Bingsu

Bingsu, sometimes written as bingsoo, is a milk-based Korean shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings that may include chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup, and red beans.

The most common variety is pat-bingsu (팥빙수), the red bean shaved ice. The main ingredient of ice was natural ice in the past, but later artificial ice was produced and high-quality sweeteners were developed, and now it has been improved into boiled red bean shaved ice or fruit shaved ice mixed with various fruits. At first, the ice-cutting machine was a simple tool in the shape of a plane, but now the electric power is widely used after a manual rotation by hand.

History
Bingsu has similar origins to Sorbet with fruit and milk-flavoured ice-based confectionary being documented as far back as 400 BCE in Ancient Persia and China. The earliest known documentation of ice-based desserts within Korea existed during the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897) which employed the use of crushed ice with various fruits, and were distributed from the ancient Korean ice storage called seokbinggo (석빙고).

After the Korean War, with the introduction of condensed milk, syrup, and chocolate from the United States, Korean bingsu began to become more diverse. Western influences after the Korean War have brought further variation to the ingredients used in the dish, with foods such as cereal, ice cream, and whipped cream, being added to patbingsu.

Varieties
Patbingsu (팥빙수, 팥氷水, sometimes anglicized as patbingsoo, literally "red beans shaved ice") is a popular Korean shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings that may include chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup, and red beans.

The food began as ice shavings with red beans (known as pat, 팥). Many varieties of patbingsu exist in contemporary culture.

There are a variety of bingsu types and flavors. Some popular flavors are: green tea, coffee, and yogurt.

In addition to the existing patbingsu, several Korean franchises have made shaved ice made from various ingredients such as Injeolmi shaved ice, melon shaved ice, coffee shaved ice, and green tea shaved ice. Now, bingsu can be found at almost every dessert shop in Korea.