Rice Cake!

Time for another field trip report! On the 2^nd all of the Internationals and any Koreans who felt like joining were invited to take part in an all-expense paid trip to the Rice Cake Museum here in Pohang. Although I was unsure about what kind of experience awaited me, I decided to join. Thus, that Saturday morning our group of both Koreans and international students piled onto a bus and headed to the museum.

As per the usual our shoes had to come off before entering the museum. It is still a strange feeling for me to wander around a building in socks. Once inside we were given a tour of the small museum and then listened to a lecture all about the making of rice cakes and the various kinds. They had wax replicas of the many kinds that we could look at. There was also explanations given on how to make them, though there were so many different ways that one method cannot really apply to every variation of rice cake.

If you are wondering what exactly I mean by rice cake, here is at least a brief description:

Little cakes often made out of glutinous rice flour, or just plain rice flour, usually created by a steaming process. They are made with a huge variety of other ingredients and can look very different depending on the type. They are eaten at most of the Korean holidays and can be either pretty sweet or more savory.

After listening to the explanations and looking at the models, it was time to experience making rice cakes for ourselves. By that point we were all pretty hungry because of looking at all the wax versions! Everyone got to put on some cute aprons (even the guys) and then we divided into two groups. My groups’ first activity was getting to pound the sticky rice dough.

It was fun getting to use such a big wooden hammer to pound away at the dough-like substance. It reminded me a bit of wood chopping. Next we took the freshly pulverized mass of dough and rolled it in small portions, mixing it into a yellow powder that tasted a little like cornmeal. We exercised as much creativity as we could as we formed different shapes out of it.

We completed this first version of rice cakes and moved onto the next one. We were able to get even more creative with these ones. Everyone was given a small mound of thicker rice dough. 

To start with we took a small portion of the dough out and rolled it into a ball, then flattened it. 

Once flat we put bean paste inside and then closed it up so that it formed a ball again. Taking different colours of paste with different flavors, we decorated the tops of the balls.

Then we flattened them with a stamp that had a pattern on it. It reminded me a bit of playing with Play Dough.

After finishing our lovely creations we all ate a boxed lunch. After that we went onto the roof to play some traditional Korean games and just hung out. After that we moved onto the next activities. It was time to try on Hanbok, the traditional Korean outfit.

I could definitely tell that the clothes were made for Asians, not Westerners, but it was fun to try it out and pretend for a few minutes that I am not a Westerner to my last drop of blood. Almost everyone got a chance to take a picture in the Hanbok and to demonstrate the traditional bow.

After this we got to do another craft which was decorating our own mugs with some permanent markers. Although I cannot wash my mug for fear of removing the designs, it was a fun activity. I love doodling on any surface.

We ran out of time during the mug decorating and had to make sure we made it onto the bus that took us back to school. We were sent away with two boxes of our own rice cakes that we made. Yum! Very tasty. I spent the rest of the day shopping with two friends then I returned in the evening to eat some of the rice cakes I had made.

It may sound boring, and the idea of a “Rice Cake Museum” may not excite a lot of people, but I actually had a great time. It was fun to learn more about Korean culture and experience a bit more firsthand. But the best part was experiencing it with the wonderful group who came.

Also, as a note, if you make rice cakes make sure to put them in the refrigerator. I was very dismayed to discover mine growing white beards. Tragic. Ah well, next time I will know better!