[Food]

[Food] Ppeongtwigi (Puffed grain, 뻥튀기)

Ppeongtwigi (Puffed grain, 뻥튀기) is a very typical Korean snack made of grains (usually rice and corn). The origin of ppeongtwigi goes back to the early 20th century in North America. Dr. Alexander Anderson invented a machine that puffs cereal, and it was imported to Japan. Then this cereal puffing machine came to the Korean peninsula when Japan colonized Korea. This is how Ppeongtwigi became a typical snack in Korea.

The machine puffs any ingredient (grain, rice cake and even dried fish) at an extremely high pressure and heats it into a bigger and wider size. Ppeongtwigi is used in weight loss diets because it can expand a small amount of any grain into a bigger amount, but it actually has high carbohydrate content so it will 'puff' your body bigger if eaten too much.

Ppeongtwigi machine which looks like a canon

It was a very popular snack for children from 1960~1970 found in any street or town in Korea but its glory quickly faded due to the invention of better and tastier snacks. Today you can usually find a ppeongtwigi machine at a traditional Korean market.

Nevertheless, many people still like to eat ppeongtwigi as a snack so you can easily find a ppeongtwigi seller or shop near a major supermarket and mart.

It tastes a little sweet, crispy, crunchy and light :) It melts in your mouth very quickly if you take a bite. People also make ppeongtwigi into many shapes such as huge macaroni, cylinder, walking stick, drill, etc. Today they are often coated with sugar or any other sweet flavor (chocolate, caramel etc), like popcorn. 

Ppeongtwigi specialty store in Gangneung, Korea

Caramel-coated corn ppeongtwigi

Cheese, chocolate, caramel-coated corn ppeongtwigi from the left

Moreover, ppeongtwigi topped with ice cream has been very popular among young people for a few years so it is highly recommended one eats ppeongtwigi with vanilla ice cream :) You can taste the cool sweetness among crispy ppeongtwigi.

Vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate coated ppeongtwigi

Bon Appétit!