Pumpkin Songpyeon using Dangjin's specialty sweet pumpkin, a recipe that brings out a chewy texture

As chewy and soft textures have recently gained attention in the dessert market, Pumpkin Songpyeon, a traditional food of the Chungcheong Province region, has been introduced as a new flavor alternative. According to a Culture Portal video, Pumpkin Songpyeon is a food made by adding pumpkin to standard Songpyeon ingredients, and sweet pumpkin, a specialty of Dangjin in Chungcheong Province, can be utilized.

Making the dough and shapes to bring out the color and taste of sweet pumpkin

To make Pumpkin Songpyeon, first, add water to the prepared rice flour to make the dough. Water should be added while checking the state of the dough, and once it becomes soft enough that it does not stick to the back of your hand, roll the dough into a ball. After that, take off a portion of dough for one Songpyeon and spread it out wide to make it easy to insert the filling. After putting sesame filling inside the spread dough two or three times, carefully close the dough so that the filling does not leak out.

To visually implement the shape of a pumpkin, draw diagonal lines on the surface of the dough to set the shape. At this time, it is important to press carefully as if just marking lines, because pressing too deeply may tear the dough. If you want to make the color deeper, you can add sweet pumpkin during the dough-making process. If you stick pumpkin seeds in the center of the completed shape, you can create a form that is even more similar to a pumpkin.

Cooking steps: steaming for 20 minutes and finishing with sesame oil

The shaped Songpyeon is completed by steaming it in boiling water for 20 minutes. Once the Songpyeon is fully steamed, finish it by applying an appropriate amount of sesame oil to give the surface a gloss. Depending on preference, you can add honey to enjoy it with more sweetness.

Songpyeon is known to be a food that first appeared in records from 1,680. The types vary depending on what ingredients are added to the rice flour; if sweet pumpkin powder is mixed with the rice flour, it becomes Pumpkin Songpyeon. As it has been passed down since ancient times that if you shape Songpyeon beautifully, you will meet a good groom or give birth to a beautiful daughter, Songpyeon is a food where the process of making a sincere shape is as important as the taste.