Patbingsu is a popular South Korean dessert made with shaved ice, sweetened red beans, and rice cakes. Originally sold as street food in the 1950s, it has evolved to include a variety of ingredients such as ice cream, fruit, and corn flakes. It is served as a compound dish and stirred before eating.
Patbingsu is a South Korean dessert made with shaved ice and a variety of other ingredients. The name means “red bean rice” and is sometimes rendered as “pat bing su” in English. Originally the recipe was quite simple, featuring just crushed ice and sweetened red beans with small rice cakes and, often, peanuts. That version can still be found, but some recipes have gotten much fancier. Patbingsu is served as a compound dish, where each ingredient is displayed in a distinct layer, while custom dictates that it is stirred just before eating.
The original dish was sold as street food, appearing in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Both patbingsu and popsicles appeared around that time. South Korea has very hot, humid, summers, and ice wasn’t readily available residentially until the mid-1960s, so these new, refreshing treats were wildly popular.
From its beginnings as a simple street treat, patbingsu has grown into a national favorite. Modern versions are sold by restaurants ranging from fast food to delicatessens, although they continue to be sold at street stalls. Shortly after its appearance, the ingredient list started to grow. The standard presentation now includes shaved ice, sweetened red beans, or bean paste. Sweetened condensed milk, ice cream nuggets, canned fruit cocktails, and corn flakes are also commonly used.
Other possible ingredients now include ice cream and frozen yogurt. Vanilla or fruit flavors, such as strawberry, are popular, as are coffee or green tea flavors. Some recipes include fresh fruit like bananas or strawberries. Another welcome addition are chocolate chips or small jelly candies.
Two ingredients unfamiliar to many in North America or Europe are sugary red beans and rice cakes. Kidney beans are red adzuki beans, a very small bean with a natural, slightly sweet flavor. They are commonly cooked with sugar and used in desserts throughout East Asia. Some patbingsu recipes use whole beans in sweet syrup, while others use sweet red bean paste.
Korean rice cakes are made from glutinous rice that has been pounded into a sticky paste and formed into various shapes. Those used in patbingsu are small and greasy and have a neutral rice flavor. Rice cakes are prized for their texture and the way they pick up on other flavors as they mix with the many ingredients in patbingsu.
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