze them..when they are warm..and when you want to eat again.. thaw.. or cook them in the microwave .. thanks
Sandy says
September 9, 2012 at 1:57 PMWhile living in Ohio we visited a Chinese Place often which served little sweets. It was a buffet without a name for this sweet. When I asked what it was, I had a hard time understanding, but thought the man said it was beans. They were chewy and had a sweet, but not overly sweet dark center and rolled in sesame seeds. Could this possibly be it? I loved them and have NEVER found them again. I live in Arkansas now.
Aeri Lee says
September 22, 2012 at 1:54 PMhi Sandy,
Well.. if it was a Chinese food, I can’t tell what it was exactly..but I can guess one thing.. here is a link from other site for you. Hope it’s helpful.
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/gyungdan
필비 says
July 31, 2012 at 10:08 AMHi Aeri!
I don’t have a microwave… Is it possible to “cook” it other way? I have a bamboo steamer, electrical oven, gas stove…
Thank you for sharing all your delicious recipes!!
Greetings from Estonia.
Aeri Lee says
August 22, 2012 at 10:14 AMhi 필비,
You can use double boiler (it takes time to cook though..) or nonstick pan on the stove.. keep stir the batter… until you get the sticky texture..
Ava says
June 27, 2012 at 8:48 PMHello, Aeri
Can I use rice flour instead of sweet rice flour?
Aeri Lee says
July 3, 2012 at 5:41 PMHi Ava,
You need sweet rice flour for this food ..but not rice flour.