The Korean Sweetest Treat: Patbingsu (팥빙수)

10 Magazine Staff·
Food & Drink
··2 min read

Words by the Chef Ciaran Hickey

The crazy summer heat makes people do odd things and take desperate measures. In the old days before the luxury of freezers, people simply shaved blocks of ice and flavored it with whatever they had handy. Korea’s take on this shaved ice is known as Patbingsu.

What Is Patbingsu Shaved Ice Cream

The distinctive feature of the Korean version of shaved ice is the red azuki beans (pat – 팥), sweetened and served on top of the ice (Bingsu – 빙수). Back in the day, this summer delight would have consisted of just the ice and beans, but it has evolved into a much more complex dessert with a variety of versions including green tea.

For toppings, ice cream or frozen yogurt is added to the ice and beans along with rice cake (Tteok – 떡), chopped up fruit, fruit syrup, and condensed milk placed on top.

It took me a while to warm up to Patbingsu as we generally eat beans on toast where I come from, but the professional in me won out in the end. I had seen groups of teenagers sharing what looked like a bowl of fruit salad mixed with ice, and once I tried it, it was wonderful and reminded me of that other great sloppy dessert, England’s Eton mess. With both, you just pile ingredients into a bowl, mix and eat: easy!

Where To Eat Patbingsu In Seoul

  1. Sulbing – A famous dessert place with various locations around Seoul
  2. Damjangyeope Gukhwaccot – Annyeong Insadong Shopping Mall
  3. PanHonesta – Seoul, Yongsan District, 이태원제1동 180-16 1층,2층 or in 18 Nonhyeon-ro 64-gil, 역삼2동 Gangnam District, Seoul
  4. Snowing Forest Cafe – 54 Eoulmadang-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul
  5. Samcheong Bingsu – 84-1 Samcheong-ro, Jongno District, Seoul
  6. Tokyo Bingsu – 9 Poeun-ro 8-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul

How To Make Your Own Patbingsu

Ingredients
2 cups ice
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon condensed milk
1/2 cup fruit of choice, diced
1/4 cup canned azuki bean (sold in cans specifically for Patbingsu)
rice cakes (sold specifically for Patbingsu)
corn flakes

See also


Directions
1. Mix the milk and condensed milk. (Set aside)
2. Shave the ice (I used an electric ice shaving machine, but a hand crank or blender works too)
3. Pour the milk mixture over the ice.
4. Arrange fruit and beans on top of ice.
5. Garnish with rice cakes and corn flakes.
Optional: Top with a scoop of ice cream.

Recipe by Shirley Hwang

10 Magazine Tip: Use a bowl larger than the amount of shaved ice for easy mixing.