This week was a traditional holiday in Korea called 정월대보름 (jeong wol dae bo reum or dae bo reum). It was the First Full Moon Day or the Lunar New Year. People celebrate this “Great Full Moon” by drinking wine in the morning, cracking nuts, making simple meals out of their remaining dried winter vegetables, and eating 5-grained rice and bean blends. Dessert is often glutinous rice with sugar, jujubes, chestnuts, and pine nuts — and this is what most people I asked seemed excited about. However, upon trying it, I found it to be a slightly bitter acquired  taste.

But I am a sucker for holidays and decided to make a festive variation on traditional rice cakes, at the recommendation of Shinshine, because they simply looked delicious.  In the spirit of cleaning out my pantry and using dried foods, I added more than the traditional 5 flavorings.

And what a cake it was! It came out as balancing the best parts of soft chewy rice cake and crispy fragrant baked bread, filled with various textures of crunchy, soft, savory, and sweet fillings. The biggest compliment I’ve received was that my friend insisted I tell his wife how to make this, so they could replicate it at home.

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정월대보름 Tteok Bread

This should fill a 11×7x1 pan, complete with a crispy crust and chewy center.

SUPPLIES:

A 11×7x1 pan

Parchment paper and canola oil for greasing

2 mixing bowls and mixing spoon

Toothpick

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups glutinous rice flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cup soymilk

Extra warm water if needed

1/4 cup chopped dried plums

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons chopped candied orange peel

2 tablespoons chopped candied lemon peel

1/4 cup toasted pecans

1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

1 cup cooked chickpeas

Fruits and nuts and beans, oh my!

Traditionally there are 5 filling ingredients, but I’ve added more. You can change the variety and ratio of the fillings to meet your tastes, like adding different fruits, nuts, or beans. Just make sure any beans are fully cooked, and carefully add in the filling ingredients from the hardest (like dried fruits and nuts) to the softest (like beans).

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

The parchment paper sling keeps the cake intact.

2. Grease your baking pan very well. Line the pan with parchment paper going across the length and the width of the pan, creating a sling. This will let you lift out the tteok easily.

3. Mix the dry ingredients (glutinous rice flour, baking powder, salt and sugar) together in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients (vegans should see the note about soymilk and flax seed/puree substitutions) together in a separate bowl.

4. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir until smooth. The mixture should be thick, but still able to be poured into a pan. Thin the batter with warm water if it is too thick.

5. Gently mix in your dried fruits first, then your nuts, and finally your beans. Stir gently so you don’t crunch them!

6. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until the top is golden-brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Lifting the sides of the parchment paper sling, remove your tteok bread from the pan to a baking rack to cool. Cool to room temperature before cutting.

NOTES:

- Make sure you grease the pan and use the parchment paper. Otherwise you will be left with only burnt goo and not bread!

- For vegans, you can substitute soymilk for milk. Eggs can be replaced by 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds mixed with 1/4 cup water or substitute 1/4 cup fruit puree, but any puree will effect flavor. However, depended on your desired effect, this could be an added bonus. Applesauce, chestnut or pumpkin puree would make a good taste match.

- If you like the crispy crust, Shinshine suggested cooking in a baking sheet. This will make the cake thinner and crispier. If you do this, watch the time to make sure it doesn’t burn.

- This tastes the very best the day it is made. However, you can wrap individual pieces in plastic and freeze, and they should keep well. Pull one out of the freezer and take it to work — and you’ll see, as the pieces thaw, they will have a texture more like traditional sticky tteok than bread.