Honey cookies

Makes APPROX. 32 Cakes, Bread and Pastries

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Method

The day before, sift both flours, the ground ginger and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and black pepper. Gradually stir in both the oils using a wooden spoon or chopsticks. Rub the mixture by hand to evenly blend the oils into the flour mixture until you end up with sandy crumbs.

Add the honey and saké to the mix and start bringing the dough together by gently folding the mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, scraping any dry bits to mix in with the wet. The aim is to create a dough by folding and pushing the mixture, rather than kneading. Don’t worry if the dough feels dry (you can add a touch of water if you find it difficult). Transfer to a plastic bag and rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Meanwhile, to make the soaking syrup, put the jocheong, 100ml water, the ginger and cinnamon in a small pan, put over a medium heat and whisk gently to combine. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, then lower the heat and simmer for 6-8 minutes until it reaches a syrupy consistency that coats the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat, add a pinch of sea salt and leave to cool.

Transfer the dough to a sturdy worksurface and start rolling out into a sheet approx. 1cm thick, measuring approx. 10x20cm. Smooth out the edges with a scraper. Cut the sheet in half and stack them together, then roll out to the same size again. Repeat the cutting in half and rolling twice more to build layers within the dough, ending up with a sheet with the above measurements.

Using a sharp knife or a small cookie cutter, cut the rolled-out dough into 2.5cm squares. Make a few holes in the middle of each cookie with a fork or metal skewer. Prepare a cooling rack set over a roasting tray.

Fill a large, heavy-based pan with enough vegetable oil to submerge the cookies but to come no more than three- quarters of the way up the pan. Heat to 110-120C and fry the cookies in small batches for 5 minutes until they turn light golden. You should notice the layers forming as the cookies fry at a low temperature. Lift out with a slotted spoon and transfer to the cooling rack.

Increase the temperature of the oil to 150C. Carefully lower a few of the fried cookies into the oil and fry for 6 minutes or until deep woody-brown. Transfer to the rack; continue with the rest of the cookies.

Transfer the warm cookies to a heatproof container and pour the cooled syrup over. Cover and leave to soak at room temperature overnight, turning, if necessary, to ensure an even soak.

The next day, transfer to a rack set over a roasting tray (discard any leftover syrup) to drain for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours, until the surface is dry to the touch, and serve.