A trendy Korean summer dessert, milk bingsu recipe!

Today I’m very thrilled to share my Korean milk ice sorbet recipe! Generally, I’m not much of a dessert person. But ever since my little sister in Korea shared this picture, I decided that I had to make it myself soon. It sounded so unique to me. So you might now be wondering what this food is all about.

If you are familiar with Korean food, you have probably heard of Patbingsu (팥빙수). It’s essentially a shaved ice dessert decorated with various toppings of your choice. These toppings typically include sweetened red bean paste, sweetened condensed milk, sweet rice cakes (aka mini mochi), jellies, various summer fruit and fruit syrup etc.

Though when my sister sent me the picture she said it was called Injeolmi Bingsu (인절미 빙수). What?! That was my precise response. I knew what the individual word meant but I’ve never thought of combining these two concepts together. Apparently Injeolmi Bingu is made with milk ice sorbet. Milk ice sorbet has a softer texture than water ice sorbet, so it melts faster in your mouth.

For your information, Injeolmi (인절미) is Korean glutinous rice cakes coated with roasted soybean powder. I heard that these types of revamped fancy shaved ice desserts have been really popular in Korea in the last few years. (This clearly proves that I haven’t been to Korea for a while! 😉 )

Anyway, as I haven’t tasted the original version from Korea, my recipe is based on my guesswork (based on the picture my sister sent me and based on the description my sister told me 🙂 ). Although, my other sister (who lives with me) has tasted this Injeolmi Bingsu when she visited Korea recently and she thought mine was pretty good.

In fact, she told me that she liked mine more. According to her, Injeolmi Bingsu in Korea makes you very thirsty and it feels like you’re chocking a little bit because they add too much roasted soybean powder. (In my recipe below, I used Korean multi grain powder instead as I prefer this taste.) She said the amount I added in my recipe was just right. So be assured that it has been tested and approved (by my picky sister). I hope you enjoy my recipe!

Watch (Video Tutorial)

Ingredients for Injeolmi Bingsu (2 servings)

Ice

1 cup milk
2 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk

Toppings

2 scoop sweetened red bean paste (1 scoop per serving)
2-3 pieces Injeolmi (인절미, Korean glutinous rice cakes coated with roasted soybean powder) – cut into thumbnail size pieces
2 Tbsp mini mochi rice cakes (1 Tbsp per serving)
4 tsp (or more) Korean multi grain powder (Misutgaru, 미숫가루) (2 tsp per serving)
4 tsp (or more) natural almond flakes (2 tsp per serving)

* 1 Tbsp = 15ml, 1 Cup = 250ml

How to Make Injeolmi Bingsu

1. Mix the milk and sweetened condensed milk in a measuring cup with a spout. (So it’s easier to pour out). Pour out the milk mixture onto an ice tray. Freeze it (for at least 5 hrs) until it becomes ice blocks.

2. Take out the ice blocks and put them into a food processor (or shaved ice machine if you have one). Grind the ice (for about 20 seconds) until it has a smooth texture (like snow).

3. Put together all the ingredients in a chilled serving bowl in this order:- Lay down some milk sorbet (about 3 to 4 Tbsp per serving bowl) in the bottom of the bowl. Sprinkle 1 tsp of multi grain powder. Lay down more milk sorbet (about 3 to 4 Tbsp per serving bowl) on top of the multi grain powder. Sprinkle 1 tsp of multi grain powder. Add some rice cakes (Injeolmi and mini mochi rice cakes) and red bean paste. Sprinkle almond flakes. Serve.

Notes

You might notice that the ice blocks don’t come out easily from the ice tray. If you leave the tray out at room temperature for 5 to 10 mins, the ice blocks should come out easier. Also use a fork to leverage them out if necessary.
I chilled my double wall serving bowl in the freezer for about 1 hr before using it.
Injeolmi (인절미) should be available at a Korean grocery store or Korean rice cake store. It’s about AUD $4 for a small pack, which has about 16 to 20 small pieces of rice cakes.
You can add more or less of each topping ingredient per your preference.

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