Korean Honey Pastry (약과 Yakgwa or Yakwa)

Name: Korean Honey Pastry (Yakgwa or Yakwa)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 3 cup all purpose flour ((medium-protein flour)); 1/3 cup sesame oil; 1/3 cup soju; 1/3 cup honey; 1/4 cup chopped pine nuts; 1/4 tsp salt ((optional – original recipe omits salt)); 1 cup rice syrup ((jochung 조청 – if not available, you can substitute honey)); 1 cup honey; 2 cup water; 1 Tbsp ginger ((grated, 1 -2 tsp ginger powder is OK too))

Updated:1/18/2021Posted:3/07/201128 Comments

Yakgwa (약과) or Yakwa is a traditional Korean sweet pastry or cookie that is rich with flavors of ginger and honey. Yakgwa was my most favorite snack growing up and I tasted hundreds of Yakgwa in my life but I have never tasted one that is as light and flavorful as this one.

Yakgwa stacked in traditional Korean wooden bowl — Korean Honey Pastry (약과 Yakwa)

This Yakgwa recipe that I learned from my mother-in-law is the most authentic recipe since I learned that Yakgwa was created by an ancestor of my husband, 450 years ago. (Story of Yakwa and Yaksik) Once you taste this recipe, you will never be happy eating the stuff sold at markets. The Yakgwa/Yakwa sold at markets are chewy and almost gummy whereas these are flaky and has a melt-in-your-mouth crumbly texture.

BTW, I promised simple recipes and I admit that this is not a simple one but it is just too good and too important to not post. If you have any experience making a pie crust dough and frying in oil, it shouldn’t be too difficult. It will also be easier if you have a friend to help you since it gets pretty busy when it’s time to dunk the fried Yakwa or Yakgwa into the syrup. I promise you though – if done right, you will be glad you tried making it.

Prep time: approx 30 min. time: approx 40 min. Difficulty: Medium

Our Family Yakgwa Recipe

vegetable oil for deep frying (1 litre is plenty)
3 C medium-protein flour aka all purpose flour
1/3 C sesame oil
1/3 C soju (sake can be used but soju is best)
1/3 C honey
1/4 C chopped pine nuts
1/4 tsp salt (optional – original recipe omits salt)

Ingredients for the Ginger Honey Syrup

1 C rice syrup (jochung 조청) – if not available, you can substitute honey
1 C honey
2 C water
1 T grated fresh ginger (1 -2 tsp ginger powder is OK too) – add more or less to taste * revised on 12/21/11

Needed Kitchen items

wok/pot for frying, tong or long chopsticks to pick up fried yakwa
sauce pan
rolling-pin
mixing bowl

Directions

Prepare oil for frying and heating the oil in a wok/pot. Note for Yakgwa, we want to start frying at a low temperature.
Make the syrup by mixing the rice syrup, honey and water in a sauce pan or frying pan. Heat on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once it boils, turn the heat off and add the chopped ginger, mix and set it aside.
Honey Syrup for Yakgwa
Let’s make the dough. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour (add salt – optional) and then the sesame oil. Mix the flour with the oil by rubbing the mixture thoroughly with your hands, until you feel the oil is all blended in with the flour.

Rubbing flour honey soju mix between hands — Mixing sesame oil and flour

Mixing Yakgwa dough with hands — Mixing Yakgwa dough

4. Mix the Soju and honey in a separate cup/bowl until the honey is all dissolved. Pour the soju/honey mixture into the flour mixture and gently press the dough to form a ball. Add more soju if you feel the dough is too dry. This is a picture of my mother-in-law’s dough, I think she ended up adding a bit more soju because it came out too dry.

5. Divide the dough in half. Roll out one half of the dough into 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick rectangular shape. Cut the dough into 1 inch wide strips and then cut the strips at an angle to make diamond shapes. Pierce a hole in the center using a chopstick – this is so the dough gets heated evenly in the oil.

Cutting rolled out dough with knife into diamonds — Cutting dough for Yakgwa

Cut yakgwa into diamond shapes — Cut yakgwa dough with holes in center

6. Yakgwa is fried in 2 different temperatures and this what makes it tricky. For the first part, oil should be at a low temperature around 130 ° C (265 °F) – the yakgwa pieces should not rise to the top right away. When the Yakwa rises to the top, it is ready for the next step.

For the second part, when all pieces have risen to the top, raise the heat to medium high to reach normal frying temperature . Continue frying until Yakgwa turns rich brown in color. Remove yakwa from oil and put it in a colander lined with paper towel and let oil drain for a bit.

Yakgwa frying in oil - few pieces rising to top — Yakwa in oil (Just starting to rise to top)

7. Soak fried Yakwa in the ginger honey syrup.

Yakgwa soaking in syrup — Yakwa in syrup

When it has soaked up all the syrup (about 20 min?), take it out of the syrup and place onto a plate. I have seen recipes that soak yakgwa in syrup for up to 12 hrs! I have not tried that long but it’s up to you – I really don’t think it will make a big difference. Sprinkle the top with chopped pine nuts while it is still wet and the nuts will stick to it.

Storage Tip for Yakgwa

Yakwa/Yakgwa can be stored at cool room temperature for several days or can be kept in the fridge for longer periods. You can also freeze it and it will keep fresh longer.

Try my Baked Yakgwa

If you don’t want to fry these, I have a baked Yakgwa recipe that you may want to try.