Tteok and traditional sweets

Tteok are traditional Korean rice cakes made by steaming or pounding rice or glutinous rice flour. Varieties include injeolmi, songpyeon, baekseolgi, long garaetteok and honey-filled kkultteok. They are essential at holidays, birthdays, first-birthday parties and housewarmings, and also enjoyed as everyday snacks.

Songpyeon is the signature rice cake of Chuseok, the autumn harvest holiday. Half-moon shaped dough is filled with sesame, beans or chestnuts and steamed on a bed of pine needles. Families making songpyeon together is a classic holiday scene, and an old saying claims that shaping them beautifully means you will find a good spouse.

Tteokguk is a soup of sliced rice cakes in beef or anchovy broth, traditionally eaten on the morning of Seollal, the Lunar New Year. It is so tied to the new year that Koreans say eating it makes you a year older. Restaurants serve it year-round, often with dumplings as tteok-manduguk.

Injeolmi is made by steaming and pounding glutinous rice until chewy, then coating it in toasted soybean powder. Its soft, stretchy texture and nutty flavor make it popular with all ages. Today the flavor also appears in bingsu, lattes and ice cream.

Rice cakes, especially those made from glutinous rice, are sticky and chewy, which makes them a choking hazard. Young children and older adults in particular should cut them into small pieces and chew slowly and thoroughly. Keep water nearby. In a choking emergency, call 119 immediately.

Yakgwa is a traditional cookie made from wheat flour mixed with honey and sesame oil, fried, then soaked in rice syrup or honey. It is chewy and sweet with hints of cinnamon and ginger. It recently enjoyed a big revival among young Koreans as part of a retro trend nicknamed halmaenial.

Hangwa is the umbrella term for traditional Korean confections such as yakgwa, puffed rice yugwa, candied fruit jeonggwa, pressed dasik and nut brittle. They are made with grains, honey, fruit and nuts and are popular holiday gifts. Beautifully boxed hangwa sets make good souvenirs too.

Yugwa is made from glutinous rice dough that is dried, then fried until it puffs up, brushed with rice syrup and coated in puffed rice or sesame seeds. It is light and crisp and melts in your mouth. It often appears at ancestral rites and as a holiday gift.

Baekseolgi is a plain white steamed rice cake made from non-glutinous rice flour. Its whiteness symbolizes purity, so it is a traditional choice for a baby's 100th-day celebration and first birthday. It has a gentle sweetness and soft texture, and is often shared with neighbors.

Traditionally, Koreans who moved into a new home shared rice cakes such as sirutteok with neighbors as a greeting. The red bean coating was believed to ward off bad luck. The custom has faded with apartment living, but some people still hand out tteok when they move.

Rice cakes harden over time, so they are best eaten the day they are made. For longer storage, wrap pieces individually and freeze them, then thaw at room temperature or warm them in a microwave or steamer before eating. Refrigeration actually makes them harden faster.

Kkultteok are small round rice cakes filled with honey, sugar or sesame. They are bite-size, and the sweet syrupy filling bursts out when you bite in. They often come in bright colors, which makes them a favorite with children. Pop the whole piece in your mouth before biting so the syrup does not squirt out.

Yeot is a traditional Korean taffy made by fermenting rice or grains with malt and boiling the mixture down for a long time. It can be hard or chewy. Before big exams, people give yeot as a good-luck gift, because the word for sticking also means passing an exam.

Rice cakes are sold at neighborhood tteok shops, traditional markets, supermarkets, modern rice cake cafes and some convenience stores. Tteok shops sell packs of fresh rice cakes made that morning. In Seoul, the Nagwon-dong area in Jongno is known for a street of long-established rice cake shops.

Most rice cakes are made from rice or glutinous rice, so many contain no wheat. However, some traditional sweets like yakgwa are wheat-based, and certain rice cakes may include wheat or be made in shared facilities. If you must avoid gluten, always check the ingredients.

Dasik are small pressed confections made by kneading powders such as roasted soybean, pine pollen or black sesame with honey, then stamping them in decorative molds. As the name suggests, they are traditionally served with tea. Their pretty colors and patterns make them lovely gifts.

A tteok cafe serves modern takes on traditional rice cakes along with drinks. Menus might include rice cake cakes, mugwort lattes and injeolmi toast. It is a nice way to explore Korean dessert culture while sipping traditional tea. You will often find them in hanok neighborhoods.

A tteok cake is a celebration cake made from rice flour and often decorated with piped bean paste flowers. Many Koreans choose it instead of a cream cake for birthdays or parents' milestone celebrations. It is usually less sweet and more filling than a sponge cake.

Garaetteok are long white cylinders of rice cake. Freshly made ones are eaten as is, dipped in rice syrup or honey. Once firm, they are grilled, or sliced for rice cake soup and tteokbokki. There is even a Garaetteok Day on November 11.

Fresh rice cakes harden and spoil quickly, so they are not ideal for long trips. Vacuum-packed rice cakes or traditional sweets like yakgwa and yugwa keep much better. Check your destination's food import rules before packing them. Some airport shops also sell hangwa gift sets.