What is Korean Injeolmi?

Injeolmi (인절미, pronounced [in. dʑʌl. mi]) is a variety of tteok, or Korean rice cake, made by steaming and pounding glutinous rice flour, which is shaped into small pieces and usually covered with steamed powdered dried beans or other ingredients.

Are Korean rice cakes healthy?

Not bad! The real caloric factor in Tteokbokki is definitely the rice cakes. Rice cakes are purely carbs and fats so, when you focus on eating the fish cakes more than the rice cakes, you’ll be getting a ton more protein which means a healthier, more satiating, meal.

How do you make garaetteok at home in Korea?

Garaetteok ( 가래떡) is made by pounding steamed rice flour, then dividing out the dough to create long flexible sticks. At festive events, you’ll see people demonstrate the making of garaetteok in big vats and oversized wooden hammers. When you make garaetteok at home, it is a more quiet spectacle.

How did the rice cake garaetteok get its name?

The other theory is the name comes from a Korean farming tool called a garae, which is a type of spade. A garae has 2 thick ropes attached to the side of it so that 2 helpers can pull the ropes and make the digging go faster. Some people think those ropes look a lot like garaetteok, which is how the rice cake got its name.

What kind of rice flour to use for garaetteok?

Both methods are described below. A note about short grain rice flour: the flour you buy at your local store or the flour you make may have more or less moisture in it than the rice flour I use in this recipe. This is because of many different things like how long it’s been in the freezer in the store, or the atmospheric conditions where you live.

When to eat garaetteok on Lunar New Year?

Garaetteok is also thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces and popularly used to make Tteokguk (Rice Cake Soup). Tteokguk is eaten on Seollal, the Lunar New Year’s Day. Traditionally, eating a bowl of Tteokguk on Seollal meant aging one year.