Traditional Korean rice Doughnut - Gaeseong juak 개성주악
“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
2 lt (8 cups) vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Rice Syrup Extract
250ml (1 cup) fermented fruit extract
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)
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 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.
Read Our Chae: Korean Slow Food for a Better Life review here
This is an edited extract from Chae: Korean Slow Food for a Better Life by Jung Eun Chae, published by Hardie Grant Books. In stores nationally. Photography by Armelle Habib.