In Korean, bingsu literally translates as red beans shaved ice. It’s a popular sweet in Korea where you will find a myriad of versions. I was inspired to make one using black plums and fresh apple. An ice shaver might be easier to use but a small food processor did the job.
For the milk ice, combine 4 cups of full-cream milk with ¾ of a cup of sweetened condensed milk. Mix well before pouring into ice block trays and freezing. This part should be done at least a day before making the dessert. You will need some sweetened red adzuki beans (I cheated and bought them in a can) and some sweet rice cakes (I found some with red bean filling). Whichever plums you choose, wash 6-8 of them, remove the stones and chop them into eighths. Place them in a saucepan with ¼ of a cup of sugar. Cook over low heat until the fruit is quite soft and the liquid is syrupy. Turn off the heat and stir in a pinch of salt. Allow to cool then refrigerate. Before serving, place your serving bowls in the freezer, cut the rice cakes into pieces and julienne a sweet fresh apple into a bowl of water (to prevent browning). When you’re ready to assemble, place some sweet red beans in the bottom of the bowls. To shave the ice, try just a few ice blocks in your food processor or blender at a time. Put the shaved ice on the red beans, top with some plum compote, pieces of rice cake and some of the apple. I garnished my bingsu with pretzel sticks coated in white chocolate and almonds.
michelle picker cooks 