Today, I recommend 10 best Korean bingsu menu. If you only knew about Pat bingsu (팥빙수), don’t miss this article. There are simple recipes and ingredients, so you can easily make Korean-style desserts at home after reading this article.
Table of Contents
What is Bingsu? 빙수
Korean bingsu is the representative summer dessert. Sweet and savory milk ice is shaved finely, topped with fruits, snacks, and ice cream, and eaten sweetly with syrup or condensed milk.
In the past, many cafes used to use rough water ice, but these days, most of them use sweet milk ice and it is made to melt smoothly when ground like snowflakes in their mouths.
Bingsu Ingredients
- Milk: You have to use milk ice rather than regular water ice to make it taste like it is sold in Korean cafes.
- Condensed milk, sugar: Ingredients to make it sweet and smooth
- Fruit toppings: Favorite fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, etc
- Syrup, ice cream, cereal: Any favorite toppings
Korean Bingsu recipe
- Mix milk, condensed milk, and water together to make milk ice. If you don’t add water, the ice will dissolve quickly when you grind it, so it’s important to add water.
- Put the hard-frozen ice in a chopper and grind it finely.
- Place your favorite fruits on top, along with your favorite snack toppings, such as cereal or Oreos.
- Put the ice cream on top.
- You can sprinkle on syrup, such as strawberry or chocolate, or condensed milk for a clean, soft taste.
How to Eat
It is divided into people who mix and people who scoop the toppings and ice together. I prefer to scoop the toppings and ice together. These days, the ice is very soft, so it can melt away while mixing.
Vegan Bingsu
In Korea, 99% of bingsu is not vegan. But you can make a vegan version with almond milk and coconut vegetable condensed milk and vegan ice cream.
10 Best Korean Bingsu Menu
Korean bingsu comes in many different varieties depending on the toppings added. Here, I’ll recommend the 10 best menu options.
Patbingsu 팥빙수
Patbingsu is the most traditional bingsu menu. Originally, it was typical to use water ice, but nowadays, most people use sweet milk ice. After finely grinding the ice, sweet red bean cans, condensed milk, and rice cakes are added on top. As an additional topping, cereal or fruit cans are also added. It is a menu that young people don’t eat a lot these days, but it is a taste of old memories and the original is a menu.
Strawberry Bingsu 딸기 빙수
It is a bingsu menu made by placing candied strawberries or raw strawberries on finely ground sweet milk ice and sprinkling strawberry syrup. Usually, vanilla ice cream is added on top. It is especially popular in spring and early summer. I recommend vanilla or strawberry ice cream to preserve the taste of strawberries. Yogurt ice cream is recommended for its refreshing taste. However, let’s avoid chocolate ice cream. It interferes with the taste of strawberries.
This is a recipe for strawberry bingsu. Even if you don’t come to Korea, I’ll teach you how to easily make the flavor at home. It also introduces healthier versions and toppings ideas.
Mango Bingsu 망고 빙수
This is also an expensive Korean bingsu that is often sold at luxury hotels. One hotel in Seoul sells it at a price of more than 100,000 won ($ 73) per bowl.
Fruits are expensive in Korea, especially mangoes. Most mango bingsu costs more than 15,000 won per bowl. Mangoes are usually placed on top of sweet shaved milk ice, drizzled with mango syrup, and topped with vanilla ice cream.
Matcha Bingsu 말차 빙수
Matcha bingsu is made by freezing sweet matcha latte and shaving it. Sweet red bean paste and matcha ice cream can be added on top. Some places add Chapssalteok (sticky rice cakes) as a topping. This bingsu menu combines the sweet and bitter tastes of matcha.
Melon Bingsu 메론 빙수
Melon bingsu is usually served in a melon bowl, making it fun to eat and watch. After scooping out the melon filling, fill the bowl with shaved milk ice and place the melon on top. For the ice cream, I recommend yogurt, which adds acidity to the sweet melon and enhances the flavor. It’s also delicious with Melona ice cream on top!
Watermelon Bingsu 수박 빙수
Like melon bingsu, watermelon bingsu can be served in a watermelon bowl. After scooping out the inside of the watermelon, half is used to make the ice and the other half is used for toppings. Freeze and shave the watermelon juice, then put it in a bowl or watermelon bowl. Then, place the watermelon on top.
The Watermelon Bingsu is one of the most famous dishes at the Josun Hotel, costing about 65,000 won (about $47 USD) per bowl. It is famous for its rich watermelon flavor, achieved by blending frozen watermelon and adding round watermelon toppings. It also has chocolate toppings that resemble watermelon seeds and look really pretty.
Chocolate Bingsu 초코 빙수
The base is made with either sweet milk ice or chocolate milk ice. Then, various chocolate cookies, such as Oreos, or cereal are added on top, followed by chocolate ice cream. You can also add chocolate syrup for a rich, sweet chocolate taste.
Injeolmi Bingsu 인절미 빙수
Injeolmi bingsu is a signature bingsu menu of the Korean bingsu dessert cafe, Sulbing 설빙. Injeolmi powder is sprinkled on the finely shaved sweet milk ice base. Injeolmi powder is made from bean powder, so the bingsu menu pairs well with sweet shaved ice for a traditional Korean flavor. Roasted almond slices and small pieces of rice cake are added on top. There is a menu with injeolmi ice cream and a menu with red bean paste, so you can choose according to your preference.
It is recommended that you eat it with the provided condensed milk because the taste of the syrup changes the taste. Since it’s difficult to find in other countries, such as those in Europe, I highly recommend trying it when you go to Korea.
Yogurt Bingsu 요거트 빙수
Yogurt bingsu uses sweet, yogurt-milk-based ice. Cafes often use yogurt powder. Various fruit toppings are added on top, usually fresh berries like strawberries and blueberries. To complete the sweet and sour taste, you have to add yogurt ice cream on top.
Cheese Bingsu 치즈 빙수
Koreans love the combination of sweet and salty flavors, called “danzzan.” This bingsu menu is the best example of this. However, real cheese is not used; cheesecake is used instead. As with other bingsu, a sweet milk ice base is used, and a New York cheesecake is cut into cubes and added on top. The cheesecake is frozen and placed on top while it is still slightly melted. Vanilla ice cream, which is not sour, is recommended for ice cream.
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