Walnuts wrapped in persimmons

Hi everybody! I’m so excited to introduce you to a Korean dessert (or snack) called gotgamssam. You need only 2 ingredients: gotgam (dried persimmons) and hodu (walnuts)! I think this is a record for the fewest requirements needed to make one of my recipes. If someone asks me what else they need, I would say  “strong fingers,” because you’re going to need to squeeze the wraps tightly to press the walnuts into the soft persimmons.

Dried persimmons are delicious by themselves, but if you feel like making a special dessert or snack for yourself or your guests without spending too much time preparing them, gotgamssam will be a perfect choice. For your guests, serve a few slices of gotgamssam with tea. They will be very impressed! And it will also be a good idea for a gift. Fill a small box with gotgamssam!

The heart-shaped dried persimmons that I use in this video are sold at a Korean grocery store. The persimmons should be semi-dried so that you can wrap walnuts in them easily. If the dried persimmons are too dry, put some honey inside of them to make them sticky. The other type of dried persimmons that I use in this video that look like flat, round discs are sold at an Asian grocery store. You can make gotgamssam with either one.

If dried persimmons are not available in your area, you can use dried apricots. It will turn out really pretty. If you use dried apricots, you should call them salgussam because apricots are salgu (살구) in Korean. : )

If you like persimmons, check out my dessert persimmon punch (“Sujeonggwa“) recipe.

Enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 dried persimmons, stalks removed (replace with dried apricots if not available)
• 6 roasted walnut halves
  

Directions:

1. Slice open the persimmons by slitting the sides. Make sure not to cut them all the way through.
2. Open them up and remove the seeds. Flatten them out and trim the edges to make rectangular strips.
3. Put them side by side with sticky part up.
4. Add 3 halved walnuts lengthwise, with the wrinkly part down.
5. Add 3 more halved walnuts to fit on the first like lids.
6. Roll up the persimmon. Cover with plastic wrap and press it together. Keep in the freezer.
7. Serve with tea and slice the wraps into ⅓ inch thick pieces.

Salgussam (Walnuts wrapped in dried apricots)

1. Make 3-4 strips of apricot. Put them side by side on your cutting board with sticky part up.
2. Add walnuts and roll them up the same way you would do for gotgamssam.