Sweet and Chewy Yakbap (Sweet Glutinous Rice) in a Rice Cooker

Ingredients

• Pour plenty of water over the glutinous rice and soak it for about 4 hours, or soak it in lukewarm water for about 2 hours.
• If the chestnuts are small, prepare about 20; if the dried jujubes are small, prepare 15 to 20. You can also add or substitute other nuts you have on hand, such as sunflower seeds, pine nuts, cashew nuts, or pecans.
• Wrap individually and store in the freezer, then microwave for about 1 minute when ready to eat.

Steps

1. Prepare the ingredients

   

   I peeled chestnuts to prepare them along with 4 cups of glutinous rice. These are 12 large chestnuts, but if they are small, using about 20 should be fine.

   The dried jujubes are also about the size of chestnuts, but if they are small, you can prepare 15 to 20. That was all the walnuts I had left, but you can add more.

   Adding nuts such as chestnuts, ginkgo nuts, jujubes, peanuts, or sesame seeds for chewing texture makes it much tastier.

   You can use whatever nuts you have on hand. Sunflower seeds, pine nuts, cashew nuts, and pecans are all perfectly fine.

2. Soak the glutinous rice

   

   

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   Pour plenty of water over the glutinous rice and soak it.

   Soak it for about 4 hours, or you can soak it in lukewarm water for about 2 hours.

   Rinse the soaked glutinous rice several times under running water, transfer to a strainer, and let the water drain off roughly.

   Glutinous rice dishes must be soaked sufficiently to turn out soft and chewy. Because the soaking time for glutinous rice is long, you can put it in water and prep the other ingredients in the meantime.

3. Chop the nuts

   

   

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   Cut the chestnuts into bite-sized pieces.

   I like my chestnuts on the larger side, so I cut them into 4.

   If you toast the walnuts lightly in an air fryer before using, any off-flavors disappear and the savory, nutty flavor comes out more, making them tastier.

   Cut them smaller than or similar in size to the chestnuts.

4. Prepare the dried jujubes

   

   

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   Soak the dried jujubes in water, then use a toothbrush to brush away any dust or foreign matter between the wrinkles.

   If you soak them in water before slicing, they become much softer, making it easy to remove the seeds. Cut around the seeds to remove them.

   

   

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   I rolled 3 of them up and sliced them to use as a garnish on top of the yakbap. Pretty, right?

   

   

   

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   The rest will be mixed into the yakbap. Julienne all of them.

   Pour about 3 cups of water over the jujube seeds and simmer over low heat so the jujube flavor infuses into the water, then let it cool.

   You will need 2 cups of jujube infused water when making the yakbap.

5. Make the yakbap sauce

   

   

   

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   Pour in all the ingredients for the yakbap sauce, mix until the sugar is completely dissolved, and pour it into the rice cooker pot containing the glutinous rice.

   If you like cinnamon flavor, you can add more.

   

   

   

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   Add all the chestnuts, walnuts, and jujubes and mix evenly.

   When the cooking liquid just barely covers the glutinous rice, you will get yakbap with just the right chewiness, neither too wet nor too dry.

   For 4 cups of unsoaked glutinous rice, 2 cups of jujube infused water (=or regular water) is just right.

   Therefore, you can keep the ratio of glutinous rice to water at 2:1.

   Press the white rice cycle to cook the rice.

6. Cook the yakbap

   

   

   

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   The rice has cooked nicely, chewy and sticky.

   The rice at the bottom is a deep dark brown, but do not worry as it is neither scorched nor burned.

   That just happens because the dark brown sugar settles to the bottom and creates a caramel color.

   Add the toasted sesame oil and mix thoroughly. Stir gently so the chestnuts do not break apart.

7. Shape the yakbap

   

   

   

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   If you have molds, try making various pretty shapes.

   

   

   

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   Transfer into a container, press down so it sticks together well, and garnish the very top with jujubes.

   If you let it firm up like this for about 1 hour before cutting, it slices much more neatly.

   Slice into your desired size with a knife coated in toasted sesame oil, and your yakbap is complete.

Ppunwife's tips

• If you toast the walnuts lightly in an air fryer before using, any off-flavors disappear and the savory, nutty flavor comes out more, making them tastier.
• If you soak the dried jujubes in water before slicing, they become much softer, making it easy to remove the seeds.
• Keeping the ratio of unsoaked glutinous rice to water at 2:1 results in yakbap with just the right chewiness, neither too wet nor too dry.
• If you press it into a container, let it firm up for about 1 hour, and slice with a knife coated in toasted sesame oil, it slices much more neatly.

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