Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Patbingsu (팥빙수)

Korea takes “seasonal foods” to a whole new level. There is a long list of “Korean traditional foods” that quite literally are only available a couple months each year. Frustrating as that can be for foreigners, this particular food still makes it in my top 5 favorite things in Korea list. I also think it is responsible for my recent weight gain but that’s another story altogether.

Patbingsu, or potbingsu, (pronounced like the latter) is a summer staple.  A friend described it as the Korean snow cone and I think that’s a pretty spot-on description.  A basic version is shaved ice with a touch of condensed milk, then smothered in sweetened red beans, fruit, and a rice cake or two.  The more elaborate versions include toppings like flavored ice creams and an assortments of nuts.  Most importantly, there is a whole world of different patbingsu flavor options to choose from such as green tea, strawberry, milk tea, and my most recent discovery…..Tiramisu.  It’s just heavenly.

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Who could say “no” to that? Be serious, now.

This past weekend I was able to coerce a couple friends to join me on my quest for this amazing new dessert.  Begrudgingly, they obliged and off we went to A Twosome Place, a popular coffee shop franchise.  (Please note: this is not a single person affair.  If you try to eat this alone, you might die. You would die with a smile on your face, but dead is dead.)

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Hello, lover.

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And….we’re off!

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It’s important to mix it all together.  If you get to the bottom and have only shaved ice left you will be very disappointed.

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The end. 

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