Hwajeon
 Jindallae-hwajeon (pan-fried Korean rhododendron rice cakes) | |
| Type | Jeon, tteok |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Korea |
| Associated national cuisine | Korean cuisine |
| Main ingredients | Edible flowers, glutinous rice flour, honey |
 Cookbook: Hwajeon  Media: Hwajeon | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 화전 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 花煎 |
| Revised Romanization | hwajeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | hwajŏn |
| IPA | [hwa.dʑʌn] |
| Hangul | 꽃부꾸미 |
| Hanja | n/a |
| Revised Romanization | kkot-bukkumi |
| McCune–Reischauer | kkot-pukkumi |
| IPA | [k͈ot̚.p͈u.k͈u.mi] |
| Hangul | 꽃지지미 |
| Hanja | n/a |
| Revised Romanization | kkot-jijimi |
| McCune–Reischauer | kkot-chijimi |
| IPA | [k͈ot̚.t͈ɕi.dʑi.mi] |
Hwajeon (화전; 花煎) or flower cakes are sweet, small, pan-fried rice cakes in Korean cuisine.[1][2] Made with glutinous rice flour, honey and edible petals from seasonal flowers such as rhododendron.[3]
Etymology
The word hwajeon (화전; 花煎) is a compound of the Sino-Korean word hwa (화; 花) meaning "flower" and the Sino-Korean word jeon (전; 煎) meaning "a pan-fry".[4] The synonyms kkot-bukkumi (꽃부꾸미) and kkot-jijimi (꽃지지미) are also a compound, with the native Korean word kkot (꽃) meaning "flower" and bukkumi (부꾸미) meaning a "pan-fried rice cake" or jijimi (지지미) meaning "pancake".[5][6]
Varieties and preparation
Edible petals from seasonal flowers such as rhododendron, pear flower, goldenbell flower, cherry blossom, and violet in spring, rose in summer, and chrysanthemum and cockscomb in autum are used to make hwajeon.[1][3][4] In winter—when flowers are scarce in Korea— alternatives are to make mugwort leaves, waterdropwort leaves, rock tripe, or jujubes into flower-shapes and make hwajeon with them.[3]
- Beotkkot-hwajeon (벚꽃화전) – cherry blossom
- Gaenari-hwajeon (개나리화전) – goldenbell flower
- Gukhwa-jeon (국화전; 菊花煎) – chrysanthemum
- Ihwa-jeon (이화전; 梨花煎) or
Baekkot-hwajeon (배꽃화전) – pear flower - Jangmi-hwajeon (장미화전; 薔薇花煎) – rose
- Jebikkot-hwajeon (제비꽃화전) – violet
- Jindallae-hwajeon (진달래화전) or
Dugyeonhwa-jeon (두견화전; 杜鵑花煎) – rhododendron - Maendeurami-hwajeon (맨드라미화전) – cockscomb
There are two main ways of frying hwajeon.
- Glutinous rice is seasoned with salt, pound into fine flour, and kneaded with boiling water.[3] The dough is made into small, round and flat shape, and pan-fried in sesame oil.[2][3] Flower petals are placed and lightly pressed on the dough while frying on the griddle.[3]
- Fine glutinous rice flour is kneaded into thick dough and rolled into 5 mm (0.20 in) thick sheets.[3] Flower petals are placed and lightly pressed, and the dough sheets are cut with hwajeon-tong (utensil similar to cookie cutter) with 5 cm (2.0 in) diameter.[3] The flower cakes are fried in sesame oil that can cover them.[3] This method was used in Korean royal court cuisine.[3]
Fried flower cakes are soaked in honey to be sweetened, and sprinkled with cinnamon powder.[3]
Hwajeon nori
Hwajeon nori, that literally translates into "flower cake play", is a traditional custom of going to picnic in the mountains to watch the seasonal flowers in spring and autumn.[6]
In spring, women go on a picnic carrying with them a glutinous rice flour and griddle near a stream on Samjinnal, which falls on every third day of the third lunar month in the Korean calendar. They pick edible spring blossoms and then they set up a picnic and make hwajeon with the ingredients. The version made with rhododendron is regarded as the most representative hwajeon.[3] It was traditionally eaten together with rhododendron punch consisting of the same flower floating in honeyed water or magnolia berry water.[1][3]
Similarly, people enjoy hwajeon nori in autumn, by making another variety of hwajeon, one that is made with chrysanthemum flowers and leaves.[3] It is consumed with chrysanthemum wine or yuja punch. The custom is closely related to the Junggu, the traditional holiday falls on every ninth day of the ninth lunar month in the Korean calendar.[7][8]
These customs were held since the Three Kingdoms era (57 BCE ‒ 668 AD), having originated in Silla.[6]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 "Kinds of Rice Cakes". Food in Korea. Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
- 1 2 Choe, Sang-su (1960). "Third Day of the Third moon (Samjil)". Annual Customs of Korea: Notes on the Rites and Ceremonies of the Year (PDF). Korean Folklore Studies Series. 3. Seoul: Korea Book Publishing Company. p. 54. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 염, 초애. "Hwajeon" 화전. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
- 1 2 "Hwajeon" 화전. Standard Korean Language Dictionary (in Korean). National Institute of Korean Language. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
- ↑ "Kkot-bukkumi" 꽃부꾸미. Standard Korean Language Dictionary (in Korean). National Institute of Korean Language. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
- 1 2 3 Na, Kyung-Soo; Chae, Ria, eds. (2010). Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs. Encyclopedia of Korean Folklore and Traditional Culture. 1. Seoul: National Folk Museum of Korea. pp. 132–133. ISBN 9788992128926.
- ↑ "Korean Food Culture Series – Part 3: Special Food for Seasonal Occasions". Korea Tourism Organization. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
- ↑ Christian, Roy (2005). Traditional festivals: a multicultural encyclopedia. 1. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 116. ISBN 1-57607-089-1. Retrieved 24 May 2008.