Fruit and Nut Rice Balls 잡과편 Japgwapyon

So it has been a hell of a long time since I have posted a recipe on this blog, and I'm really sorry. But life has been busy, I've had to work, finalise some things for uni and the main reason would be because I was going away for a couple of days and needed to organise all of that. But I'm back now and I'm going to try and post as much as I can.

Maybe I should have a week of blogging like I used to do. Should I do that?

I should probably do it, I'll start with TODAY!!!!

I guess that this blog post will mark my return to food blogging because I honestly think that it has been a month since I have lost blogged, and I hope that no one thinks that I have stopped, I've just been way to lazy.

So today I was thinking of posting a recipe for something sweet, as a lead up to Valentines day. This week might turn out to be a week of desserts......

Anyways, today's recipe is going to be a Korean dessert that is made from glutinous rice flour, fruits and nuts. Japgwapyon or 잡과편 is something small that can be brought out to the table when guests arrive, they look great and taste amazing. And it will be sure to impress your Valentine if it is wrapped up nicely in a box.

And this year it is the perfect time to make these because the Lunar new year and Valentines day are so close together.

I think that the intro has been long enough, let's get started with the recipe:

Ingredients
2 cups glutinous rice flour
2 dried persimmons
10 chestnuts, boiled and peeled
4 dates
4 Tbsp pine nuts, chopped roughly
3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp salt

Method
1. Dice the chestnuts.
2. Cut or scrape the seeds from the dried persimmons and dates.
3. Finely chop the persimmons and dates.
4. Pound the seeds with a pestle (in a mortar).
5. Mix the seeds with the chopped persimmons, dates, chestnuts and pine nuts.
6. In a mixing bowl, add the salt and about 3/4 of a cup of water to the rice flour.
7. Add a few more tablespoons of water if it seems too dry.
8. Knead dough into 1 inch rounds.
9. In a medium pot, boil the rounds and then rinse in cold water. When they float, the rice cakes are done.
10. Dip the rice cakes in honey and roll them in the mixture of fruit and nuts.

And there you have it, a VERY easy and quick dessert that you can use all year around to impress people with.

I wish all my reader a Happy Lunar New Year!!!!

I hope that you all have a prosperous year of the snake and that all your dreams and wishes may be fulfilled. But most important of all remember to stay happy, healthy and safe.

I shall blog again tomorrow but remember, that there is no reason why you cannot cook something awesome everyday of the year.