Korean Snack Recipe – Gangjeong (강정)

Gangjeong is a crispy snack you can easily make at home. You’ll find it in stores and markets in Korea. It comes out nice and crispy, not like marshmallow rice crispy treats, which tend to be gooey.

You can use puffed rice or barley and can add in nuts, raisins or anything else, really. You can also use just sesame seeds or nuts to make a crunchy snack. For this recipe, we use rice syrup and sugar to bring everything together.

Ingredients

• brown sugar –  80g / ½ cup
• rice syrup – 100g / ½ cup
• water – 20g / 4 teaspoons
• puffed rice (barley) – 5~6 cups
• nuts (optional)

Directions

Measure out the syrup, sugar and water into a large cooking pot. Ideally, you should weigh the ingredients instead of measuring by volume. I find it more accurate and consistent while also making it easier to make adjustments later.

If you use nuts, lightly roast them in a pan first. You don’t need to use oil, just put them in and heat them until they brown slightly. This will make them crispier and bring out the flavor.

Measure out the puffed rice so you can easily pour it later. Go ahead and mix in the nuts here.

Now in the pot with the sugar and syrup, turn on the stove and start heating the syrup. Stir as it heats. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low. Continue boiling for about two minutes.

Now turn off the heat and pour in the puffed rice (or barley/nuts). Mix well until everything is covered with syrup.

In a baking pan, pour out the mix. (If you have wax paper, lay it out first, it will make cleanup much easier.) Spread the mix and press it down. You can use a rolling pin to roll the mix out or use another pan to flatten the mix.

Move the pan to the refrigerator or freezer to cool for about an hour. Take out to cut and serve.

We hope you enjoy this recipe. Let us know if you made it and how it turned out.