''Mujigae-tteok'' () or rainbow rice cake is a layered ''
tteok
''Tteok'' () is a general term for Korean rice cakes. They are made with steamed flour of various grains, especially glutinous rice, glutinous and non-glutinous Japonica rice, rice. Steamed flour can also be pounded, shaped, or pan-fried to make ...
'' (rice cake) of different colors resembling a
rainbow
A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
.
It is used for special occasions such as a banquet, party, or feast like ''
doljanchi'' (first birthday), ''
hwangap
In the Sinosphere, one's sixtieth birthday has traditionally held special significance. Especially when life expectancies were shorter, the sixtieth birthday was seen as a symbolic threshold for reaching old age and having lived a full life. Th ...
janchi'' (60th birthday). Alternative names for ''mujigae-tteok'' include ''saektteok'' () and ''saekpyeon'' (), both of which means "colored rice cakes".
Preparation
The addition of food coloring makes ''mujigae-tteok'' different from the other varieties of ''
seolgi-tteok'', such as white ''
baek-seolgi''.
It is made by steaming sweetened non-glutinous
rice
Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
flour
Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...
in a ''
siru
''Siru'' () is an earthenware steamer used to steam grain or grain flour dishes such as ''tteok'' (rice cakes), most notably ''siru-tteok''. The ''siru'' is an earthenware steaming vessel that dates back to the late bronze age of the Korean no ...
'' (steamer).
Sweetened rice flour is made by first grinding soaked rice and mixing it with honey or sugar solution. The flour is then rubbed between the palms for uniform mixing of the ingredients and finally sieved.
Food colorings, commonly
gardenia
''Gardenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Madagascar, Pacific Islands, and Australia.
The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus and John Ellis after ...
(yellow),
rock tripe powder (grey),
mugwort
Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus '' Artemisia.'' In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species '' Artemisia vulgaris'', or common mugwort. In East Asia the species '' Artemisia argyi'' ...
powder (green), and
devil's-tongue powder (pink), are then added and mixed with small amount of water.
Colored and white (uncolored)
rice flour
Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...
are then laid on a cloth-lined ''
siru
''Siru'' () is an earthenware steamer used to steam grain or grain flour dishes such as ''tteok'' (rice cakes), most notably ''siru-tteok''. The ''siru'' is an earthenware steaming vessel that dates back to the late bronze age of the Korean no ...
'' in about thick layers and steamed.
See also
*
List of Korean desserts
*
List of steamed foods
This is a list of steamed foods and dishes that are typically or commonly prepared by the cooking method of steaming.
Steamed foods
* Ada – a food item from Kerala, usually made of rice flour with sweet filling inside.
* Bánh – in Hano ...
References
Steamed foods
Tteok
{{Korea-dessert-stub