K-Style Cafe Watermelon Juice (Extra Cold and Refreshing)

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Icy cold watermelon juice is one of the most popular summer drinks in Korea. This refreshing drink, made with frozen watermelon, water, and sugar, will cool you down in seconds during hot weather!

If you’ve been melting in this summer heat, ditch the fan and grab yourself a juicy watermelon, haha! Seriously though, watermelon juice (수박주스 – subak juice) is a huge hit as a summer drink in Korea. When the monsoon season hits and it gets super hot and humid, Koreans have all sorts of cool and refreshing drinks and food like iced lattes, bingsu, mul and bibim naengmyun (cold noodles with ice) and loads more.

In Korea, you’ll find watermelon juice (kinda like a slushie) at lots of cafes. And let me tell you, they’re as cold as ice! I always wondered how they made it so frosty until I watched some baristas in action. Turns out, some cafes use frozen watermelon, throw in some water and sweetener, while others blend refrigerated watermelon with ice.

So, I gave both a shot, and no doubt about it, using frozen watermelon gives you the absolute coldest drink!

Ingredients

• frozen watermelon –  if possible, use seedless watermelon. However, if seedless watermelon isn’t available, make sure to remove as many seeds as possible when cutting the watermelon into chunks before freezing.
• water – depending on the strength of your blender, you may need to add a little more water. If the blender isn’t completely blending the watermelon, add one tablespoon of water at a time until you achieve a slushy consistency. The slush will quickly melt and transform into a juice consistency.
• sugar – in Korean cafes, sugar syrup is commonly used. However, for the convenience of this recipe, I usually add granulated sugar and blend it together with the watermelon. You can adjust the amount of sugar based on your desired level of sweetness.

Note: you can substitute sugar with stevia, but it’s best to avoid sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, or any other sweeteners with distinct flavors, as they can alter the natural watermelon taste.

• ice cubes – using ice cubes is essential to achieve an icy cold drink. Opt for regular-sized ice cubes instead of trendy tiny ones, as the larger ones melt more slowly, keeping your drink extra cold.

How To Make this watermelon juice?

1. Cut the watermelon into small chunks. If there are any seeds, remove as many as you can.
2. Place the watermelon pieces into an airtight container and freeze them for at least one day until they are well-frozen.

3. In a blender, combine the frozen watermelon chunks, water, and sugar. Blend until everything is well blended and you achieve a slush consistency. If the blender struggles due to the thickness, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time and continue blending until it reaches the desired consistency.
4. Fill a glass with ice cubes, filling it up to about ⅔ of the glass.
5. Pour the blended frozen watermelon juice over the ice cubes.
6. To garnish, you can add one or two cubes of fresh or frozen watermelon on top of the juice.

How to serve it?

Serve the watermelon juice right away. Avoid refrigerating it to serve later on, as it may cause the juice to lose its desired consistency.

Emma’s Tips

• Use frozen watermelon for an extra cold drink. While refrigerated watermelon can be used, the uniqueness of Korean-style watermelon juice lies in its extra cold temperature. Therefore, to achieve this, freezing the watermelon is essential.
• Ensure you have a powerful blender, as frozen watermelon is nearly as hard as ice cubes. Low-quality blenders may struggle to blend the frozen watermelon chunks effectively.
• Adjust the quantity of sugar to suit your desired level of sweetness.
• Serve immediately. The blended juice tends to melt quickly, so it’s best to enjoy it right away.

More cold summer drinks?

• Dalgona Honeycomb Toffee Iced Latte
• Korean-Style Strawberry Milk
• Frozen Hot Chocolate (3 Ways)
• Strawberry Matcha Bubble Tea

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