Yakbap- Yaksik or medicinal rice from Korea

Yakbap is a traditional Korean dessert, enjoyed in both North and South Korea.

“Yak” means medicine and “bap” means rice, so the name literally translates to “medicinal rice” because it is made with very healthy ingredients.

It is also called Yaksik or "medicinal meal".

It is sweetened with honey or brown sugar and includes a mix of highly nutritious nuts along with glutinous rice. Among the nuts, chestnuts, pine nuts, walnuts, the jujube (also known as Chinese dates) are essential, as they have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

When eaten cold, glutinous rice contains a high amount of resistant starch, which helps nourish our gut microbiota.

It is traditionally eaten during the lunar festival Jeongwol Daeboreum (정월대보름), which coincides with the first full moon of the lunar year.

Ingredients:

• 500 grams of glutinous rice

• 200 grams of jujube (Chinese red dates)

• 40 grams of walnuts

• 40 grams of raisins

• 40 grams of pine nuts

• 100 grams of chestnuts

• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

• 285 ml of jujube seed tea

• 180 grams of brown sugar

• 1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce

• 1 1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil

• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method:

1- Wash the glutinous rice and soak it in water for 5 to 6 hours.

2- Make a cut in the shell of the chestnuts and boil them in salted water for 40 minutes.

3- Soak the jujubes (Chinese red dates) for 10 minutes.
Jujube is a Chinese date that you can buy in Asian grocery stores.

4- Once hydrated, remove the pits from the jujubes and cut them into pieces. Do not discard the pits—we’ll use them to make jujube tea. Place the pits in 500 ml of water, bring it to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Once the water has a golden-brown color, strain it, and your tea is ready.

5- Peel the chestnuts and cut them into small pieces. Set them aside separately from the rest of the nuts, as they will be added to the mixture later. Also chop the walnuts into small pieces.

6- Add 450 ml of water and 130 grams of brown sugar In a pressure cooker , heat it slightly until the sugar dissolves.

7- Add the rice, jujubes, raisins, pine nuts, and walnuts (all the nuts except the chestnuts) to the pressure cooker. Add a pinch of salt, the soy sauce, sesame oil, and cinnamon, and mix everything well.

Add jujube tea just until everything is covered. Cook on high heat until steam starts to come out of the valve; at that point, reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool until all the pressure is released, then you can open it.

8- Spread some sesame oil on a tray and place the cooked rice on it. This is the moment to add the chestnuts, then mix everything well.

Spread the rice evenly and press down the surface so it becomes slightly compact. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour—though the longer it rests, the better.

9- Run a knife through the rice making vertical and horizontal lines to form small squares. These glutinous rice squares can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for a healthy snack whenever you like.

Take them out and microwave for a couple of minutes to defrost, and they’re ready to eat.

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

North Korea

Roasted fish with juk juk

                                                                               Receta en Español

Roasted fish is very common at Marshall islands, they are used to accompany the fish with 'juk juk'  that are glutinous rice balls wrapped in grated coconut.

These balls provide the necessary hidrates to complete the dish, it is an equivalent to our bread.

In Japan and Korea you can find some dishes accompanied by rice balls very similar to 'juk juk' , here we can see the influence of these countries into the Marshall islands gastronomy.

You can use roosterfish or sole, these kind of fishes are similar to those you can find in this islands.

Ingredients:

• 1 roosterfish.
• 170 grams glutinous rice.  
• 60 grams white sugar.
• 275 ml water.
• Grated coconut.

Method

1- Don't forget we are using glutinous rice, you can see at the pictures the differences between normal and glutinous rice:

Glutinous rice

Normal rice

2-  Wash rice until you get a clean water, I had to wash it 10 times , we do this step to get rid of the starch.

3-  Pour 275 ml over the rice and let it stand for 1 hour, now the rice will absorb some water, this will make that the rice will be cooked in less time.

4-  Add sugar, stir and cook whithout a lid for 8 minutes at medium heat.

5-  Let the rice get cool, then make the rice balls with your hands , the size should be like golf balls.

6- Spread some grated coconut on a plate, roll the rice balls on the plate to wrap the balls with coconut.

8- Here you have juk juk:

9-  Now you can roast your fish. Add some salt and pepper. 
Pour some oil on an ovenproof dish.
Make 3 cuts along the surface of the fish and place it into the dish.

11-  Cook the fish in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes at 200 ºC.

12-  Cut the fish in pieces and accompany it by the juk juk.You already have this Marshall islands delicacy!.

 

Islas Marshall