SuJeongGwa (수정과) is a Korean traditional beverage made with mainly cinnamon sticks, ginger, and sugar. Koreans usually drink this beverage as a dessert. Koreans drink it a lot during the holidays. When you look at the ingredients, it has some healthy qualities. It tastes good both hot or cold, but I prefer it cold with ice cubes. Once you make it, you can keep it in the refrigerator quite a long time. If you invite some people over for a Korean meal, this can be a good beverage for your meal. 😉
Yield: 9 Cups
Short Korean Lesson
- GyePi (계피) = Cinnamon
- SaengGang (생강) = Ginger
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 10 Cups Water
- About 12 Cinnamon Sticks (1¾ oz.)
- About ⅓ Cup Ginger (1¾ oz.)
- ½ Cup Sugar
- ½ Cup Dark Brown Sugar
- Some Dried Persimmons
- Some Pine Nuts (to Garnish)
Directions
Wash about 12 cinnamon sticks.
Slice about ⅓ cup of ginger.
In a pan, add 5 cups of water and the cinnamon sticks. Boil the cinnamon sticks and ginger separately on medium-high. If you do not want a strong cinnamon or ginger flavor, you can cut the amount, but just make sure it is a 1:1 ratio. The reason I boil the ginger and cinnamon sticks separately is to help keep the flavors from combining in the final product.
In another pan, add 5 cups of water and the ginger. Once they start to boil, reduce the temperature to medium-low, and boil for about 30 minutes. Keep them covered.
Drain the cinnamon sticks and ginger and get rid of the small pieces to make the tea clear. If you have a coffee filter, use it.
Add ½ cup of sugar and ½ cup of dark brown sugar to the tea. Boil for 5 more minutes, so the sugar dissolves.
Substitute white sugar for the brown sugar if you want a different color. I used both white sugar and brown sugar, to get a darker color, better taste, and to make it little healthier. It’s your choice. 😉
Remove the stems of the dried persimmons. If you don’t have them, you can skip them.
Remove the tops of the pine nuts.
You can drink it hot or cold. If you want it cold, keep it in the refrigerator before serving. Put 1 dried persimmon in SuJeongGwa for at least one hour before you drink it. That is so the persimmon will become soft. Drop some pine nuts on top when you serve it. If you want a cold drink, you can add some ice cubes also. Enjoy this Korean dessert drink. 😉
Opsss unni i tried before… although its healthy.. but honestly, i don’t really enjoy it….. but sometimes its fun to drink and sometimes its bitter for me.. T____T sorry! And i just know need a lot of work to prepare ! THANKS UNNI!!
Hi, ChuiYew
Why sorry ?? hehe.. you know what ?? I don’t like drinking it either. Since I know there are people who like and love it, I posted it… Your comment was cute !! Aha, my husband likes it. hehe
I enjoyed this beverage before while in Korea and have bought it here at one of the local Asian mini-malls. It comes in a small yellow can and is called “Paldo SooJeongGwa”. Now I can make massive quantities and won’t have to limit myself. d(-_^)
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Hi, John ^^
Nice to meet you !!
wow, you were in Korea before? great !!
haha.. “paldo soojeongwa” I’m familiar with the brand name. Yep, homemade one will be even better than one from store. Try it someday. Thank you !!!
oh,i tried this before. the aroma of the spices can be to strong for some. my husband likes it too. it’s very refreshing after having it at the end of the meal.
Hi, layping
Yes, it’s strong to me also. haha.. your husband likes it.. Yep, you are right, it refresh your mouth after having meal. 😉 Thanks !!!
Hi Aeri, I love your recipes and presentations, I had tried some of ur recipes and it’s fair to say they’re very tasty in terms of seasoning and such.
And oh for this drink can I use cinnamon in powdered form instead?
Love, ;p
Hi, Maye
I researched some to answer your question. Some people tried powder instead of stick.. the person said… it’s not that bad to use.. just It will have less strong flavor (thick.. heavy ?? sorry for my poor english..) than using stick.. so I guess you can use it.. just adjust the amount of the powder… thanks =P
Dear Aeri,
i am so sorry for sending this sooo late after u posted up this one..
( i tried this, not bad.. but it is not what i was looking for.)
i just wonder if u know the one beverage which uses ginseng and it is really sweet and clear yellowish colour? and there was some reddish orangey small seed in it. ( i think it is a kind of herb ?)
and i heard it is designed for older generations..
i just wonder if u happen to know about it, cause i was searching for it like mad since i tasted it in a korean restaurant in Malaysia. ( yes, i am a malaysian =] )
i am so sorry for the unconvinience caused.
and thanks.. =]=]
Cy
Hi, Cy
Oh~~ don’t feel sorry.. I’m very appreciate on your message. I don’t like this drink as I mentioned…haha.. not the recipe..I just don’t like the taste for this. sorry..but be honest, I can’t guess what you exactly are talking about… there are several traditional drinks in Korea… I really want to know what you meant..
Oh.. you are a Malaysian.. I met another Malaysian today..hehe 🙂
Oh dear… i guessed i just take a picture and ask the name of the drink then.. hehe.
thanks anyway! ^^
Hi, Cy
Yes~~ that’s a good idea.. hehe 🙂
You are welcome ~~~ come back !!!!
do you know another kind of drink?
i went to a korean restaurant and they gave me a particular drink. It was cold. It was grayish/brownish. It had rice on the bottom. It was really sweet and tasty. Do you know how to make it and what is it called?
Hi Pak,
I know what you are talking about.. we call it “sik hae” .. I will post it someday. thanks 🙂
I tried this & my mother-in-law complimented me because i was able to get the right taste. AT PAK- the beverage you are asking to Ms. Aeri is called 식혜 sik hyae. i don’t know how to cook it though but the aunt of my husband cooks it very well.
i eventually found it on Maangchi website, thank you anyways.
Hi Pak,
Sorry for late reply… I’m happy that you found it on Maangchi’s website. I’m sure that her recipe will be very delicious. Anyway, I will post my recipe for you someday too..hehe Have a great weekend.
Hi LADY KIM,
^^ I’m happy your mother in law liked it…hehe assa !!! thanks !!!
aeri,
can you do shik he too? the one where there’s rice at the bottom.
thank u!
hi Jina,
I will add your request in my list ..thanks
안녕하세요, 언니 ^^
i tried this one. and i am so happy ^^ it is nice 🙂 i can make 수정과 now~ yeay!! ^^
감사합니다… ^^
hi Elisabeth,
hehe..you tried it.. great !!
고마워요. 🙂
hi Andrew Stolpe,
Did you enjoy your drink ?? I hope you did.. thanks 😀
this looks delicious. Out of curiousity, do you happen to have the recipe for sikhye? i’ve had that at a couple of times in restraurants and i’m interested in learning how to make it. Thanks!
Hi touchthesky18,
Oh, sikhye ~~ I will add it to my list. Thanks 😀
I just finished making this and boy does it taste good! I’m glad I have a new drink healthy drink to enjoy. The kitchen smelled so good while I was making it. Even my sister got intrigued. I’m bringing some to work tomorrow. I can’t wait for my friends to taste this. Thanks very much! (I made some adjustments though, used 1 cup of ginger because the 1/3 cup was a lacking. I think it’s bcoz of the type of ginger I used). I wish I could get a hold of persimmon so I’d know how the tea would taste with it.
hi Cristina Pascual,
^^ thanks…. I’m happy for you.
If you have a korean grocery store.. try to find it in frozen section.. the persimmon gives good flavor and texture to the tea.. thanks
Hi! I don’t have any pine nuts or dried persimmons, do you think it will affect the taste too much?
hi Ashleigh,
yes.. they give it extra flavor..but it is okay if you skip them..so try them without pine nuts and persimmons.. it will still taste good.
I am an aodpted Korean, and for years tried to figure out how to make korean dishes. I happened to run across your youtube videos. Thank You! you have helped me taste and remember food that I had when I was younger. I still have a list of your recipes that I need to try, and can’t wait. Your website is the only site I go to for Korean recipes.
hi Lauren,
Nice to meet you. 🙂 It’s great that you can cook Korean food by yourself.. thanks Hope to see you often.
Hi Aeri,
You make me fallingin love with korean food. Just last week I had korean meal, and the restaurant offer “korean peah punch” and I’m loving it. I just wondering if it is possible for you to post the recipe, because I haven’t been able to find the recipe in the internet and youtube.
thanks for posting these yummy recipe
hi lucia,
Sorry but.. what is korean peach punch ? ^^:; You mean.. peach tea ?? thanks
might be….hehehe…because the menu said it’s korean peach punch
Hi aeri,
I went to the restaurant again today. It’s actually korean plum juice, I’m sorry for confusing you. Can you please post the recipe one day. thank you
hi lucia,
My guessing is.. they used this kind of thing..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maesiltea.jpg
already made tea..just mix it with water and serve.. You can buy them in a Korean grocery store.. ^^
You can make that tea at home..but I can’t get right kind of plum around here for it. thanks
Hi aeri,
thank you for your answer. I’ll try buy the tea in the korean grocery store
Thank you for this recipe. Had a can of SuJeongGwa for lunch one day and I was intrigued, it was a mellow sweet drink with cinnamon scent. I tried the recipe and this version has a slight bitterness missing in the canned drink. Not a bad thing, it just takes a bit of getting used to. It definitely taste better the next day and I enjoy it better cold because the sweetness comes through more strongly.
I gave a cup to a Srilankan colleague who eats cinnamon stick for snack sometimes and he mentioned that the slightly bitter aftertaste came from the cinnamon, I assumed the canned variety used cinnamon flavoring to eliminate the bitterness. He also recommended leaving the cinnamon stick to steep overnight for a stronger cinnamon flavor (did I mention he eat cinnamon sticks for snacks?), I might try that next.
I couldn’t get my hands on dried persimmons or pine nuts in the weekend. So, definitely will be making this drink again. Thank you!
Tried. Like it a lot…thanks for the recipes.
안녕하세요 Aeris unni,
I was wondering how long this drink will keep if stored in the fridge?
감사합니다 🙂
hi Dan,
You can keep it in the refrigerator for few weeks.
It tastes good to me. 😛
This is delicious warming tea with great flavour.
I have just starting my adventure with Korean cuisine and I hope it will take as long as possible.
Thank you for recipe.
Greetings from Poland!
hi Claudia,
Nice to meet you. I’m glad to hear that you are interested in Korean cuisine. 🙂 Hope to see you more often on my blog. thanks
Oh my gosh I have wanted to know how to make this for the longest time! Thanks for making such a clear recipe and instructions on how to make this!
hi Joon Lee,
You are welcome. Hope you like this recipe. thanks
Hi Aeri, I liked this tea a lot! I could feel my body warmed up after I drank this tea. I will try date & ginger cha when I get dried dates. I know that there are various kinds of healthy drinks in Korea. It would be great if you could share more of those recipes. Again, thank you so much for great recipes and video instructions! You are AWESOME!
hi Sophia L,
It seems like you are interested in healthy eating..that’s great. Yes. I will think of more healthy tea recipes for you. Thanks 🙂
If I use honey instead of sugar, would it alter the taste of the tea entirely?
Hi zee,
You can use honey ~~ it will be still delicious. 🙂