“This is a popular old-school Korean snack, which I think deserves more recognition – strangely, it is not well known outside of Korea,” says Su Scott, author of Rice Table.

“This could be partly to do with the fact that, more often than not, most recipes call for ‘wet’ rice flour: freshly milled rice flour made from pre-soaked rice.

“In traditional baking, wet rice flour was preferred because of its excellence in retaining moisture, resulting in more moist and chewier rice cakes that keep well. Nowadays, more recipes are being developed using dry flour for the convenience of home baking.”

Sweet rice doughnuts

Ingredients:(Makes about 20 golf-ball-sized pieces)

250g glutinous rice flour50g plain flour½tsp baking powder½tsp bicarbonate of soda40g golden caster sugar½tsp fine sea salt30g unsalted butter, melted80ml warm full-fat milk150ml hot water, about 80°CVegetable oil, for deep frying

For the cinnamon sugar:2tbsp golden caster sugar½tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

1. Sift both flours, the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and salt.

2. In a pourable and heatproof jug, combine the melted butter and warm milk. Stir this into the flour mix, using a wooden spoon or chopsticks. Gradually pour in the hot water and continue to mix until it resembles rough crumbs. Do this in a few stages as your flour may not need as much water, or might need a touch more, than stated here.

3. When the dough is cool enough to handle, start bringing the ingredients together by gently kneading until the dough feels supple and the surface is smooth.

4. Place the dough in a reusable plastic bag or wrap in clingfilm. Rest in the fridge for at least one hour or overnight.

5. After the dough has rested, divide it into four equal-sized portions, so you have a more manageable volume to work with. Work one piece at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered. Shape the dough roughly into a log, then divide it into five small golf-ball-sized pieces. The texture of the dough may feel unusual and a little crumbly. Don’t worry if this happens – just squeeze the dough firmly to shape.

6. Combine the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl or a rimmed roasting pan. Have another plate or dish ready lined with some kitchen paper.

7. Fill a saucepan suitable for deep-frying with vegetable oil. It should be filled deep enough to submerge the dough balls but no more than three-quarters full. Heat to 160°C. If you don’t have a thermometer, a cube of bread should brown in 12 seconds. When it reaches 160°C, turn off the heat and carefully lower a few of the dough balls into the pan, making sure you don’t overcrowd the pan. Keep the heat off for two minutes. After two minutes, the dough will start to move and float a little.

8. Turn the heat back on and maintain the temperate at 160°C. Fry the dough balls for five minutes, making sure to gently push them down with a heatproof sieve or wire skimmer, as they will continuously float up. After five minutes, the doughnuts should appear golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to the plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Continue with the remaining dough balls.

9. When all the batches are cooked, roll them in the cinnamon sugar while hot and serve immediately.

Rice Table by Su Scott is published by Quadrille on March 30, priced £27. Photography by Toby Scott.