Korean recipes:

Sweet flower pancakes

This is a wonderful springtime food that is pretty easy to make, and everyone will love it. It’s almost too beautiful to eat!

Ingredients:
Sweet rice flour (“chapssal garu“), salt, water, sugar, vegetable oil, edible flowers.

flowers3
I bought these edible flowers in the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City.

flowers2

flowers1

Directions:

  1. Place 1 cup of sweet rice flour and a pinch of salt in a large bowl.
  2. Add ½ cup of hot water little by little. Mix it well with a wooden spoon as you pour in the water.
  3. Knead the mixture for 5 minutes.kneading
  4. Cut the dough into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a ball.ricecakeballs
  5. Cover the dough with a wet cloth so it doesn’t dry out. Set it aside.
  6. Make syrup:
    Place ¼ cup of sugar and ¼ cup of water in a small pot. Simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, then  remove from the heat.
  7. Heat up a non-stick frying pan over low heat. Drizzle some vegetable oil on it (½ tbs).
  8. Press each rice cake ball into a disc about 5 cm in diameter.
  9. Place each disc-shaped rice cake on the pan and cook it.
  10. When the bottom of the rice cake is cooked, turn it over to cook the other side.
    It will take about 3-4 minutes to cook.
    *tip: flatten it out on the pan with a spatula to make it larger
  11. Place an edible flower on the top of the rice cake, then flip it over so that the flower gets slightly cooked and sticks to the cake.
  12. Cook each one and put them on a serving plate.
  13. Drizzle the syrup on top of the pancakes.
  14. Serve with green tea or rose tea.

hwajeon1

54 Comments:

  1. bonafido My profile page
    joined February 7, 2010

    Hello Maangchi!
    I tried making these and they did come out ok – thank you very much! I have a couple of questions though – the dough was extremely sticky and was very difficult to knead. Is there a trick to it? Also, can you add any flavor to the dough, such as vanilla, to make it more flavorful? Thanks!!! I don’t want to make it any less beautiful by adding color, because the white with the flowers looks so pretty!

    Posted February 6, 2010 at 9:06 pm | #
  2. lee

    hey Maangchi, thanks for sharing!!
    but i was wondering if there is anything that i can replace the edible flowers with? cause i cant seem to find edible flowers in my area :/

    Posted December 22, 2009 at 2:18 am | #
    • lee

      ohhh, ignore my question!
      i just watch the video and you can use dried rose tea!

      Posted December 22, 2009 at 2:46 am | #
  3. yoona kim

    ilove it.. i lonekorean cooking…

    Posted December 5, 2009 at 2:14 am | #
  4. :3

    hi maangchi!!! im yur number one fan!! XD. when i made this, my hands startes to get all itchy and irritaed when i kneaded the rice flour. do u know why?

    Posted December 4, 2009 at 12:46 am | #
    • Maangchi New York City My profile page
      joined August 6, 2008

      Strange! I don’t know the answer! Sweet rice flour dough is not harmful. : ) Maybe your hand is not accustomed to dealing with kneading?

      Posted December 8, 2009 at 10:31 am | #
  5. Martha

    Hi Maangchi,

    Do you know how to make bungeoppang (fish-shaped pastry)? I tasted some in S.Korea and they taste wonderful. Looking forward to this recipe.

    regards,
    Martha from Hoju.

    Posted November 25, 2009 at 1:46 am | #
  6. veloma

    I love your recipes and so does my husband!!!I made hwajeon as a side dish for his birthday breakfast. Thank you so much for all the help!!!!

    Posted October 27, 2009 at 1:44 pm | #
  7. Tabeea

    Hello Maangchi !!! I have a question… can i use normal flower aswell?

    Posted October 19, 2009 at 1:23 pm | #
    • Maangchi New York City My profile page
      joined August 6, 2008

      What do you mean normal flower? Flowers from flower shop? No, no, no! never use it. You should use edible flowers.

      Posted October 27, 2009 at 6:15 pm | #
  8. MeiMei

    Hi,

    I am using your recipe for my project about Korean Food. I am studying to become Nutrition.

    I was wondering for the flower..where I can able to buy flower that is related to fall flower.

    Can anyone give me a good suggestion where I can get those flower?

    Thanks.

    Just let you know I live in New York.

    Posted September 25, 2009 at 10:06 am | #
  9. these look beautiful. I can’t wait to make them!! How do they taste?!?!? I love this site!! I have to say my friend suggested I check this site out a month ago and I just got around to it a week ago. It is great! He told me about it on mywhipit.com, a food lovers site, I happened to stumble upon. check it out!! i never would have found this site without it.

    Posted August 24, 2009 at 7:47 pm | #
  10. GregK

    Hi Maangchi!

    I was wondering…would it be possible to use this rice cake for hotteok? Usually hotteok recipes ask for yeast and 3 hours for the dough to rise; using the rice flour seems like it would be a lot faster and more chewy. Maybe?

    Posted August 22, 2009 at 8:41 pm | #
    • Maangchi New York City My profile page
      joined August 6, 2008

      uh oh! Hotteok! : ) No, plain flour is used for hotteok. Hotteok recipe will be posted later.

      Posted August 22, 2009 at 10:17 pm | #
  11. Girlieannyen

    I make this beautiful pancake last week.. and everyone love it!

    Posted July 11, 2009 at 11:33 am | #
  12. Irene

    hey maangchi! i just love your videos. i am looking forward to making these! i was wondering, is there an alternative to the syrup that you made? perhaps something salty? i want to make this for my dad but he doesn’t really like sweet things. thanks for the recipe! it looks much easier than i thought!

    Posted July 7, 2009 at 6:54 pm | #
    • Maangchi New York City My profile page
      joined August 6, 2008

      How about sesame seeds dipping sauce? Blend 1 tbs mayonnaise, 1 tbs soy sauce, and 1 tbs sesame seeds powder. If he doesn’t like mayonnaise, just use soy sauce.

      Posted July 8, 2009 at 6:30 am | #
  13. jessica

    hi maangchi,
    these are so beautiful! i’m in korea teaching engish right now and i HAVE to make some for the teachers i work with at school!
    i was wondering what you call edible flowers in korean so i know what to ask for. i think they might be hard to find, for i have not seen them here in pohang before.

    Posted July 5, 2009 at 7:26 am | #
    • Maangchi New York City My profile page
      joined August 6, 2008

      The teachers will be very impressed with your hwajeon!
      Be sure to let me know how it turns out and some stories about their reaction! : )
      Anyway, edible flowers can be translated in 2 ways
      1. 식용 꽃 (pronounced “shik yong kkot”)
      2. 먹을수 있는 꽃 (pronounced “meogeul soo eet neun kkot”

      Show them the Korean words, then they may find the ingredients for you.
      If it’s difficult for you to find edible flowers, you can replace fresh edible flowers with Korean dates (jujube), dried persimmon, or any beautiful color vegetables.

      Good luck with making delicious hwajeon. Don’t forget to put some syrup on top before serving it.

      Posted July 5, 2009 at 8:32 am | #
  14. tirzz

    I heard from my friend this is good with soy sauce.. but dunno and not sure if it was sweet soy sauce or the salty one hmm…

    Posted July 5, 2009 at 1:31 am | #
  15. Iris

    Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes!

    Posted June 3, 2009 at 6:51 pm | #
  16. Maangchi!

    I love your podcast and website! I have been watching you cook for a few months, but this is the first recipe I tried myself. I didn’t make the hwajeon very well, but they weren’t too bad, and they looked beautiful!

    It will definitely be my new dish for parties, once my nasturtium starts flowering!

    If you want, see how my attempt turned out.

    Keep up the yummy work!

    Kent

    Posted May 9, 2009 at 9:43 pm | #
  17. TF

    Hi Maangchi!!
    I just wanted to say that everytime i watch your videos I want to try it all. I never really had any cravings for Asian foods before, but i really think that when you prepare them they look great! Thanks for the videos and please make more!!!

    Posted May 7, 2009 at 10:31 am | #
    • Maangchi New York City My profile page
      joined August 6, 2008

      I would like to encourage you to cook some dishes! Pick one of your favorite dishes and make it. When you make one dish successfuly, it will be easier for you to make the second and third dishes..

      Posted May 7, 2009 at 7:50 pm | #
  18. natash91

    waahh..so pretty~~! <33 i’m gonna try to make this for international night in my college next week ^.^ hopefully it will taste good like yours..hehe.. thanks a lot for the recipe!~~

    Posted May 7, 2009 at 2:44 am | #
    • Maangchi New York City My profile page
      joined August 6, 2008

      I’m sure your hwajeon will get lots of attention at the party. Good luck! : )

      Posted May 7, 2009 at 6:00 am | #
      • natash91

        Yeah, they did get lots of attention! ^^ Everyone was asking how did I made them, so I gave them your Web site address :)

        Unnie! I just realized that you subscribed to my channel on Youtube! :D *It’s MyLove4YunJae4YooSu2, fyi..* Thank you! ^^ hehe..

        Posted May 21, 2009 at 10:58 pm | #
    • Maangchi New York City My profile page
      joined August 6, 2008

      Thank you for letting me know about your successful hwajeon making! Wonderful!

      Posted May 21, 2009 at 11:24 pm | #
  19. Anna

    Hi Maangchi,
    Wondering how soon after making this you should serve it? Can I make this before dinner and serve it for dessert? Will it still taste good?
    Thanks,
    Anna

    Posted May 4, 2009 at 2:06 pm | #
    • Maangchi New York City My profile page
      joined August 6, 2008

      Yes, you can make it up to 4-5 hours in advance before serving. The taste will be good! : )Don’t put it in the refrigerator because rice cake gets hard when it is cold.

      Posted May 4, 2009 at 4:50 pm | #
      • ntseng

        Hi Maangchi,

        When the Rice Pancake it fully cooked,, and it becomes really hard like a rock like an hour later.. I don’t understand how come?

        Did I do something wrong?

        Nancy

        Posted December 8, 2009 at 6:53 am | #
        • Maangchi New York City My profile page
          joined August 6, 2008

          Maybe you cooked it too long! Did you make syrup to put it on top of hwajeon? When you pour some syrup, it won’t get hard easily.

          Posted December 8, 2009 at 10:22 am | #
  20. Ross

    Hi Maangchi,

    Could you please make a video on how to cut properly with a knife. I’ve watched your videos and you are quite skillful. I tried to cut quickly but without knowing the proper move – speed cannot come. Speed comes from the right technique. So please show us how you do it step-by-step. Otherwise, it’s taking way too long to cut all vegetables :)
    I would like to learn to cut pali-pali like you :)

    Posted April 23, 2009 at 8:03 am | #
  21. Nishu

    Exetremely Easy And Very Delecious
    Thanks
    Can You show how to make hangwa

    Posted April 23, 2009 at 4:35 am | #
  22. Reinier Rotterdam, The Netherlands My profile page I'm a fan!
    joined February 3, 2009

    Hi Maagchi,
    This looks good! I will give this a try very soon.

    Posted April 21, 2009 at 3:36 am | #
  23. Jae Yoon

    Hi!!! I love your videos! I can’t eat much Korean food, but when I watch these videos, it makes me happy… haha well technically it makes me want to eat Korean food, but oh well! haha! I never tried 화전 before… what does it taste like? Can you actually taste flowers??? I am really curious! Perhaps, I should try one, when I go to Korea this summer!!!!

    Posted April 20, 2009 at 10:53 pm | #
  24. hyeyoon

    Thank you so much! I wanted to make something special for my mom and grandmother for Mother’s Day! This will make a great gift!!

    Posted April 20, 2009 at 10:40 pm | #
    • Maangchi New York City My profile page
      joined August 6, 2008

      wow, that’s a very good idea! They will be very impressed with your beautiful hwajeon!

      Posted April 20, 2009 at 11:06 pm | #
  25. Linda

    Hi Maangchi! I love your videos very much! :)

    Posted April 20, 2009 at 10:30 pm | #
  26. Sylvia My profile page I'm a fan!
    joined September 10, 2008

    I can’t wait to try this.
    They are so beautiful.
    My husband took me to 32nd street yesterday.
    We went to a BBQ restaurant with real wood coals.
    So delicious. After we ate we went to H-Mart and I was keeping my eyes open in case you were shopping.
    :)

    Posted April 20, 2009 at 7:38 pm | #
    • Maangchi New York City My profile page
      joined August 6, 2008

      haha, I went there Saturday afternoon and met a couple who recognized me in the store!
      The husband said, “uh..are you maangchi?”
      I said, “yes, I am!”. He said, “my wife is always making some delicious Korean dishes by following your recipes! My wife said you must be maangchi!” The wife came to me and I gave her a big hug. They said they were going to make kimchijjigae for dinner that eveining. Say hello to me if you happen to see me on the streets!

      Posted April 20, 2009 at 8:07 pm | #
  27. Jon

    Hi Maangchi!

    I was listening to the Four Seasons today and then coincidentally you had the same music for your video. These look lovely and I will definitely try them when I get home.

    Thanks!

    Jon.

    Posted April 20, 2009 at 7:07 pm | #
  28. Anonymous

    What a perfect surprise! How fitting for spring :D I also loved the music choice… I couldn’t help but giggle when I heard it and realized what the recipe was! I must make these soon… anything covered in syrup must be delicious :P

    Posted April 20, 2009 at 6:57 pm | #
    • Maangchi New York City My profile page
      joined August 6, 2008

      Thank you very much! I’m sure it will be good if you follow the recipe tightly. Good luck with making your hwajeon!

      Posted April 20, 2009 at 7:20 pm | #

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.