Glutinous Rice

Glutinous rice (chapssal) has been cultivated in Korea since at least the Three Kingdoms period and holds a special place distinct from regular short-grain rice. The Donguibogam classifies it as warm in nature and sweet in flavor, noting it tonifies the spleen and stomach and generates vital fluids. In Korean culture, glutinous rice is the grain of celebration — it forms the base of tteok (rice cakes) served at weddings, New Year, birthdays, and ancestral rites. The act of pounding glutinous rice into tteok is itself a communal ritual, with families and neighbors gathering to rhythmically pound the steamed rice with large wooden mallets.