Slushie Shik-hye

When it comes to Korean food, the most common response that I get from people is rice. Just a good, plain old bowl of rice. It's white, fluffy, tastes delicious with side dishes, and is commonly consumed at least two to three times a day. And, it seems as if that's all you do with rice. Or, is it?

Eating and chewing would be the first thought that comes to mind for rice. But, there is another way to "eat" rice. Ya drink it! And no! I'm not crazy. 

In Korean cuisine, there is a beverage where you can drink rice called shik-hye. It's a traditional beverage that is quite sweet and usually considered a form of dessert. 

Shik-hye is made from rice and malt water. The ingredients must be kept warm so that the malt water seeps into the rice. When the rice starts to float around in the malt water, simply add some sugar, boil, cool, and serve. 

Everyone enjoys drinking this, especially the older generations, at parties, gatherings, and dinners. But, there is also an unlikely place where drinking shik-hye is common. It's at the sauna, or jjim-jil-bang. And as odd of a combination as it seems, drinking a glass of shik-hye at the sauna is absolutely fantastic way to cool down, relax, and unwind from your stress. Think about it. You literally sweat everything out at the sauna and then you replenish yourself with a nice, cool and sweet cup of shik-hye. This is my routine at the sauna: sweat, drink, and eat. (I don’t do this often.)

But, the picture of the chik-hye that I drank not too long ago is a fushion shik-hye. As in, it is a modern take on the traditional drink. This is a slushie shik-hye. It’s the same thing, but is slushie form. And I don’t think I had this much fun drinking something in a long time. It is a brilliant idea of introducing a traditional beverage to a modern group of youngsters.

I got this slushie shik-hye at Awoolim in the Koreatown Plaza foodcourt (size small). It is $2 for a small and $2.50 for a medium and these prices are not including tax. So, go out a try these drinks. So far, I haven’t found another place that sells these. I guess it’s time for an adventure! Enjoy!