Injeolmi Black Bean Snack: A Korean Rice Cake Snack

Injeolmi are traditional Korean rice cakes. Glutinous rice is steamed and pounded until a chewy, elastic mass forms; that gets cut into pieces and dusted with bean powder so they do not stick together. They belong to the wide family of Tteok, the Korean rice cakes, and in Korea they often come to the table on special occasions - at festivals, holidays and family celebrations.

The Dong-A Injeolmi Black Bean Snack takes that idea into something to nibble on. The pieces are modeled on the traditional rice cakes and dusted with black bean powder. Instead of soft and chewy they are crunchy and light here, joined by a mild sweetness from the seasoning and the nutty note of the bean powder. How do they taste to you?

That is exactly the appeal: freshly made Injeolmi stay soft only briefly and firm up quickly, so you eat them the same day. The snack solves that differently - the familiar taste moves into a bag you open whenever you want. Anyone who knows the rice cakes from Korea spots the reference at once, just in crunchy form.

The simplest way is to eat them straight from the pack, with tea or coffee, on a TV series night or as part of a Korean snack plate with a few other small things. Tipped into a bowl they also look good on the table when visitors are over. One pack holds 51 g and is quickly shared - handy when several people want to try.

In Korea, Injeolmi has long been more than a rice cake; it is a flavor of its own, found there in many sweet dishes and snacks, from ice cream desserts to baked goods. Anyone wanting to get to know Korean flavors finds a good start here, clearly different from European nibbles: no potato chip, but rice flour as the base. If you like trying new varieties, this is a good addition to the next snack round.