Dan means "round", and ja means injeolmi.Danja differs from injeolmi in that steamed glutinous rice flour, not steamed rice, is pounded. Danja is also smaller thaninjeolmi and tends to be globular rather than angulate. Another similar rice cake, gyeongdan, shares the letter dan. Gyeongdan, unlike danja, is usually boiled before it is coated. Typical coatings also differ. Japanese dango, which also shares the letter dan, can be either boiled or steamed, and is not necessarily coated.
Danja is made by steaming glutinous rice flour in a siru, pounding the steamed tteok, shaping it into chestnut-sized balls with various coatings that are sweetened with honey, and coating the balls with honey followed by powdered or shredded ingredients. Common fillings are finely choppedgyulbyeong, cooked and sieved chestnuts mixed with cinnamon powder and honey, and geopipat-so mixed with cinnamon powder and honey. Common coatings are cooked with sieved chestnuts, shredded jujubes, chopped pine nuts, cinnamon powder, and toasted sesame seeds. Common varieties include:
bam-danja is filled with a mixture of steamed and sieved chestnuts and finely chopped gyulbyeong, and coated with honey followed by steamed and sieved chestnuts.
daechu-danja is made from glutinous rice flour steamed with shredded jujubes and coated with honey followed by shredded jujubes and shredded chestnuts.
eunhaeng-danja is made from glutinous rice flour steamed with ginkgo powder, and coated with honey followed by chopped pinenuts.
geonsi-danja is made by wrapping a mixture of powdered chestnuts, cinnamon powder, and honey with thinly sliced gotgam preserved in honey, and coating it with chopped pine nuts.
pat-danja is filled with red bean paste sweetened with honey, and coated with honey followed by steamed and powdered red beans.
seogi-danja is made from glutinous rice flour steamed with soaked and minced rock tripe mixed with honey, and coated with honey followed by chopped pine nuts.
seunggeomcho-danja is made from glutinous rice flour steamed with angelica powder, filled with red bean paste and coated with honey followed by steamed and powdered red beans.
ssuk-danja is made from steamed glutinous rice flour pounded with minced mugwort, filled with honey and chestnuts or yuja-cheong with jujubes, and coated with honey followed by steamed and powdered geopipat.
yuja-danja is made from glutinous rice flour steamed with yujazest, filled with sieved chestnuts and covered with honey followed by steamed and powdered geopipat.
