Premium Yeonggwa Yakshik with Wood Ear Mushroom
How about a Luxurious Yakshik with Wood Ear Mushroom for Seollal? ^^
I learned about traditional Korean confectionery from old texts, and the yakshik from those documents included wood ear mushrooms, bracken, and dried pumpkin strips. It was simmered for 8 hours in a double boiler, resulting in an incredibly deep flavor. While it’s truly delicious, an 8-hour simmer is quite a commitment… ㅜㅜ So, this is a premium yakshik adapted with ingredients that are beneficial and easy to use. It makes for a wonderful gift, and everyone loves this recipe, so please try using it when you make yakshik! ^^
Main Ingredients (Enough for Steamer)
- 1kg Sweet Rice (Glutinous Rice)
- 20 Chestnuts
- 20 Jujubes (Dates)
- 1 cup Mixed Beans (soaked)
- 20 Walnuts
- 20 Almonds
- 1/2 cup Soaked Wood Ear Mushrooms
Seasoning (Soy Sauce: Brown Sugar 1:1.5)
- 150g Brown Sugar
- 100g Soy Sauce (Jin-ganjang)
- 5-6 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
- 150g Brown Sugar
- 100g Soy Sauce (Jin-ganjang)
- 5-6 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, any kind of beans will do. Rinse them well and soak them in water. Rinse the sweet rice thoroughly until the water runs clear, and let it soak for at least 30 minutes.
Step 2
Gently rub the soaked wood ear mushrooms with your hands multiple times in water to thoroughly clean off any dirt or debris. Carefully remove any hard parts that were attached to the stone.
Step 3
The cleaned wood ear mushrooms don’t need to be finely chopped. Place them in a bowl, add a pinch of salt and a little sesame oil, and gently knead them. This enhances their flavor.
Step 4
Peel the chestnuts and cut them in half. The recipe calls for 20 chestnuts, but the fun of making yakshik at home is adding ingredients as you like. Feel free to add as many as you want! Cutting them into halves is a good size so they don’t break apart when cooked.
Step 5
You can use any kind of nuts, but it’s important to toast them. Either lightly pan-fry or bake them in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for 5-10 minutes, then let them cool. This doubles their nutty flavor.
Step 6
To remove any dust from the jujubes, soak them in water for about 10 minutes. Then, remove the seeds by ‘돌려깎기’ (a peeling technique) and slice them thinly.
Step 7
To save time, it’s best to steam the sweet rice first and prepare the other ingredients while it’s cooking. Line a steamer with a cloth, add the soaked sweet rice, and steam for 20 minutes.
Step 8
In a separate pot, add the soaked beans and enough water to cover them. Cook until the beans are tender. The cooking time may vary depending on the type of beans.
Step 9
Once the beans are cooked, if there’s too much water in the pot, drain some of it, leaving just enough to barely cover the beans. Then, add 2 Tbsp of soy sauce and 6 Tbsp of brown sugar (for 1 cup of beans) and simmer until the beans are coated and slightly reduced.
Step 10
Don’t worry if the beans don’t look as glossy as in the picture. Over-simmering to make them dry will make them hard and less tasty. Turn off the heat when there’s about a tablespoon of liquid remaining. They should remain slightly moist.
Step 11
Add the jujubes and chestnuts to the simmered beans and mix them together. This step helps to color the rice.
Step 12
Transfer the sweet rice, which has been steamed for 20 minutes, from the steamer to a bowl. Mix it thoroughly with the prepared beans, jujubes, and chestnuts.
Step 13
Add all the simmered beans, chestnuts, and jujubes to the partially cooked sweet rice. To season, pour in the soy sauce first and mix, tasting as if you were mixing soy sauce with rice. Adjust the sweetness with brown sugar afterward. (You can adjust the soy sauce amount to your preference.)
Step 14
Mix well until the seasoning is evenly distributed on the rice. Then, add the seasoned wood ear mushrooms, toasted nuts, cinnamon powder, and sesame oil, and mix again until all ingredients are well combined.
Step 15
Once all the ingredients are evenly mixed, return them to the steamer and steam for about 10 more minutes, or until the chestnuts are fully cooked. Cover with the lid to ensure the steam circulates well.
Step 16
It’s helpful to open the steamer once during cooking to mix the ingredients for even cooking. Also, making a few steam vents in the center of the rice with a chopstick allows steam to escape, helping the rice cook better.
Step 17
When the yakshik is done steaming, taste it as the flavor might have weakened during steaming. Add more brown sugar for sweetness or soy sauce for saltiness as needed. Finally, drizzle generously with sesame oil, coating each grain of rice to give it a glossy sheen. Transfer to a rectangular container and let it cool slightly.
Step 18
Once the sweet rice has cooled completely and solidified, cut it into bite-sized pieces. If you’ve added large pieces of wood ear mushroom or chestnuts, it’s best to cut them thinly before wrapping. Wrap individually with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for long-lasting enjoyment.
Step 19
Arrange the carefully wrapped yakshik neatly in a beautiful box to present as a gift. This premium yakshik with wood ear mushrooms will surely bring double the joy to the recipient! ^^
