Gang Jeong but not traditional

Take a different route from granola bars and rice crispy treats

I was browsing through a Korean supermarket and came across this big bag of Korean rice puffs wondering...a load of rice puffs reminds me...of snack bars like granola bars?

Did some research and read about a Korean snack 'Gang Jeong' which are Korean sweet rice puff candies.

Then decided to put my own twist on them (please don't come chasing down on me!) by using what I already had in my kitchen.

Korean sweet rice puffs

This bag of rice puffs weighed 260g which is quite a big bag of puffs in my opinion! I bought this at a Korean supermarket. Perhaps these can be found in your local asian supermarket.

Fillings

I chose 4 filling ingredients: chopped apricots, sliced almonds, chopped coconut flakes and cacao nibs.

All dry ingredients mixed in a bowl of Korean rice puffs

Liquids

Using a golden syrup works best because it is sticky enough to hold the ingredients together.

NOTE: do not use honey to substitute the syrup as the honey would not be sticky enough! It's more watery when melted compared to syrup.

I also added a teaspoon of Korean citron tea syrup from 'K-eats' to give a hint of citrus flavour.

Simmer the syrup + citron tea mixture then add in the dry ingredients and coat them with the liquids.

Pour into a baking dish lined with parchment paper, spread evenly until it touches the edges, flatten the top and leave to cool for 30 minutes.

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This makes 9 bars

Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups Korean rice puffs

2 tbsp almonds (15 almonds)

4 dried apricots

2 tbsp coconut flakes

2 tbsp cacao nibs

3 tbsp Lyle's golden syrup

1/2 tsp Korean citron tea syrup

Method:

1. Chop up dried apricots, coconut flakes into smaller pieces and slice almonds. Mix the dried apricots, coconut flakes, almonds, cacao nibs and Korean rice puffs in a bowl.

2. Mix the Lyle's golden syrup with the Korean citron tea syrup. Pour this mixture into a pan and heat the pan on low heat.

3. Once the small bubbles appear on the syrup mixture, fold and coat the dried ingredients (dried apricots, coconut flakes, almonds, cacao nibs and Korean rice puffs).

4. Pour the coated dried ingredients into a baking dish that is lined with parchment paper. Leave to cool for 30 minutes.

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