How to Make Patbingsu (Korean Shaved Ice)
You Will Need
- Ice (1 tray/bowl)
- Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Sweetened Adzuki Bean Paste (You could also try making this at home)
- Matcha Powder
- Fruit Cocktail
- Tteok/Mochi/Rice Cake
- Green Tea Ice Cream (or whichever flavor you'd like)
- Shaved Ice Machine
I've found the perfect way to make my insides delightfully and childishly cold this summer: by eating patbingsu. Robyn neatly summed it up as a Korean "shaved ice-based dessert loaded with sweet toppings such as chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup, and red beans." (The "pat" in patbingsu refers to the sweetened adzuki beans. "Bingsu" refers to the shaved ice component.) The huge pile of light-as-air shaved ice, studded with various morsels and nubbins make for an extremely satisfying mouthful of sweet, creamy, crunchy, and chewy that still manages to be ultra light and refreshing.
There are some prepackaged varieties available, but I don't know how it could be as good as the real thing. With my cousin's recent purchase of an electric shaved ice machine from her local Asian market, an H-Mart ($40), we've been on a patbingsu rampage.
The beauty of patbingsu lies in the freedom to tailor each bowl to your tastes. Love tteok? Dump it on! Hate fruit cocktail? Don't need it! Fresh fruit? Hell yeah! So take the ingredients I've suggested as a jumping off point for your slushy fantasies and let us know what successful combinations you come up with!
Ice Mountain Construction
While I used an electric shaved ice machine here, there are also many hand-cranked versions available online and in certain Asian markets. When those fluffy ice shavings start to pour out of the machine, let it go for a while as a nice peak will start forming on its own. Towards the end you'll have to rotate the bowl a bit to correct any lopsidedness.
First stop, sweetened condensed milk. This way, the creamy sweet river of milk can fully infiltrate the ice.
The dollops of red bean paste aren't very pretty, so feel free to pipe it on if you want a supermodel patbingsu.
Liberally sprinkle matcha powder over the bowl. Don't be afraid—the flavor isn't very strong and it just adds another layer of green tea to the forthcoming ice cream.
Fruit cocktail is subject to great variation in quantity and type here. I only like the peach bits with some of the syrup, hence the scanty fruit topping, while my cousin only likes the cherries (they're on the other side of the mountain). Again, omit it if you'd like or dump the whole can on if you're a fruit cocktail fiend.
The tteok is one of the vital components to any patbingsu. I pile it on and often add more while I'm eating. When they're fresh from the package, it just feels like I'm eating clouds. Who can resist these heavenly soft pillows of chewy, glutinous rice? Anyone?
Ice cream makes the growing ice mountain even colder and creamier. I go for a scoop per person as I remind myself that this is supposed to be an ice-based dessert.
All set? Get ready to mix! While traditionalists may prescribe a complete mix blitz so that every ingredient is incorporated, you can try a less extreme approach if you don't find digging into a grayish slushy stew all that appetizing. I've heard some people don't mix it at all, but that may just be a myth.
The dregs.
As you get further into devouring the freezing treat, the ice starts to melt and the whole dish becomes soupier and soupier while your insides get all tingly and cold. It almost feels like a brain freeze...but in your stomach.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization, Koreans eat patbingsu with "friends, families, coworkers, and lovers," a recommendation that I wholeheartedly support. It's not a solitary dessert like an ice cream cone, but a big bowl meant as an arena for spoons to go "tteok hunting." A piece of advice: The ideal number of eaters per patbingsu bowl is two. As you invite more and more people to partake of your slushy mix, it increasingly becomes a free-for-all—I find that in the end I'm left with a seriously skewed ratio of ice to delicious add-ins.
Keep patbingsu in mind the next time you're melting from the heat, or if you're one of those people that loves ice cream in the winter, this can be a year-round dessert. The ice mountain landscape dotted with tteok, red beans, and other tiny morsels is a kind of dessert bibimbap, one that any lover of halo-halo or shaved ice can relate to.
Note: Check out Asian markets for some of the harder to find ingredients, like tteok or red bean paste. Online sites also worth a look are H-Mart and koamart.
Related
Sugar Rush: Patbingsu from Koryodang
Snapshots from South Korea: Patbingsu, a Popular Shaved Ice Dessert
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22 Comments:
Tteok! I'm in love.
Do you have any details on the electric ice shaver? Does it crank out a sufficiently powdery fine snow?
Tam Ngo at 4:04PM on 08/27/09
Yes! I thought it was a perfectly fine consistency and it was super fast, easy to assemble/take apart, and there's no real cleaning necessary.
Grace Kang at 4:06PM on 08/27/09
That's so interesting--I've had family-style service in most Asian restaurants, of course, but I didn't know that desserts were also served as a 'collective' treat (I usually don't get dessert in Asian restaurants). Is it very sweet or more savory in taste?
HeartofGlass at 4:11PM on 08/27/09
I need a friend with experience in Asian desserts to make these things for me. I've only ever had mochi.
KarynMC at 4:15PM on 08/27/09
I've also had it with cereal - adds a nice crunch.
prettytastycakes at 4:39PM on 08/27/09
I bought this ice shaver on Amazon to make patbingsoo--the trigger mechanism is a little tricky, but it works pretty well, much finer than the larger Hamilton Beach Icy Treats shaver, which is more like margarita consistency:
http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-68010-Snowman-Shaver/dp/B00008IH9N/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1251406169&sr=8-1
If you can't find the sweet beans, it's not hard to make. You soak azuki beans overnight, then simmer for about an hour and puree with some sugar. It won't be quite the same, but you'll get that great paht flavor. I've heard kidney beans make a decent substitute as well. I'm working on it to see if I can get a better recipe for the cookbook I'm writing.
The tteok is a little trickier to make, but it's essentially mixing glutinous rice flour with a little bit of hot water and sugar, dividing it into little balls of dough, and then cooking them in boiling water until they float.
But the best part of this dessert, really, is that like Grace says, if you can't find the beans or tteok, you can add whatever you like! Sometimes, I just use ice, condensed milk and berries for an easy treat that's cooler than ice cream on those really hot, sticky days.
And I am one of those people who doesn't mix it at all :)
AppleSister at 4:55PM on 08/27/09
I can totally resist mochi on my shaved ice desserts. Just not a fan of the texture in ice. I'm also a nonmixer with my patbingsu... I am, apparently, a total statistical anomaly in your books!
hungryhungryhippo at 4:59PM on 08/27/09
@HeartofGlass - It's definitely not savory, but it's just lightly sweet. I suppose it actually really depends on how much sweet stuff like the fruit cocktail, condensed milk, bean paste, etc. that you add to it.
@AppleSister, hungryhungryhippo - wow, maybe it's just my family that likes to mix...and everyone else loves not mixing!
Grace Kang at 5:16PM on 08/27/09
Ah! I left Korea in June and am going back in 3 weeks. This'll be one of the first things I eat when I get back!!! :) awesome post!
machellebelle at 5:33PM on 08/27/09
Wow! Awesome. Need to try this soon. If I can't get the ingredients - is this something that I stand a good chance of finding on the menu in a Korean restaurant?
FP
foolishpoolish at 5:51PM on 08/27/09
I was totally with you until the mixing. Then I was just about to cry. Just the thought of stirring all that goodness up makes me cringe. I'm one of those people where each item has a section of the plate. They don't touch. I especially like the tupperwares where you have compartments for each thing.
princexy at 9:11PM on 08/27/09
Where did this originate? I've seen this dessert in Taiwan, Japan, and China.
djwerdna at 10:46PM on 08/27/09
@princexy, I'm totally with you! I'm a non-mixer myself-- believe me when I say we exist, Grace! I like choosing what I get in each bite (much like a chipotle burrito bowl) and think the slushy grey post-mix look is quite unappetizing.
Koreanita at 11:20PM on 08/27/09
I have never had the pleasure of enjoying one of these before. Now I must try one. A trip to the local Asian market is a must tomorrow.
TattooedCheese at 4:02AM on 08/28/09
Yum, I'm getting major cravings for the patbingsu from Koryodang. The roasted soybean powder they put on their little mochi balls makes the whole thing like out of this world.
Hrm, I wonder if you can purchase that at an Asian market. I should look into it.
blisseau at 4:24AM on 08/28/09
@djwerdna: I don't know where this type of dessert originated, but you're right, they are very common in the countries you mention, also in the southeast Asian countries (Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, etc.), including my own: Indonesia.
The 'canvas' is pretty much the same across all countries: a small hill of shaved ice drizzled with condensed milk. From that point on, the toppings are fair game. Each dessert and each country have their own distinctive combinations.
In Indonesia the most popular version is called 'Es Campur' (literally: Mixed Ice) and the toppings include cubes of black grass jelly, attap/aren fruit, slices of jackfruit, scoops of avocado, tape singkong (fermented cassava) and young coconut flesh. The sweetness is then enhanced by swirls of neon pink syrup! Happy mashing indeed :)
I'd love to try a bowl of patbingsu (extra mochi, please), I hope it's on the menu of Korean restaurants here!
cucumberpandan at 8:18AM on 08/28/09
YES. I'm patiently awaiting a patbingsu invasion here in NY. Someone needs to tell David Chang to open a MomoBingsu.
blim8183 at 3:39PM on 08/28/09
Being Korean myself, I was literally drooling at these photos. Yes, patbingsoo is another version of shaved ice seen all over Asia, but the paht (beans) and tteok/dduk are what make this Korean version stand out.
You won't find this dessert at a typical Korean restaurant. It's an event in itself and most people go out with friends to Korean cafe's or dessert spots to split a refreshing bowl. It's also difficult to find a place that has the right proportion of ice v toppings, which is why making this summer staple at home to your preferences is often the best way to go!
grubguru at 10:53PM on 08/28/09
i didnt know that was a korean dish, i thought Japan and Taiwan had it too
elvinwei at 6:41AM on 09/03/09
The first time I had shaved ice was in Taiwan. Shaved ice, lots of fresh mango, all drizzled with sweetened condensed milk. In oppressive heat, it's much more refreshing than ice cream. These days, manual ice shavers can be found in many of the Asian/Chinese supermarkets that carry housewares. I was so happy and surprised the first time I found one. Then I began to notice that most of my local (NYC) Asian-centric supermarkets carried them, I just hadn't been looking for them. They're usually hiding amongst the rice cookers. The manual one requires a lot of arm power, but it should only be about $20.
AZN Connoisseur at 5:51PM on 09/03/09
never mix! hence, eating the thing becomes something like taking ice core samples as you tunnel down, eventually collapsing of course. we did a hybrid version at home and it was actually kinda stressful trying to serve 6 individual bingsoos to hit the table at the same moment. for the nyers, anyone beat koryodang or no?
avisualperson at 12:47AM on 09/04/09
So much better than halo halo.
oh_no_eric at 7:47PM on 09/15/09