개성약과 — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Delicate, flower-shaped fried pastries soaked in honey-ginger syrup until they become wonderfully chewy and aromatic, the most celebrated confection from the ancient city of Kaesong.

Ingredients

300g all-purpose flour
3 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp honey
80ml rice wine or soju
1 tsp ginger juice
Pinch of salt
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Syrup: 200g honey, 100ml water, 1 tbsp ginger juice, 1 cinnamon stick
Pine nuts for garnish

Instructions

1 Sift flour and mix with sesame oil until it resembles coarse sand. Add honey, rice wine, ginger juice, and salt. Mix into a soft dough without overworking.
2 Wrap dough and rest for 30 minutes. Roll out to 1.5cm thickness and cut into flower shapes or circles using a mold.
3 Poke a few small holes in each cookie with a skewer to prevent puffing during frying.
4 Heat oil to 130°C (265°F). Fry cookies at low temperature for 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally, until evenly golden. Do not rush with high heat.
5 Meanwhile, prepare syrup by simmering honey, water, ginger juice, and cinnamon stick for 10 minutes.
6 Drain fried cookies and immediately submerge in warm honey syrup. Soak for at least 2 hours, turning occasionally.
7 Remove from syrup, garnish each with a pine nut, and let dry slightly before serving.

Did You Know?

Kaesong yakgwa were so prized during the Goryeo Dynasty that sumptuary laws were passed to restrict their consumption to prevent overuse of precious honey and oil.