Gotgam-danji (Stuffed persimmons) 곶감단지

Cut each cooked chestnut in half and use a small spoon scrape out the flesh into a mortar. Pound it with a pestle until there are no hard lumps. Put the pounded flesh it to a coarse strainer over a bowl. Use a spoon to push the flesh through the strainer into chestnut crumbs. Discard any brownish stuff. Measure 1 cup of the crumbs and put it into a bowl. Set aside.

Blanch the walnuts for 1 minute in boiling water. Then rinse them in cold running water to remove any dust left in the gaps. Dry them well with paper towels or kitchen towel. Put them on a microwave-safe plate in a thin, even layer, and then microwave on high heat for 3 minutes. You can also toast them on a pan for 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon as needed, until light golden brown and crunchy. Heat the rice syrup in a pan over medium heat until the surface is full of bubbles. Add the walnuts and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture turns thick. Ensure that you do not overheat the mixture. If the temperature becomes too high, it might start producing smoke. In such a case, promptly reduce the heat or raise the pan to prevent burning. Spread the hot mixture onto a piece of parchment paper on a large cutting board or working space. Let it cool down about 10 minutes until it becomes solid like candy. Break it up into small pieces by hand and put it into a mortar. Pound with pestle into small bits. Add this to the chestnut crumbs in the bowl.

Hold a jujube in one hand and your knife vertically in the other. Push it into the jujube until you can feel it touching the seed. Turn the jujube as you work your knife around the seed, to separate it from the jujube fruit. Repeat it with the rest of the jujubes. Discard the seeds and cut the jujubes into small pieces. Add to the bowl of chestnut crumbs and walnuts. Add pine nuts, salt, and yuja-cheong to the bowl. Mix it well with a spoon and then by hand.

Gently remove the stem from the persimmon. Put your thumb or index finger into the hole where the stem was and fill out the shape of the persimmon by pressing and turning it. If you feel and touch seeds, gently remove them through the hole. Keep shaping the persimmon into the shape of a small jar (in Korean: danji). Repeat with the rest of the persimmons.

Take some of the filling in your hand, squeeze it a little bit to make it firm, and then press it into one of the empty persimmon. Add more to the persimmon and fill it out until it looks like a little plump jar. Repeat with the rest of persimmon jars and the filling.

Place some gold leaf on top of the gotgam-danji (if used). Cut it into quarters with a sharp knife. Freezing the gotgam-danji for a couple of hours before serving will help you get a nice, clean cut. Freeze any leftovers. Thaw them out for 5 minutes at room temperature before serving.