Danja (food)
steamed rice cake balls
Danja (Korean: 단자; Hanja: 團餈) is a variety of steamed tteok (rice cake) made with glutinous rice flour, sweet fillings, and sweet coatings.
Etymology and related rice cakes
Dan (단; 團) means "round", and ja (자; 餈) means injeolmi (steamed and pounded tteok).Danja differs from injeolmi in that steamed glutinous rice flour, not steamed rice, is pounded. Danja is also smaller than injeolmi and tends to be globular rather than angulate.
Another similar rice cake, gyeongdan, shares the letter dan (단; 團). Gyeongdan, unlike danja, is usually boiled before it is coated. Typical coatings also differ. Japanese dango, which also shares the letter dan, can be either boiled or steamed, and is not necessarily coated.
Preparation and varieties
Danja is made by steaming glutinous rice flour in a siru (steamer), pounding the steamed tteok, shaping it into chestnut-sized balls with various coatings that are sweetened with honey, and coating the balls with honey followed by powdered or shredded ingredients. Common fillings are finely chopped gyulbyeong (Mandarin orange boiled in honey), cooked and sieved chestnuts mixed with cinnamon powder and honey, and geopipat-so (white, dehulled red bean paste) mixed with cinnamon powder and honey. Common coatings are cooked with sieved chestnuts, shredded jujubes, chopped pine nuts, cinnamon powder, and toasted sesame seeds.
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