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    Home / Dessert / Songpyeon

    Songpyeon

    Half-moon rice cakes filled with sweet sesame, steamed over pine needles for Chuseok — Korea’s harvest moon treat.

    ⏱ 1 hrPrep time
    🔥 25 minCook time
    🍽 6Servings
    🏷 DessertCategory
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    Songpyeon (half-moon rice cakes) with sweet sesame filling

    Songpyeon are the half-moon rice cakes that Koreans make for Chuseok, the harvest moon festival, when families gather to shape them by hand. The name comes from the pine needles they are steamed on, which lend a subtle evergreen fragrance. Legend says the half-moon shape honors the moon of the harvest, and the first rice cake you fold is said to predict the year ahead. Making them with family is half the joy, and eating them is the other half.

    Chewy rice pillows with a sweet surprise inside

    The cakes are soft and chewy, made from sweet rice dough wrapped around a filling of toasted sesame and honey, and the pine needles perfume them with a gentle woodsy note. They are slightly sweet, nutty, and wonderfully tender. Brush them with sesame oil as soon as they come off the steamer to keep them glossy. They are the taste of autumn in Korea, best shared the day they are made, warm from the steamer with tea.

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    Step by stepInstructions

    1. Grind the sesame seeds with the brown sugar in a small food processor, then stir in the honey to make the filling.
    2. Mix the sweet rice flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl, then add the hot water and knead into a smooth, soft dough.
    3. Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes.
    4. Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into 1 1/2-inch balls. Flatten each into a small disc.
    5. Place a half-teaspoon of filling in the center of each disc and fold it into a half-moon, pinching the edges to seal.
    6. Line a steamer basket with the pine needles and arrange the rice cakes on top, spaced apart.
    7. Steam over boiling water for 18 to 20 minutes. Brush with the sesame oil while still warm and serve.

    💡 Chef tips & storage

    Keep the dough covered while you shape the cakes so it does not dry out. Seal the edges completely, or the filling will leak during steaming.

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    Recipe details

    Prep1 hr
    Cook25 min
    Servings6
    CategoryDessert
    PublishedAugust 17, 2026
    Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes

    Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

    Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →

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