Healthy and Delicious Sorghum Red Bean Rice Cake for a Child’s Birthday
Healthy and Delicious Sorghum Red Bean Rice Cake for a Child’s Birthday
Making Sorghum Red Bean Rice Cake (Susu Pat Tteok) for a Child’s Birthday: A Step-by-Step Recipe
This recipe introduces how to make nutritious and delicious Susu Pat Tteok with the sincere wish for your child’s health and well-being. As the old saying goes, giving Susu Pat Tteok until the age of ten wards off bad luck and ensures healthy growth. Make your child’s birthday extra special with this traditional treat. While I prepared a buffet for the first birthday, I’ve made Susu Pat Tteok for my child’s birthdays since then – this will be the second time! It’s surprisingly not difficult, so I’m sharing a detailed recipe that you can easily follow at home. Gift your child love and health with homemade Susu Pat Tteok on their special day!
Making the Red Bean Filling- 300g Red beans
- 0.5 Tbsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
Making the Sorghum Rice Cake- 150g Sorghum flour
- 150g Sweet rice flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 150g Sorghum flour
- 150g Sweet rice flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Sugar
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Red beans don’t soften well just by soaking. It’s crucial to soak them for a long time. The best method is to soak the beans in cold water the night before.
Step 2
When boiling the red beans, always discard the first boiling water and use fresh water for the second boil. The first water contains components that can cause stomach upset, so boiling twice is essential to prevent digestive issues. Remember this for your child’s health!
Step 3
Continue boiling the red beans vigorously. To check for doneness, try mashing a couple of beans with the back of a spoon. If they mash easily, they are cooked through.
Step 4
Transfer the well-cooked red beans to a bowl and mash them. Thoroughly mashing the beans will create a smooth red bean filling.
Step 5
Add 0.5 Tbsp salt and 2 Tbsp sugar to the mashed red beans and season to taste. Instead of adding the full amount at once, it’s best to taste and adjust the salt and sugar according to your family’s preference. This completes the delicious red bean filling.
Step 6
A tip for busy parents! If you couldn’t prepare sorghum flour in advance, don’t assume it’s easily available at local supermarkets. Sorghum flour can be hard to find in regular stores. You can easily purchase it online in advance, but it might be unavailable if you try to buy it last minute. I ended up buying whole sorghum grains from a market and grinding them myself. (Preparing in advance is much easier!)
Step 7
Rinse the whole sorghum grains purchased from the market and soak them in warm water for about 3 hours. After draining thoroughly, ensure they are completely dry before grinding them very finely in a blender. I used a hairdryer to speed up the drying process. (This step can be a bit tedious.)
Step 8
The sorghum flour, carefully dried and ground, turns out this fine. Such a fine texture will make the rice cakes soft and pleasant to eat.
Step 9
Now, mix the sweet rice flour and sorghum flour in a 1:1 ratio. I used 150g of sorghum flour and 150g of sweet rice flour, totaling 300g. This ratio ensures the perfect balance of chewiness and softness for the rice cakes.
Step 10
The sorghum rice cake dough needs to be made using the ‘ik-banjuk’ method, which involves adding hot water. Gradually pour boiling hot water into the flour mixture while kneading. This process makes the rice cakes chewy and soft. Be careful not to add too much water at once.
Step 11
Adding a subtle sweetness and a hint of salt to the dough will enhance the flavor. Add about 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of sugar and knead them into the dough.
Step 12
The most crucial part of making the dough is controlling the amount of water. Don’t pour all the hot water at once. Add it gradually while observing the dough’s consistency. Be attentive to ensure the dough doesn’t become too sticky or too stiff.
Step 13
Knead the dough thoroughly by gradually adding hot water and working it with your hands until it becomes smooth and doesn’t stick excessively to your hands. Proper kneading is key to a good texture.
Step 14
The dough is ready when it feels slightly sticky to the touch. This slightly moist consistency will result in soft rice cakes when cooked.
Step 15
Now it’s time to shape the dough into small, round ‘gyeongdan’ (rice cake ball) shapes! Let’s make cute, bite-sized balls that children will love.
Step 16
Form small, round balls that are perfect for a single bite. Making them a manageable size ensures they cook evenly and are easy to eat.
Step 17
Place the shaped dough balls into boiling water and cook them. When the rice cakes are done, they will float to the surface. Gently scoop out the floating cakes. Any cakes that remain at the bottom are likely not yet cooked.
Step 18
Your chewy and soft sorghum rice cakes are ready! Now, it’s time to coat them with the sweet red bean filling you prepared earlier. Have the filling ready for coating.
Step 19
Place the cooked sorghum rice cakes onto the red bean filling and gently roll them around to coat evenly. Be careful not to break the delicate rice cakes as you coat them.
Step 20
And there you have it – delicious Susu Pat Tteok to celebrate your child’s birthday! It’s simpler than you thought, right? (If you use pre-made sorghum flour instead of grinding your own sorghum, it will be even easier!) I hope to make even prettier and tastier Susu Pat Tteok for my child’s birthday next year.
