What kind of rice cakes are eaten in summer on DANO DAY? 

There’s a rice cake for every season and every occasion! And there are plenty of fun Korean idioms involving rice cake too. Here’s one of my favourites …

In Autumn I’ve helped my mother-in-law stuff Songpyeon harvest festival rice cakes. At New Year you can’t get a year older without eating tteokguk rice cake soup.  At Winter Solstice the traditional dish is red bean porridge with rice cakes – patjuk. In spring time rice cakes are decorated with edible flowers.

And at the beginning of summer on Dano Day (the 5th day of the 5th lunar month – some time in June in the Gregorian calendar) herb rice cakes are made with mugwort (쑥) and surichwi (수리취) leaves found in the mountains.

HERB RICE CAKES & THE POWER OF MUGWORT

Dano Day was said to have lots of positive YANG energy, which chased away evil spirits and brought good luck.

And since mugwort was thought to have magical powers (read about mugwort in the myth of Dangun) it was harvested in spring and then used in food as well as in charms to protect the home (an aeho tiger made of mugwort might be hung above the door).

In a rice cake making class I went to at the National Folk Museum of Korea, we learned that the rice cakes on Dano Day are shaped in half moons like dumplings (and stuffed with beans and nuts) or they are round and plain and decorated with the pattern of a wheel. (and omija juice with pears and cherries wash down the rice cakes!)

A round cutting tool is used to make the stuffed rice cakes into half moon shapes. And a wheel patterned tool (called tteoksal) is used to decorate the plain rice cakes with the shape of a wheel.

For the filling boiled adzuki beans, crushed walnuts and almonds, honey, cinnamon, and soybean powder are mixed together. (Adzuki beans are so popular for dessert fillings. I’m eating an ice-cream with adzuki bean filling as we speak…)

The different patterns are carved into the wood with a knife and they have different meanings. Longevity, prosperity, fertility etc. These days plastic moulds are also used.

MEANINGS BEHIND THE PATTERNS IN RICE CAKE MOULDS

Since the 1970s when manufacturing developed people started to buy rice cakes rather than make them at home. But before that rice cakes were made at home for every important event and celebration.

In this article Enchanted by Symbolic Patterns of Rice Cake Presses in Koreana magazine, a collector talks about his passion for his collection of rice cake moulds (떡살 tteok-sal) and the meanings behind the patterns carved into them. The number of artisans making the tteoksal tool has dramatically decreased over the years now that not so many people make rice cakes at home.

The symbolic patterns have changed over time reflecting the aspirations of different generations. Symbols reflecting Confucian values (eg having many sons) are carved into the moulds made during the Joseon period. Wishes for peace appear on the moulds after the Korean war.

Images of fish represent wealth and fertility. And butterflies marital happiness, Geometric patterns and Chinese characters with auspicious meanings.

As well as eating traditional rice cakes, there were several rituals carried out on Dano Day. The famous painting Scenery on Dano Day depict some of these such as playing on a swing and washing hair with herbs. I wrote about the painting here.

OTHER FOOD TRADITIONALLY EATEN IN SUMMER

I’m always amazed at the versatility of the humble rice cake. It’s eaten all year round for main dishes and dessert. (Here’s my post on rice cakes at the Beautiful Tea Museum in Isadong). Rice cakes do fusion too. Don’t be surprised to find chewy rice cake fillings in a bread bun. Or a rice cake and sweet potato birthday cake that you thought was made of sponge!

There are several other traditional dishes popular in hot weather too. There’s the ice shavings dessert bingsu as well as two chicken dishes – hot medicinal chicken soup, samgaetang, and chilled chicken soup with vinegar and mustard – chogyetang.