When I first came to Korea, I was sad that I could no longer find things like popcorn and rice cakes. And by rice cakes I mean the puffed rice kind by Quaker, not Korean rice cake or duk. Little did I realize that actually Korea DOES have rice cakes. I just wasn’t looking in the right place.

They actually have an even bigger selection of puffed rice products- like these colourful balls I bought. You just don’t usually find them in a store.

Instead- you find your handy neighbourhood adjosshi (older Korean man) sitting outside his truck filled with bags of puffed rice creations. It’s pretty cool too- because if you stick around, you can hear the bangs! and pops! as more rice is puffed.

For this recipe, which is more of a fun party treat, and not particularly healthy, I chose the colourful rice puffs. But they also have regular, natural coloured ones as well. At least its healthy in that I used coconut oil rather than hydrogenated fats and regular sugar instead of corn syrup. But just putting it out there that this is a treat.

New Year’s Party Puffs

Ingredients

10 cups Puffed Rice (or popcorn)
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup sugar

Method

1. In the microwave, melt coconut oil and sugar on high for 5-10 minutes. Stir once. It’s done when the sugar turns caramel. (Alternatively this could be done on a stove top)

2. In sections, drizzle the caramel syrup over the puffed rice, stirring to distribute. The caramel hardens pretty quickly so try to be fast

That’s it! Quick and easy!

What are your quick New Year’s party recipes?