Yakshik
Encyclopedia
Yaksik or yakbap is a sweet Korean dish made by steaming glutinous rice
, and mixing with chestnuts, jujube
s, and pine nut
s. It is seasoned with honey
or brown sugar
, sesame oil
, soy sauce
, and sometimes cinnamon
. It is traditionally eaten on Jeongwol Daeboreum (정월대보름), a Korean holiday which falls on every 15 January in the lunar calendar
, but also for weddings and hwangap festivities.
, it is noted that honey was commonly called as yak (medicine). Thus honey buckwheat wine was called yakju (약주), honey rice was called yakban (약반, old word for yaksik), and fried honey ricecake was called yakgwa (약과).
, written in the 13th century. Legend says that King Soji
of Silla
headed on a journey on the 15th of January, 488, when a crow alerted him of danger. The King saved himself from a potential revolt thanks to the crow's warning and the day of January 15 was designated as a day of remembrance thereafter. Glutinous rice
was put up as an offering during the commemorative rites, which became the origin of yaksik.
The adding of pine nuts, chestnuts, jujubes, honey, and oil were added in the Goryeo
era. Yaksik is also mentioned in various books from the Joseon
period such as Dongguk Sesigi(동국세시기), Yeolyang Seisigi(열양세시기), Dong'guk Yeoji Seungram (동국여지승람). In Yeolyang Seisigi, it is said that envoys to China shared yaksik with the people in Yeonkyung
, and most enjoyed the dish.
is steamed and mixed with honey, brown sugar, and ganjang
to colorize the rice. Soft boiled chestnuts, pine nuts, sesame oil
and quartered jujubes with the seeds removed are added to this mixture with the entire mix is resteamed. The yaksik is then put into desired shapes such as flat squares and left to cool before eating.
Glutinous rice
Glutinous rice is a type of short-grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when cooked. It is called glutinous Glutinous rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa or Oryza glutinosa; also called sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, biroin chal, mochi rice, and pearl rice, and pulut) is a...
, and mixing with chestnuts, jujube
Jujube
Ziziphus zizyphus , commonly called jujube , red date, Chinese date, Korean date, or Indian date is a species of Ziziphus in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae, used primarily as a fruiting shade tree.-Distribution:Its precise natural distribution is uncertain due to extensive cultivation,...
s, and pine nut
Pine nut
Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines . About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of great value as a human food....
s. It is seasoned with honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
or brown sugar
Brown sugar
Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white...
, sesame oil
Sesame oil
Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. Besides being used as a cooking oil in South India, it is often used as a flavor enhancer in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and to a lesser extent Southeast Asian cuisine.The oil from the nutrient rich seed is popular in alternative...
, soy sauce
Soy sauce
Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
, and sometimes cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
. It is traditionally eaten on Jeongwol Daeboreum (정월대보름), a Korean holiday which falls on every 15 January in the lunar calendar
Lunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phase. A common purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar. A feature of the Islamic calendar is that a year is always 12 months, so the months are not linked with the seasons and drift each solar year by 11 to...
, but also for weddings and hwangap festivities.
Etymology
Yaksik got its name due to the use of honey in its ingredients. According to the etymology book Ah'un Gakbi (hangul:아언각비, hanja:雅言覺非) written in early 19th century JoseonJoseon
Joseon, Chosŏn, Choseon or Chosun are English spellings of the Korean *word for "Korea". It may refer to:*Korea*Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, from 2333 BC to 108 BC.*Joseon Dynasty of Korea, from AD 1392 to 1910....
, it is noted that honey was commonly called as yak (medicine). Thus honey buckwheat wine was called yakju (약주), honey rice was called yakban (약반, old word for yaksik), and fried honey ricecake was called yakgwa (약과).
History
Records of yaksik can be found in Samguk YusaSamguk Yusa
Samguk Yusa, or Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea , as well as to other periods and states before, during, and after the Three Kingdoms period.The text was written in Classical Chinese, which was...
, written in the 13th century. Legend says that King Soji
Soji of Silla
Soji of Silla was King of Silla . He was preceded by Jabi Maripgan and succeeded by King Jijeung .-See also:*Three Kingdoms of Korea*List of Korean monarchs*List of Silla people...
of Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
headed on a journey on the 15th of January, 488, when a crow alerted him of danger. The King saved himself from a potential revolt thanks to the crow's warning and the day of January 15 was designated as a day of remembrance thereafter. Glutinous rice
Glutinous rice
Glutinous rice is a type of short-grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when cooked. It is called glutinous Glutinous rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa or Oryza glutinosa; also called sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, biroin chal, mochi rice, and pearl rice, and pulut) is a...
was put up as an offering during the commemorative rites, which became the origin of yaksik.
The adding of pine nuts, chestnuts, jujubes, honey, and oil were added in the Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
era. Yaksik is also mentioned in various books from the Joseon
Joseon
Joseon, Chosŏn, Choseon or Chosun are English spellings of the Korean *word for "Korea". It may refer to:*Korea*Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, from 2333 BC to 108 BC.*Joseon Dynasty of Korea, from AD 1392 to 1910....
period such as Dongguk Sesigi(동국세시기), Yeolyang Seisigi(열양세시기), Dong'guk Yeoji Seungram (동국여지승람). In Yeolyang Seisigi, it is said that envoys to China shared yaksik with the people in Yeonkyung
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, and most enjoyed the dish.
Cooking
Glutinous riceGlutinous rice
Glutinous rice is a type of short-grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when cooked. It is called glutinous Glutinous rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa or Oryza glutinosa; also called sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, biroin chal, mochi rice, and pearl rice, and pulut) is a...
is steamed and mixed with honey, brown sugar, and ganjang
Soy sauce
Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
to colorize the rice. Soft boiled chestnuts, pine nuts, sesame oil
Sesame oil
Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. Besides being used as a cooking oil in South India, it is often used as a flavor enhancer in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and to a lesser extent Southeast Asian cuisine.The oil from the nutrient rich seed is popular in alternative...
and quartered jujubes with the seeds removed are added to this mixture with the entire mix is resteamed. The yaksik is then put into desired shapes such as flat squares and left to cool before eating.
External links
- Recipe: Yaksik (Sweet Rice with Nuts & Jujubes) at The Seattle Times, 2006-01-04
- Yaksik, tasty and healthy treat, Paik Jae-Eun, Professor of Food & Nutrition, Bucheon University. Koreana magazine Winter 2008.