Songpyeon is the symbol of Chuseok, the mid-autumn harvest holiday when everything is full and abundant with joy. This half moon-shaped rice cake is one of the best-known varieties of rice cake among non-Koreans.

Koreans used to make songpyeon rice cakes with a sweet and nutty flavor, while being thankful for a good harvest and hoping to avoid bad luck within the family.

Generally, songpyeon is made from rice powder dough with chestnuts, beans, jujubes or sesame seeds as fillings. They're shaped like a half moon or crescent. As they're steamed with pine tree leaves on the bottom, they're also called as “songbyeong” (송병, 松餠).

Pine leaves have medicinal effects on the food. The "Dongui Bogam" (동의 보감, 東醫寶鑑), the most well-known Joseon medical book, says that, “Pine leaves help to grow the hair, ease the stomach, and can be used to replace crops.”

In fact, pine leaves contain phytoncide which effectively removes germs or mold. If pine leaves are put in the bottom of a steam pot, they can help reduce any stale smells and help to prevent indigestion.

You can taste a diverse range of songpyeon all across Korea. People who live in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do Province usually make five-colored songpyeon. In Gangwon-do Province, people cook songpyeon using potatoes. Chungcheong-do residents make songpyeon with pumpkins. In Jeolla-do Province, people make mosi songpyeon or songpyeon made with ramie leaves. Finally, in the north, people in Hamgyeong-do Province prepare songpyeon with frozen potatoes.

[1] Five-colored songpyeon from Seoul, Gyeonggi-do Province





** Ingredients
10 cups of rice powder made from non-glutinous rice
1 tablespoon of salt
To color:
powdered mugwort
water colored with gardenia seeds
water colored with strawberries
powdered cinnamon
pine tree leaves
sesame oil

Filling:
200 grams of chestnuts
2 tablespoons of sugar
100 grams of green beans
50 grams of sesame seeds
honey
sugar
1 cup of peeled red beans
1/2 teaspoon of salt


** Recipe
1. Wash the rice three or four times and soak it for 8 to 12 hours. Grind the rice to make a powder and mix with the salt. Air the mixed powder using a strainer.
2. Divide the powder into five pieces. Boil each of the colored waters and add them to the divided powder to make dough. Knead the dough for a long time to make it soft.
3. Peel the chestnuts and divide them into 3 or 4 piles. Add sugar to the chestnuts. Peel the green beans and add salt to the beans. Wash the sesame seeds and remove the water. Fry the sesame seeds and grind them. Add the honey to the sesame seeds. Peel the red beans by soaking them in water. Steam the peeled red beans and crush them. Add salt and honey to make red bean filling.
4. Grab a handful of rice powder mixture and make a small ball. Press the center of the ball and add the filling. Close the ball to make a half moon-shaped rice cake.

[2] Jogae songpyeon from Pyeongan-do Province





** Ingredients
5 cups of rice powder made from non-glutinous rice
1 tablespoon of salt
Filling:
1 cup of whole sesames
1 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
a little sesame oil

** Recipe
1. Wash the rice for three or four times and soak it for 8 to 12 hours. Remove the water from the rice. Add a pinch of salt to the rice and grind it all together to make a powder. Air the mixed powder using a strainer. Add boiling water to the powder to make a dough. Knead the dough to make it soft.
2. Fry the whole sesame seeds and add sugar and soy sauce to make the filling.
3. Grab a handful of dough and make it into a small ball. Put the filling inside the ball and shape it like a seashell.
4. Steam the rice cake pieces for 15 to 20 minutes. Once the water boils, open the pot and put sesame oil on the rice cakes.

[3] Nobi songpyeon from Hwanghae-do Province





** Ingredients
10 cups of rice powder made from non-glutinous rice (1 kilogram)
1 tablespoon of salt
2 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of sesame oil

** Ingredients
1. Make rice powder by adding salt to the non-glutinous rice and grinding it all together. Air the mixed powder with boiling water to make a dough.
2. Add salt and sugar to the peeled red beans and mix it all together to make a filling.
3. Grab a handful of dough and make a 4-centimeter ball. Put the filling inside the ball.
4. Place the pine leaves on the bottom of a pot and add rice cakes for steaming. You can put another layer of pine leaves and rice cakes to steam them together. Steam them together by boiling the pot for about 25 minutes.
5. Cover the rice cakes with sesame oil and serve them on a plate.

[4] Flower-shaped songpyeon from Jeolla-do Province





** Ingredients
10 cups of rice powder made from non-glutinous rice
2 tablespoons of salt
1/2 cup of water with gardenia (2 gardenia flowers, 10 cups of water)
1/2 cup of water with omija berries, Schisandra chinensis
1/2 cup of grape extract
1/2 cup of water with mugwort powder (1 tablespoon of mugwort, 4 tablespoons of water)
Filling:
2 cups of sesame salt
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of sesame oil

Decoration:
A few pieces of rice powder dough colored with water with gardenia, water with omija berries, water with mugwort powder.

** Recipe
1. Wash the rice three or four times and soak it for 8 to 12 hours. Remove the water from the rice. Add a pinch of salt to the rice and grind it all together to make a powder. Air the mixed powder using a strainer. Add boiling water to the powder to make a dough.
2. Divide the dough into five piles. Add colored water to each of the divided dough piles to make colored dough.
3. Make each of the fillings by adding sesame salt, pine nut powder and sugar to the ingredients.
4. Make flower-shaped and leaf-shaped pieces with colored dough. Attach the pieces on the white rice cake for decoration. Make usual rice cakes with other colored dough.
5. Put the rice cake in a pot and boil the water for 20 to 25 minutes to steam it all together. Rinse the steamed rice cakes in cold water. Cover the rice cake with sesame oil.

Managed by Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
In cooperation with the Institute of Traditional Korean Food (ITKF)
Recipe from “The Beauty of Korean Food: 100 Best-Loved Recipes”
arete@korea.kr