persimmon punch

my version of the korean drink sujonggwa, a traditional persimmon punch. it is made with dried persimmons, ginger, and cinnamon. it is served cold, although i imagine this would be lovely to sip warm on a wintery day.

i sliced a thumbsized knob of ginger finely (a small thumb, please), added 2 cups of water and a couple of tablespoonfuls of sugar. i brought it to a boil, then let it cool to room temperature. i stuffed several pine nuts into the center of a semi-dried persimmon, put it into a container with one cinnamon stick, poured the ginger liquid over the persimmon and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. just before serving i strained out the ginger, threw in a couple more pine nuts, and there you have it--a slightly spicy, slightly fruity refreshing drink to cool you on a hot day. (and a gingery persimmon to munch on too)

update: last friday, jmom and i simultaneously, coincidentally, both did posts on green mangoes; today, julie from delicious biting also did a post on sujonggwa! *whew* i spelled it correctly :-) blogergy in action