You probably know that the recipes on my website are still used in my everyday cooking. This time I’m making hwajeon, disc-shaped pan-cooked rice cake with flowers on top. Whenever I crave some chewy rice cakes, this is my go-to recipe because it’s so easy and fast to make. The rice cakes are sweet and chewy with a subtle flower aroma.
I found some edible purple clover flowers and yellow gladiolus petals at the Union Square Greenmarket here in New York City the other day. The lady selling these packaged edible flowers said they were all well taken care of by her. She said, “you don’t have to wash them before using them.” I immediately felt like making hwajeon!
Many of my readers are newer and don’t even know that I posted a recipe for hwajeon almost a decade ago, so I wanted to share this recipe again and revitalize it. The only difference between my old recipe and this one is that I drizzle honey on top of instead of syrup. By the way, if you don’t want to use honey, you can make your own syrup too. Just put ¼ cup water and ¼ cup white sugar into a sauce pan and cook for a few minutes over medium heat, without stirring. Tilt the pan to mix the sugar and water when it starts bubbling. Then remove from the heat, cool it down, and you can drizzle it over your hwajeon right before you serve it.
In Korea hwajeon were often made with edible azalea flowers which bloom wild in the mountains in springtime. Groups of women used to get together for picnics at that time, and bring a heavy pan and all the ingredients they needed to make hwajeon. They’d pick the azaleas, and use the petals to pan-fry rice cakes right there in the mountains! That kind of spring picnic was called a Hwajeon-nori, on March 3rd by the lunar calendar. I can imagine how much fun that must have been, and what a great mood everyone must have been in! Eating these rice cakes in the beautiful mountains, in the fresh springtime breeze after a long winter and singing, dancing and releasing their stress.
Traditionally, hwajeon was also made with other seasonal edible flowers outside of springtime such as roses, chrysanthemums, cock’s comb, and pomegranate flowers.
No matter the season, these rice cakes put anyone in a good mood!
Enjoy the recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 cup glutinous rice flour (sweet rice flour)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup hot boiling water
- Edible flowers
- 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Honey (or homemade syrup)
Directions
Make the dough and shape the rice cakes
- Combine glutinous rice flour and salt in a bowl.
- Add the hot water a little by little and mix well with a wooden spoon (or rice scoop) until the dough has cooled enough that you can knead it by hand.
- Knead the dough until it’s smooth for about 1 to 2 minutes, then divide it into 10 equal-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
Keep them covered with a piece of plastic wrap so they don’t dry out. - Press each rice cake ball into a disc about 2½ inches (6 to 7 cm) in diameter and put them on a large platter or on the cutting board.
Pan-fry
- Heat up a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the vegetable oil, swirling the skillet to coat the surface. Once it’s heated up, turn the heat down low. The key to beautiful hwajeon is to keep them white by pan-frying over low heat.
- Put the uncooked rice cakes on the skillet and cook them for a few minutes.
- When the bottoms are slightly crispy, turn them over and flatten them out with a spatula. Cook a few more minutes and turn them over.
- Place edible flowers on the top of each rice cake, then flip them over and press them down for 1 second so that the flower sticks to the cake.
- Cook each one and put them on a serving plate.
Serve
- Drizzle some honey on top of the rice cakes.
- Serve with tea as a dessert or snack.
Hwajeon made with snow pea blossoms from my old video
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon for that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
hi Maangchi is the sweet rice flour same as the sweet rice flour we use for Kimchi??
yes they are the same. Sweet rice flour is also called glutinous rice flour.
we need to make this for a school project. This dish will be served at 1 in the afternoon. So, if we make it one or two days before, will it last?
Sorry about the late reply. “if we make it one or two days before, will it last?” no, you will have to make it right before serving.
Dear Maangchi I need help!! My sweet rice flour was infested with bugs and I had just bought it. Should I try my chances and go buy another package. Only two stores in my city sell it. I don’t know what I would do if the package at the second store would have bugs too. I’m not squeamish, I have rinsed the bugs off my rice and cooked it but there were too many little critters in this flour. I tried to sift it but some of the bugs were too small and they would get through the holes. Please let me know what you think. I really want to make some sweet flower pancakes and kimchee! :Z
“there were too many little critters in this flour”
oh, no, throw it away please! eww! Sweet rice flour is called glutinous rice flour too. Check your local grocery store or any Asian grocery store.
Hi Maangchi,
Can I use sticky rice powder? Its so difficult to get Korean ingredients in India :-( this looks so beautiful and back home, these flowers grow in our backyard.
yes, it’s sticky rice powder (glutinous rice flour).
Hi maangchi!
I’m a big fan of your recipes. My daughter is having world cultures day at her school, and she picked Korea because I am from there! I don’t know much about Korea, because I was adopted into an American home, so I came to you to look for a good recipe. She would make this in the morning, and then bring it to school, and so I was wondering if this would last for about 4 hours? Would it be best to put the syrup on in the morning, or wait till right before?
yes, 4 hours is ok. Sorry about the late reply. How did her presentation go? Drizzle syrup over the rice cake right after making it.
Yum, your food looks delicious! I am going to make this soon! This looks fun to make (What can I use instead of rose petals and flowers? It’s fine If you don’t have anything to use but flowers)
tsirhcevoli
yeah, you can skip edible flowers in this recipe. It will still be tasty, but the name should be changed, right? It’s called “pan- fried sweet rice pancake” instead of flower pancake. : )
Hi this is one of my favorite recipes of yours. I have learned a lot from you about Korean cooking and I want to say thank you. I have followed you YouTube channel as well as your blog here. Your tutorial make learning how to Korean dishes so easy.
As a thank you I have passed on to you the Sunshine Award for all the inspiration you have given me in my own exploration of food.
Please stop by this link and pick up your award. http://allingoodfood42.blogspot.com/2010/03/letting-sunshine-in.html
Thank you very much for your interest in my website! I’m happy to be chosen as one of your favorite food bloggers. Great!
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!
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 :/
ohhh, ignore my question!
i just watch the video and you can use dried rose tea!
How did it turn out Lee?
ilove it.. i lonekorean cooking…
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?
Strange! I don’t know the answer! Sweet rice flour dough is not harmful. : ) Maybe your hand is not accustomed to dealing with kneading?
Are you allergic to rice?? ? : /
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.
to make bungeoppang(붕어빵), I need fish-shaped mold, but I don’t have. : ) Check this out, please.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungeoppang
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!!!!
wow, you made hwajeon? Making hwajeon takes time and efforts!
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/hwajeon
Wonderful gift for him!
Hello Maangchi !!! I have a question… can i use normal flower aswell?
What do you mean normal flower? Flowers from flower shop? No, no, no! never use it. You should use edible flowers.
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.
I bought some edible flowers last Saturday at the Union Square green market
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maangchi/3953201242
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.
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?
uh oh! Hotteok! : ) No, plain flour is used for hotteok. Hotteok recipe will be posted later.
I make this beautiful pancake last week.. and everyone love it!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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…
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes!
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
omg, your hwajeon looks more beautiful than mine! Awesome!
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!!!
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..
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!~~
I’m sure your hwajeon will get lots of attention at the party. Good luck! : )
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..
Thank you for letting me know about your successful hwajeon making! Wonderful!
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
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.
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
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.
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 :)
haha pali pali (quickly quickly)!
Let’s see!!
Exetremely Easy And Very Delecious
Thanks
Can You show how to make hangwa
I will keep your request in mind! Thank you!
Hi Maagchi,
This looks good! I will give this a try very soon.
haha, I know it’s going to be very soon!
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!!!!
The taste is like rice cake: chewy and sweet!
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!!
wow, that’s a very good idea! They will be very impressed with your beautiful hwajeon!
Hi Maangchi! I love your videos very much! :)
thank you very much!!!
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.
:)
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!
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.
What a coincidence it is! ; )
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
Thank you very much! I’m sure it will be good if you follow the recipe tightly. Good luck with making your hwajeon!