My Korean Kitchenddeok | My Korean Kitchen

Ddeok (Korean Rice Cake) Cafe – Jilsiru

sue — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 02:01:31 +0000

(Fancy Korean Rice Cakes)

I was very surprised to see these Korean rice cakes, because of their beauty and magnificence. Some rice cakes can be easily mistaken as western style cakes, like this one.

(Wine rice cake, 3500 won (US$3.70))

It looks like a type of cheese cake but it is not. It is slightly glutinous and its topping is slightly sweet and has a familiar taste which I cannot really describe (wine I guess). It was my favourite rice cake that I tried from that shop.

The shop that sells these rice cakes is called “Jilsiru“. It is a Korean rice cake shop and also a cafe. You can eat in or take away. They serve Korean rice cakes which are a bit more fancy looking than normal rice cakes, I say “fusionized rice cakes” and some Korean tea.

(Displayed menu – rice cake lunch set, 5000 won (US $ 5.30))

The rice cake lunch set is a good example of their fusion rice cakes. The very last dish on the bottom right are rice cake sandwiches and on their left there are some Kimchi rolled rice cakes. I didn’t actually have this menu, so I don’t know about the taste. However I read other people’s opinion about this and the response was very different (Some people loved it and others hated it) .

(From the table)

Every table has a glass of water and some flowers in it. It kind of made me relaxed.

(From the inside, a display of a little boy and girl in Hanbok costumes)

(Displayed menu – milk porridge, 6000 won (US $ 6.40))

Milk porridge (Tarak Juk) is a health aid food used in the royal court (Milk was very rare in those days, so only people in a royal court ate it). The king had this porridge when he was sick or feeling weak. In modern days, people make this as a baby’s or patients’ food.

(Displayed menu – Royal court ddeokbokki, 5ooo won (US 5.30))

Royal court ddeokbokki is known as the king’s snack food. Have you tried my recipe yet? Well, my recipe isn’t as authentic as in those old days, but it tastes OK.

(Displayed menu – rice cakes that last for 3 months)

Usually rice cakes don’t taste as nice if they are more than 24 hours old. However Jilsiru made these rice cakes that can last for 3 months at room temperature. All you need to do is microwave it just before you eat it. Pretty Clever!

(Pumpkin latte and rice cakes, 8ooo won (US $ 8.50))

Michael ordered a Pumpkin latte and rice cakes. According to Michael, it was yummy and creamy, similar to a light pumpkin soup, but also a bit different. It is certainly something that would seem fairly familiar to most Westerners. (Michael is not so good at describing food, but hey, he tried).

(Seolgi ddeok and Ssamji ddeok, from the back)

(Chinese date tea with goggal ddeok and Hobak ddeok, 8ooo won (US $ 8.50))

I didn’t order Chinese date tea (Daechu cha), but they served it. Yet it gave me a good opportunity to take pictures like this.

(Citrus tea and rice cakes)

This is what I ordered, Citrus tea (Yuja cha). Then Michael said that maybe I should have drunk the Chinese date tea instead, because it is more intriguing for you to read. Is it? Citrus tea has a slightly sour but pretty sweet taste. Refreshing!

We also bought some rice cakes on the way out.

From top left – Citrus rice cake (Yuja danja), Chocolate rice cake (Choco danja),
Apple rice cake (sagwa danja), Green tea rice cake (Nokcha danja) – 1500 won (US $1.60) each

In general, the rice cakes weren’t as sweet as I usually get. They seemed to try to accentuate the natural taste from whatever ingredient they used for each rice cake. The price seems a bit expensive, but for an occasional treat it wouldn’t be so bad.

Where is it located? There are two shops in Seoul. One big one in Jongno and the other is in Insadong.

(Address : 164-2, Waryong-dong, Jongno-Gu, Seoul)

Traffic info – (Subway) line 1, 3, 5 Jongno 3 ga station Exit No.7
Nearest Tourist info – Changdeok Palace Donhwamun (Jilsiru is about 300 m down the street that ends at the palace)

(Address :10 Gwanhun-dong, Jongno-Gu, Seoul)

Traffic info – (Subway) line 3 Anguk station Exit No.3

The whole building where the big Jilsiru is located is about Korean food. The 2nd and 3rd flour is a rice cake and kitchen utensil museum. The Institute of Traditional Korean Food is on the floors above the museum.

I will do a post about the museum in the next post, so stay tuned.

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Strawberry Rice Cakes for My Valentine

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Sticky Rice Cakes (Chapssalddeok in Korean)

sue — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 08:08:51 +0000

Chapssalddeok is mainly made of glutinous rice, red beans, and sugar. It reminds me of a snow bowl. It is very similar to Japanese mochi. (maybe even the same)

This is a picture of Chapssalddeok. (About 2000 won – US $2.10 ; You can buy them at the big supermarkets like Homeplus, E-mart, Hanaro mart, etc or rice cake shops in Korea)

I forgot to take a picture of its inside part because I was so busy eating them.
Its inside looks the same as sweet rice cakes (Gyongdan). This is also a common present for grade 12 students in Korea, because we have the SAT equivalent test in Korea, and Chapssalddeok has a sticky character so people wish them to stick with (get in) some kind of good university by giving the present.

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Royal Rice Cake (Gungjung Ddeokbbokki in Korean)

sue — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 08:42:49 +0000

You might be surprised to hear that ddeokbokki originated from the royal palace in the Chosun dynasty. At that time they used soy sauce instead of gochujang paste, and the King had this Gungjung Ddeokbokki on New Years day. Gungjung means “palace” in English.

This meal is supposed to include some kind of meat, mostly beef (or pork), but as you know the price of beef in Korea is ridiculously expensive. (About 3000 won per 100g for Korean beef which is about US $3.20) So I didn’t use any meat, but if you can afford it, you are welcome to add it. Without the meat, this meal was still filling enough for 2 people.

However, I will cook this meal with some meat some other time, so do check the update in the future.

Ingredients for 2 people are

(Expected preparation time :5 minutes, Cooking time : 7 minutes)

Rice cake (About 20 pieces, 300g)
1/2 a carrot
1/2 an onion
4 button mushrooms
5 shiitake mushrooms (Pyogo beosot in Korean)
1/4 red and 1/4 yellow capsicums (I forgot to take a picture of them, sorry.)
1 stalk of big spring onion

-Seasoning Sauce (Mix these well in a bowl.)

Sugar – 1tsp
Soy sauce – 4 tsp
1 minced garlic
1 dash of sesame oil

-Preparation

Wash all the vegetables, and thin slice them.
If the rice cake is hard, parboil the rice cake. Or just run them under hot tap water for one minute.

-Cooking

1. Pre heat the wok for about 20 seconds.

2. Pour some olive oil into the wok.

3. Put the onion into the wok. Stir it.

4. Add the carrot and stir it until 80 % of the carrot cooks.

5. Add all the other ingredients. Stir it until it cooks.

6. Serve it on the plate.

By the way, I add one green chili for extra taste as you can see on the very first picture, but it was quite spicy. It stung my lips for a while. I liked it though, I don’t think you should add any chili in this meal, for your benefit. (Without a chili, it still tastes good. It is not spicy at all.) That is why it is not listed in the ingredients section.

Stir Fried Rice cake with Gochujang Sauce (Ddeokbokki in Korean)

What Rice Cake, for Cooking, Looks Like

Colorful Rice Cake (Mujigae Ddeok in Korean)

sue — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 23:58:47 +0000

I like this rice cake’s color, it is so beautiful. It looks sweet but it tastes plain. (so my husband doesn’t like it as much.)Its price was 2000 won (US $2.10). It seemed expensive to me since it is only 3 pieces. Mujigae means “rainbow” in Korean. Apparently this has the meaning of “Achieve your Dream or Wish”. So you definitely should try some.

Related Post

Strawberry Rice Cakes for My Valentine

Sticky Rice Cakes (Chapssalddeok in Korean)

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Fried Honey Cake (Yakgwa in Korean)

Sweet Rice Cake (Gyongdan in Korean)

sue — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 01:52:55 +0000

This is a Korean traditional snack. It is my husband’s favourite rice cake (I like it too, but if I have it too much, I feel sick, because it is quite sweet stuff.)

We often buy it at Hanaro Mart. (Their rice cake tastes best in this town. I hardly ever buy rice cakes at Homeplus.) Its price is between 2000-2500 won (US $2.10-2.60) depending on weight.

It has squashed red bean paste inside. Many years ago Koreans believed red beans in food (especially in rice cakes) drives out the devil spirit, so they used it on a baby’s first birthday to wish them long life and health.

Related Posts

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Colorful Rice Cake (Mujigae Ddeok in Korean)

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