Korean Honey Pastry (약과 Yakgwa or Yakwa) Using Pressure Cooker
This rich Korean honey pastry, Yakgwa, combines traditional flavors of sesame, ginger, and honey with the ease of a pressure cooker to create a tender, sticky treat topped with crunchy pine nuts.
Equipment
- 1 Mixing bowl large
Ingredients
For Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour medium-protein flour
- ⅓ cup sesame oil
- ⅓ cup soju or use sake
- ⅓ cup honey
- ¼ cup chopped pine nuts for topping
- ¼ teaspoon salt optional
- 1 liter vegetable oil for frying
For Syrup
- 1 cup rice syrup jochung; substitute honey if unavailable
- 1 cup honey
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon ginger grated; substitute 1-2 teaspoon ginger powder
Instructions
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a wok or pot to 265°F (130°C) for the first fry.
- Mix rice syrup, honey, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and add grated ginger. Set aside.
- In a bowl, mix flour and sesame oil by hand until fully blended.
- Dissolve honey in soju, add to flour mix and gently form into a dough ball. Add more soju if needed.
- Roll dough to ¼-inch thick, cut into 1-inch diamond shapes, poke center holes with chopstick.
- Fry in low heat until floating, then raise to medium-high heat to brown.
- Drain fried Yakgwa on paper towels and soak in ginger-honey syrup for 20 minutes.
- Remove and plate while wet; sprinkle pine nuts on top.
Notes
Store in airtight container at cool room temperature or refrigerate. Freeze for longer storage. Warm in toaster or oven for a crispy finish.