Tteok-sudan is a traditional Korean summer punch made with pearly white rice cakes in cold honey water. It’s easy to make and very refreshing. In the past, it was enjoyed by royal and noble families, traditionally made for one of the Korean festival days, called Yudujeol. It falls on June 15 of the lunar calendar (which is usually in July of the Western calendar), typically in the middle of the hot summer days and we make this to stay cool and healthy.
I’m going to show you two versions of tteok-sudan today: the traditional version served in a bowl, and a modern mocktail (non-alcoholic cocktail) version that I invented. Be sure to try them both!
Personally I love the small pieces of rice cake in Sudan, they taste like smooth jelly with a chewy center. They look like edible jewels, and kind of remind me of the tapioca pearls in Taiwanese boba drinks. In the old days, making these rice cakes was a big deal that took labor and pounding. As you see in this video I take a short cut by using the premade tteok sold in Korean grocery stores. You can also make your own tteok at home. Either way is good!
I also add omija-cheong (essence of Schisandra berries mixed with honey) to my recipe, which is not essential for this drink but is a traditional variation that adds a unique flavor and beautiful color. If you can’t find them then you can leave them out. Or you can make your own variation by adding something else.
If you want to know more about omija, please check out my omija punch recipe here.
Enjoy the recipe and get through the hot summer with this unique cold drink!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (1 ounce: 28 grams) dried omija (shisandra)
- ½ cup thin cylinder-shaped rice cake (or make your own)
- 3 tablespoons potato starch
- 1 cup honey
- pine nuts, tips removed
- ice cubes
- sparkling water, optional
Directions
Make omija-cheong:
- Rinse and drain omija and transfer it to a bowl. Add 1 cup water and cover. Let it sit for 24 hours at room temperature until it turns red and the omija release their 5 flavors into the water.
- Strain it over a bowl. Discard the soaked omija. Add the honey and mix well until totally dissolved.
- Transfer it to a 2 1/2 cup glass jar. Cover and refrigerate.
You can refrigerate it up to 1 month and make 6-7 servings of tteok-sudan from it.
Prepare the rice cake (for 2 servings):
- Slice the rice cake crosswise very thinly, about ⅛ inch thick, and put them into a strainer.
- Rinse the rice cake under running water to wet. Drain them.
- Add the wet rice cake to the starch in a bowl. Coat each piece of the rice cake well by hand.
- Bring a large pot of water into a boil. Add the coated rice cakes to the boiling water and stir them with a wooden spoon a few times to keep them from sticking to the bottom.
- 1 minute later the rice cake will float. Then cook it another minute.
- Remove from the heat and take out all the rice cakes with a slotted spoon. Transfer them to a bowl. (Don’t discard the hot water in the pot because we’ll use it one more time.) Rinse the rice cakes in cold running water until the rice cake cools down. Drain well and transfer them to the starch bowl.
- Add the rest of the starch and coat the rice cakes again. Set aside.
- Reheat the water in the pot. When the water is boiling, cook the rice cakes for another 2 minutes until soft.
- Rinse them in cold running water and transfer them to a bowl. Set aside.
Serve tteok-sudan the traditional way:
- Add about 5-7 ice cubes to a bowl. Add about ¼ cup omija-cheong and ¼ cup cooked rice cake.
- Add about 1 cup cold water and mix well. Sprinkle with several pine nuts and serve with a spoon.
Serve tteok-sudan as a modern mocktail:
- Add 7-8 ice cubes to a long 2 cup glass. Add ⅓ cup omija-cheong and ¼ cup rice cake. Add 1 cup sparkling water. Mix it gently and sprinkle with some pine nuts and serve right away with a long spoon or a bar spoon.
