Yaksik is a sweet dish made with steamed glutinous rice, honey, soy sauce, jujubes, chestnuts and pine nuts. It may also be called yakbap (medicinal rice). It is said that yaksik was prepared and served to the crows as a reward for saving the king’s life in the Silla Kingdom.

Ingredients:

● 1 1/2 cups glutinous rice, 8 cups rice steaming water

● Salt water: 3 tbsp water, 1/2 salt

● 5 jujubes, 3 chestnuts, 1 tsp pine nuts

● Jujube stone tea: 5 jujube stones, 1 cup water

● Sweet steamed rice seasoning: 2 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp sweet steamed rice sauce, 3 tbsp yellow sugar, 1/4 cinnamon powder, 1/2 tsp jujube stone tea, 2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

● Sweet steamed rice sauce: 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp edible oil, 1/2 tbsp starch powder, 3 tbsp warm water

1. Wash the glutinous rice and soak in water for about 3 hours, drain water through a strainer for 10 min. (330g).

2. Wipe the jujubes with damp cotton cloth, cut the flesh round and cut it into 6 pieces (16g). Skin the chestnuts and cut into 6 pieces (30g).

3. Remove tops of the pine nuts and wipe the nuts with a dry cotton cloth.

4. Pour water into the steaming pot, heat for 8 min. on high heat. When it gives off steam, layer a damp cotton cloth on the bottom, put in the glutinous rice and steam for 20 min. Sprinkle salt water, mix well, and steam for another 30 min.

5. Put the jujube stones and water in the pot, cover and simmer for 15 min. on medium heat. Then strain (19g).

6. Put the sugar in the pot, heat it for 3 min. on medium heat. When the sugar melts, coat the pan with oil. When the sugar turns to a brownish liquid, add the starch powder and boil while stirring for 1 min. to make the sauce.

7. While the steamed rice is still warm, add soy sauce, sweet steamed rice sauce, yellow sugar, cinnamon powder, jujube stone tea, honey, regular sugar and sesame oil into the steamed rice and mix them well. Mix them well again after adding chestnuts, jujubes and pine nuts.

8. Put the mixture of above steamed glutinous rice into the steaming pot for 10 min. on high heat. Then lower the heat to medium, steam for 20 min. and mix it well. Reduce the heat to low, steam for 20 min. and then mix again and steam for another 10 min.

Tips:

● To cook good-tasting steamed rice, the rice should be steamed to be pretty tender, neither too hard nor too soft or watery.

● Steaming in boiling water will produce a deeper brown color, better taste and sweet smell.

● Two hours is a good timeframe for steaming in boiling water.

● For the sweet steamed rice sauce, caramel sauce may produce a good color and sweet smell.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)