A Korean Sweet Treat ~ Hwa Jeon with Honey and Flower Petals

The Prettiest Little Tea Cakes ~ Hwa Jeon

The Prettiest Rice Tea Cakes ~ Hwa Jeon 화전

They’re simultaneously simple and sublime. Not exactly a cake nor a cookie, a doughnut nor a pancake. But a little disk of fried rice flour with a hint of sea salt, that’s all. Sprinkled with edible flower petals and drizzled with orange blossom honey. Served with rose petal tea.

With Spring right around the corner, this delightful Korean sweet treat called hwa jeon is certain to charm your guests.

This dessert is naturally gluten-free. It is made from glutinous rice flour also known as sweet or sticky rice flour. “Glutinous” refers to the type of rice, not gluten.

Hwa Jeon Recipe

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Precious Potato Bites ~ Truffle Oil, Sour Cream, Chive Blossoms

Precious Potato Bites ~ Truffle Oil, Sour Cream, Chive Blossoms

Precious Potato Bites ~ Truffle Oil, Sour Cream, Chive Blossoms

I may have made a nice green salad or a simple pasta for dinner, but I what I like to share on Taste With The Eyes is not “last night’s dinner” but dishes that titillate and inspire. With ingredients that I find interesting.

Well, here’s a side dish (or appetizer) that is both simple and interesting…

The classic combination of potato with sour cream and chives ~ with a twist. Charming petite smashed potatoes adorned with both high quality white truffle oil and chive blossoms from the garden, instead of the ubiquitous green chives.

Precious Potato Bites ~ The Recipe

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Celebrating the Lunar New Year with Korean Rice Cake Soup

Tteokguk (Korean Rice Cake Soup)

Tteokguk (Korean Rice Cake Soup) 떡국

Happy Lunar New Year! We’re celebrating with the Korean soup traditionally eaten on this day – Tteokguk. Rice Cake Soup is the main dish of Seollal (Lunar New Year). It is a day to express respect and gratitude, especially to one’s elders and one’s ancestors. The white color of the rice cakes is said to symbolize purity and cleanliness while their shape represents coins, symbolizing success and prosperity.

My version of tteokguk is not exactly traditional but I sure do love symbolic meals, that is one of the reasons why Passover is a favorite holiday. Here, I make a rich stock with roasted beef bones as well as brisket – to manifest a flavorful New Year. I add hot chiles – so our year will be spicy! I garnish with a rainbow of color – for a bright, brilliant, colorful year to come. And finish with edible flowers – for beauty and grace…

Tteokguk (Korean Rice Cake Soup) 떡국 Recipe

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Buchu Jeon {garlic chive blossom pancake}

Buchu Jeon {chive blossom pancake}
Buchu Jeon

부추전

{garlic chive blossom pancake}

A popular Korean ahn-joo (snack enjoyed while drinking), Buchu Jeon is a savory garlic-chive pancake often paired with makkoli (rice wine) and served with a soy dipping sauce. My unusual addition of pungent chive blossoms makes for a pretty presentation while enhancing the garlic-onion flavors of the jeon.

I’ve heard that the invitation to go enjoy buchu jeon on a rainy day is synonymous with “let’s go have a drink” for Korean adults. Hopefully this crispy-chewy pancake with petite white flowers will help brighten your stormy days…Cheers!

garlic chives, buchu jeon
Buchu Jeon Recipe

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SOUP BLISS ~ Pumpkin Apple Soup with Dried Fruit, Pine Nuts, Chile de Arbol

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Apple Soup with Dried Fruit, Pine Nuts, and Chile de Arbol

SOUP BLISS

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Apple Soup
Dried Apricot, Cherries, and Raisins
Pine Nuts, Chile de Arbol, Creme Fraiche, Chive Blossoms

Come. Come closer. Look. Look deep into my soup… Experience the hypnotic quality of curry. Let dainty chive blossoms enchant you, let the smoky hot chile de arbol ignite your passions. This is no ordinary soup. It has the power to transport …to soup nirvana.

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Apple Soup Recipe

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