Yuja Yeot Gangjeong - Yuja Puffed Rice Bars
Crunchy bars of puffed rice, nuts and dried fruit bound together with a sweet, citrusy, floral syrup.
Yuja Yeot Gangjeong - Yuja Puffed Rice Bars
Makes 8 bars
Yeot Gangjeong is a traditional Korean snack made from puffed rice, nuts and seeds. The ingredients are bound together with a sticky syrup then allowed to set before being cut into pieces. This version uses yuja cheong to add a citrusy highlight to the sweet syrup along with almond extract and craisins to make a fun summery approach to the traditional. I like to eat these as a crunchy snack with an iced tea.
Ingredients
Toasted Oats
7g (1.5 t) butter
27g (3 T) old fashioned rolled oats
Syrup
90g (3.5 T) yuja cheong
66g (3 T) Korean rice syrup
7g (1.5 t) butter
1/8 t kosher salt
Pinch of ground turmeric
Fillings
45g (3 T) whole roasted unsalted almonds
36g (3 T) dried cranberries
0.25 t ground cardamom
0.25 t almond extract
Finishing
36g (1.5 c) puffed rice*
Recipe Know-how
1. Line a 14cm x 14cm (5in x 5in) square pan with a piece of crumpled parchment. Set aside.
2. In a medium nonstick pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter.
Add the oats and stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, toast the oats until golden, about 2 – 3 minutes.
Remove to a piece of parchment to cool.
3. Into the same pan, add the syrup ingredients.
Over medium-high heat, bring the ingredients to a boil.
Swirling occasionally, boil for 2 – 3 minutes or until the syrup has thickened and the bubbles have slowed and become smaller.
Add the fillings.
Using a heat-proof rubber spatula, stir constantly for 30 seconds.
Turn off the heat and add the rice and oats.
Stir and press together to fully coat the rice.
Pour into the prepared pan, pressing firmly into the pan to compact.
Cool completely, about 30 - 45 minutes.
Cut into 8 pieces.
4. Serve with tea.