Hwajeon
Rice flour pancakes with a mixture of dried and fresh flowers and a drizzle of honey
City/Region: Korea
Time Period: 1670
Jang Gyehyang (장 계향) was an incredible woman. She taught herself to read and write and was an accomplished poet and calligrapher. In a time of starvation, she planted acorn trees all around her village so that there would be something to eat, and she invited those who had nothing to eat up to her home for meals. This was done in a time when there was a strict social hierarchy and the wealthy like Jang didn’t often mix with those who were less fortunate.
This is reflected in her cookbook, Eumsikdimibang, which contains fancy recipes from the royal court alongside everyday recipes from a village.
Hwajeon are still made today, though they’re often pure white with only rice flour. When I experimented with the recipe, it worked only when the amount of buckwheat flour was down to 1 tablespoon, which doesn’t really do anything for flavor. Feel free to leave it out for a whiter pancake. These pancakes are chewy and sticky on the inside and lightly crisp on the outside. The main flavors come from whatever edible flowers you use and the honey, and the combination is really nice.
“Hwajeon
Petals of roses, dugyeonhwa petals or peonies are mixed with glutinous rice flour and buckwheat flour and knead it with water. They are fried in an oiled pan to make the edges crispy. Once they are slightly cooled, serve spread with honey. ”
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup fresh or dried edible flowers or flower petals
- 1 1/2 cups (150 g) glutinous rice flour*
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) buckwheat flour, optional
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) hot water
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) oil, I used untoasted sesame
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey
*See notes below.
Instructions:
- Mix the flowers with the rice flour and the buckwheat flour if you’re using it.
- Add the hot water. You want the water to be quite hot, but not hot enough to burn your hands when you mix it into the flour mixture. You may need to add a little more hot water to get the dough to come together. It should be a cohesive dough, but not wet.
- Knead the dough for 5 minutes until it’s nice and smooth. Divide it into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball, then press each ball into a little pancake about 2 inches across.
- Add just enough of the oil to a pan to lightly coat the bottom so the cakes won’t stick. Heat the pan over high heat. When it’s hot, turn the heat down to medium-low and put the hwajeon in the pan. Fry them until they just start to crisp around the edges, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes on the other side. Take them out of the pan and let them cool slightly.
- Drizzle the hwajeon with the honey and serve them forth.
Notes
- Glutinous rice flour, or sweet rice flour, is made from sticky rice and has a chewy, sticky texture.
- Link to glutinous rice flour: https://amzn.to/49KK4Ki
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