“Named ‘juak’ after the shape of a pebble, this traditional Korean dessert is a perfect combination of chewy, sticky rice bathed in jocheong (rice syrup). In the past, Gaeseong Juak was an essential dessert for special guests and wedding ceremonies. Today, it’s a steady seller at Korean dessert cafes and has actually become somewhat trendy. This is much easier to make than traditional Korean honey cookies but you do have to make the fermented rice syrup. The yeast in makgeolli (cloudy rice wine) kicks off the ferment, so make sure you buy raw makgeolli to achieve the correct result.” - Jung Eun Chae

MAKES 20

Rice syrup extract

250ml (1 cup) Fermented fruit extract (see below)

250ml (1 cup) jocheong (rice syrup)

20g ginger, peeled and cut into chunky pieces

3g salt

Rice syrup water

35ml jocheong (rice syrup)

1 tbsp water

Gaeseong juak

300g glutinous rice flour

1 pinch fine sea salt

30ml makgeolli (cloudy rice wine)

45ml Rice syrup water (see above)

Fermented fruit extract makes 800-900mls

1 tbsp baking soda

1kg nashi pears, cored

800g raw (demerara) sugar

To make the rice syrup extract, put all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil over a high heat. When the extract boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15–20 minutes until the extract reduces to the consistency of honey. Gently skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature.

Prepare the rice syrup water by combining the jocheong with the water in a saucepan and bringing to the boil. Remove from the heat. 

For the Gaeseong juak, sift the rice flour into a bowl. Add the salt and makgeolli, bring together into a dough, then turn it out onto your kitchen bench. Knead, adding the hot rice syrup water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is smooth and no longer leaves a residue on your hands. 

Take 15g of the dough and shape it into a ball. Form a dent in the middle of the ball with the thick end of a chopstick. (If the dent is too small it will disappear when fried, so make sure it’s about 1 cm/½ in wide to start with.) 

Heat enough oil for deep-frying in a large saucepan over a medium heat. When the temperature reaches 85°C on a cooking thermometer, add the doughnuts, working in two batches. Fry the doughnuts slowly for about 10 minutes, ensuring they don’t stick together and flipping halfway through to ensure they are brown on both sides.

When the doughnuts float to the surface of the oil, increase the heat until the oil temperature is 150˚C and continue frying until golden. 

Place the fried doughnuts on a baking tray and leave to cool at room temperature.

Once cool, traditionally these doughnuts are left in the rice syrup extract to soak for approximately 12 hours. Then they are placed on a wire rack to strain for another 12 hours. However, if you prefer a fresh, crispy doughnut with a light coating, you can simply dip them in the extract and enjoy straight away.

Fermented fruit extract-Balhyo-aek 발효액

This extract is made by picking seasonal fruits (or vegetables) when they’re at their nutritional peak and combining them with sugar, which comprises 80 per cent of the total fruit weight. As the sugar slowly liquefies over time, it draws out the nutritional essence from the ingredients through osmosis, infusing it into the sugary liquid. Once this process is complete, and the flavour is fully infused, we separate the resulting liquid, or extract, which in Korean is referred to as ‘cheong’. This extract is carefully stored and reserved for future use in cooking. Traditionally, it is made with pears or plums, but you can replace the pears with any fruit or vegetable that you like. 

Combine the bicarbonate of soda with 2 litres (68 fl oz/8 cups) water. 

Add the pears to the water and soak for about 5 minutes, then rinse under cold running water and pat dry with paper towel. Lay the pears on a tablecloth and leave to dry completely (if any moisture remains, mould can form).

Sterilise a 5 litre wide-mouthed jar (see tip above), then dry completely.

Quarter the dry pears and ensure all the seeds are removed, then cut the pears into thin slices.

Place one-third of the sugar in the bottom of the jar and place half the sliced pear on top. Add another one-third of the sugar, followed by the remaining sliced pear. Cover the pear with the remaining sugar, then top with a piece of muslin (cheesecloth).

Set the jar aside at room temperature for 10 days, giving the pear a mix at least once a day with clean hands to prevent mould forming.

After 10 days, mould will not form even when it is left unmixed. Leave to ferment for 90 days in a cool, dark place. Once fermented, strain the mixture through a sieve, reserving the pulp (see Tips, below), and store the fruit extract in a bottle at room temperature for up to 1 year.

Tips: The extract can be used in place of sugar or oligosaccharide for cooking, and it can be mixed with water for drinking. 

The remaining pear pulp can be used to make kimchi, or it can be added to the All-purpose soy sauce.

You can make other fruit or vegetable extracts using this same method.

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