Injeolmi

If you’ve never made rice cakes at home, this recipe from Jennifer Ban of Rice Blossoms for the rustic Korean tteok (rice cake) called injeolmi is a great place to start. Traditionally, this type of rice cake was laborious to prepare, requiring you to soak, steam, then pound sweet rice until all the grains were evenly mashed. These days the convenience and availability of sweet rice flour (also known as mochiko, mochi flour, glutinous rice flour, or chap-ssal in Korean) makes the process a snap. The rice cake itself has just three ingredients: sweet rice flour, a little sugar, and water. This mixture is poured into a lined steamer and steamed until cooked through, resulting in a rice cake that’s delightfully chewy, stretchy, and subtly sweet. Injeolmi’s signature flavor comes from a generous dusting of roasted soybean powder, or gomul. Roasted soybean powder, which you can find at Korean markets or online, adds an almost peanut buttery flavor and a hint of natural sweetness to these gluten-free treats. Injeolmi are best the day they’re made, but you can store any extras in the freezer and either reheat them briefly in the microwave or thaw at room temperature.