Pan-Fried Korean Rice Cake with Jeju Tangerine Honey

Last week I received some of these beautiful local honey from South Korea. Oh boy, I didn’t know there is a wide variety of rare, speciality honey gathered and produced yearly in South Korea!

South Korea is a mountainous country. The arable lands including lowlands constitute only 30% of the total land area. While it is difficult to develop a wide floral resource for huge honey produce, some of the local bee farms managed to harvest honey with regional charm and characteristics. One of those honey includes this Jeju Tangerine Honey, which is painstakingly curated from a bee farm on Jeju Island.

Jeju Island is a volcanic island rich in stone and strong gusty wind. Boasting in clear water, clean air and a pollution-free environment, Jeju produce the country’s favourite winter fruits: Tangerine, Mil-gam (밀감) or Gam-gyul (감귤) and Hallabong Orange (한라봉). While visiting the island in late spring- early summer (May to June), you’ll find snow-white tangerine blossoms covering the entire island, providing the honey bees with an ideal environment to create these slightly citrusy, refreshing tangerine honey.

So I use this tangerine honey to make one of my favourite Korean snacks – Pan-fried Rice Cake with Honey (꿀 떡볶이). This artisan honey fine-tuned the humble South Korean snack that is well loved by kids.

I love how the refreshing tangerine honey compliments the chewy-yet-crispy rice cake! More importantly, it is a super simple dish to make on a busy day. You just need about 5 minutes to whip up the dish. A good choice to impress your family on a weekend afternoon without sweating out miserably in the kitchen. The lesser time you spend in the kitchen, the more time you get to bond with the family.

Thank you MYBEES for sending these lovely Jeju local honey! Now please excuse me as I enjoy my ddeokbokki while it is hot!

Pan-Fried Korean Rice Cake with Jeju Tangerine Honey Recipe 제주 밀감 꿀 떡볶이

Ingredients:

• Ddeokbokki ddeok or Rice Cake: 200g (about 20 sticks)
• Salted Butter: 1/2 tablespoon
• Soy Sauce: 1/2 tablespoon
• MYBEES Jeju Tangerine Honey: 1.5-2 tablespoons
• Dried walnuts, dried red dates and goji berries: for garnish

Directions:

1.Soak the rice cakes in water for about 20-30 minutes, and then gently wiping it dry with kitchen towel. Please make sure the surface of the rice cakes is dry. Set aside. Skip this step if you are using fresh rice cakes.

2.Put the honey and the soy sauce in a small bowl, mix well. Set aside.

3.Melt the butter in the non-stick surfaced skillet over medium heat. Add the rice cakes to the skillet when the butter melts down completely. Fry the rice cakes over light heat until it is lightly browned, with little dots emitting from the surface of the rice cake. Remove from heat. Do not overcook the rice cakes, or it’ll burst or burnt.

4.Pour the honey soy sauce over the rice cakes and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle walnuts, goji berries and decorate with dried dates. Serve immediately.

Writer’s Note: The simple twist of butter and the tangerine honey worked well perfectly. I think the mild tangerine scent makes the dish a perfect fall/winter snack. The honey is a versatile keeper too. It makes a delicious spread on your daily toast, over the fluffy cream cheese on your bagel, a swirl into your afternoon tea and even a perfect glaze for any savoury evening dishes like grilled chicken wings.

Their elegant packaging also makes them the perfect souvenir from Korea for your friends and family. It is perfect as a housewarming gift; a souvenir for your mother, your in-laws, or a friend who loves baking. You can even purchase them online from home and collect it at Myeongdong when you arrive in Seoul! Please look out for more information on their website listed below.

By the way, you can get a USD 3 discount when you purchase any MYBEES artisan raw honey! Enter the code “pheurontay” at www.mybees.co.kr. They ship worldwide!