How to make Korean traditional drink, Sujeonggwa (Korean cinnamon punch)!
While most of you are welcoming spring arrival, I am enjoying the cooled down weather and autumn’s seasonal fruit. (It feels like I’m going against the crowd! I feel left out. Haha)
Today I’m introducing SuJeongGwa (수정과, Korean Cinnamon Punch), which I am sure you heard of before. It is a popular traditional dessert drink along with Sikhye (Sweet rice drink).
It is particularly consumed during the Korea’s festive holidays such as New Years Day and Moon Festival periods (Chuseok, also known as Korean Thanksgiving Day). It is known to help digestion and maybe that’s why it’s often served after having Korean BBQ at a restaurant.
The punch can be drunk hot or cold, but I personally think cold is the way to go! It has a dark brown colour, though, as I added raw sugar instead of brown sugar, mine doesn’t look as dark as it could.
The drink is sweet and the combined aroma from ginger and cinnamon sticks gives a warm feeling even though I am drinking it icy cold!
Why not try this recipe for your upcoming festive holidays? 🙂 Happy cooking! xo
Ingredients for Korean Cinnamon Punch (Serves 20)
(It will give about 5.25L of punch, which can be stored in a bottle in a fridge for a couple of days)
Main
- 70g/2.5 ounces cinnamon sticks, rinsed
- 100g/3.5 ounces fresh ginger, skinned and thinly sliced.
- 2 ½ cup sugar (I used raw sugar, however, brown sugar is commonly used)
- 22 cup water
Garnish
- (optional) pine nuts
- (optional) dried jujube
- (optional) dried persimmon
*1 cup = 250 ml
How to Make Korean Cinnamon Punch (SuJeongGwa)
(Numbers in the picture below don’t coincide with the written steps.)
- Put the ginger into a large saucepan. Add 11 cups of water, close the lid, then boil it on medium heat for 40 mins. At the same time, put the cinnamon sticks into a separate large saucepan. Add 11 cups of water, close the lid, then boil it on medium heat for 40 mins.
- After 40 mins, get ready another large saucepan (it should be large enough to hold the combined boiled water from step 1 and 2). Drain the boiled ginger and cinnamon sticks in turn through the sieve. (Discard the ginger and cinnamon sticks).
- Add the sugar into the saucepan (from step 2) and boil it for 10 to 20 mins further on high heat (or until the sugar dissolves completely).
- Cool down the punch for a couple of hours before you serve. (or you can express cool it in a sink by putting the plug in and filling it with cold water and lots of ice cubes and let the saucepan sit in it for a half an hour or so.)
- When you think it’s cool enough, you can serve it and enjoy! (I garnished mine with pine nuts and dried Chinese dates. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find ANY dried persimmon here. If you are able to add the dried persimmon put them into the drink at least 1 hour before you drink it, so it softens and releases the fruity flavour into the drink.)
The Best Way to Enjoy Korean Cinnamon Punch (Sujeonggwa)
Sujeonggwa tastes best when served cold and I think it tastes even better if it’s icy cold. So as you can see from the below picture, after “express” cooling down the sauce pan (from step 4), I lightly freeze some punch (about 6 cups worth) in the freezer for 4 to 5 hours. Ice should be only lightly formed. However, if it is fairly firm, you can easily crush the ice with a fork.
While it’s optional, adding the optional ingredients (pine nuts, dried chinese dates and dried persimmon) when you serve the drink will definitely enhance the flavour and scent.
SuJeongGwa (Korean Cinnamon Punch)
Ingredients
MAIN
- 70 g cinnamon sticks (2.5 ounces), rinsed
- 100 g fresh ginger (3.5 ounces), skinned and thinly sliced.
- 2 1/2 cup sugar , (I used raw sugar, however, brown sugar is commonly used)
- 22 cup water
GARNISH
- pine nuts , optional
- dried jujube , optional
- dried persimmon , optional
Instructions
- Put the ginger into a large saucepan. Add 11 cups of water, close the lid, then boil it on medium heat for 40 mins. At the same time, put the cinnamon sticks into a separate large saucepan. Add 11 cups of water, close the lid, then boil it on medium heat for 40 mins.
- After 40 mins, get ready another large saucepan (it should be large enough to hold the combined boiled water from step 1 and 2). Drain the boiled ginger and cinnamon sticks in turn through the sieve. (Discard the ginger and cinnamon sticks).
- Add the sugar into the saucepan (from step 2) and boil it for 10 to 20 mins further on high heat (or until the sugar dissolves completely).
- Cool down the punch for a couple of hours before you serve. (or you can express cool it in a sink by putting the plug in and filling it with cold water and lots of ice cubes and let the saucepan sit in it for a half an hour or so.)
- When you think it’s cool enough, you can serve it and enjoy! (I garnished mine with pine nuts and dried Chinese dates. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find ANY dried persimmon here. If you are able to add the dried persimmon put them into the drink at least 1 hour before you drink it, so it softens and releases the fruity flavour into the drink.)
Nutrition Info (per serving)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
