There are plenty of fun and tasty Korean desserts, but one of the most popular sweet treats on the streets is the simple Twisted Donut (꽈배기). A favorite among children getting home from school and nostalgic parents; munching down on the crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside Kkwabaegi is a warm and happy experience. Kkwabaegi are easy to find in restaurants and at food vendors, but they’re also a really simple dessert to try making at home!
We (we being once again my partner, the NOT pastry chef, and myself, the lazy writer) tried Maangchi’s recipe (provided below) and we literally halved all the ingredients to make a smaller batch. We successfully tried out Easy Jjajangbap in the last Friday Food article, but let’s just say this time – well, you’ll see.
After everything was made, the dough was rising happily.
We then rolled it out into equal sized portions.
And started trying to stretch and shape them!
Then… something happened…
The mixture didn’t rise correctly because our kitchen was way too cold.
So we did the best we could with the nearly runny, sloppy, sticky mixture we had, and you know what? It looked pretty good, all things considered.
And then we flipped it…
You’re supposed to let them rise for ten minutes on each side, but our messy batch… stuck to the countertop and got torn up a bit.
Nonetheless, we moved onto frying, and everything looked a lot better than we expected.
They came out rather beautifully (although somewhat misshapen.)
And next we tossed/coated half of them with brown sugar and white sugar.
And the next four with confectioner’s sugar.
They looked pretty good, and the texture was crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside! Not too bad, right?
Wrong.
The oil seeped in because the dough hadn’t set correctly, so the fresh yeast and oil together made it taste like the coating for beer battered fish and chips.
Regardless of our not-so-successful journey with Kkwabaegi, we plan on trying again soon! Cooking from home is always a lot of fun, especially when you do it with a loved one. I would implore you to follow the recipes below exactly, whether or not it seems like a lot (or maybe just make sure your kitchen isn’t freezing) and enjoy yourself! Don’t worry about how it turns out – it’s always great when something you make comes out delicious, but beer-battered-fishy-donuts are definitely something you’ll remember.
Good luck with your journey! I hope you’ll let us know all about it!
Here’s the wonderful and world-famous Maangchi’s great video on Kkwabaegi.
As well as an easy to follow step by step recipe on her website.
The well known Aeri also did a video for Kkwabaegi.
As well as a step by step recipe on her website.
There isn’t much written history about 꽈배기, but it is a beloved treat throughout South Korea and you should definitely give it a try! (Even if you end up with an oily mess.)
Have you ever had Kkwabaegi?
Let us know in the comments below!
