Hwachae Recipe

This refreshing Korean watermelon punch, called hwachae, is so fun to make and full of tasty ingredients! It's a delicious hydrating treat because it's full of high water-content fruit.

Hwachae is both a drink and dessert! The combination of fresh watermelon, juicy fruit, flavored milk, and a fizzy drink is unusual and compelling, perfect on a hot summer day.

If you love viral TikTok recipes like this one, check out some our other Korean recipes that have gone viral, like this strawberry milk, California roll cucumbers, or cucumber kimchi.

What is Hwachae?

Subak hwachae, a delicious Korean dessert, is a refreshing fizzy punch filled with fruit. It translates to "flower water" in English!

It's super viral on TikTok because of this cute video of TikToker Amy Flamy's mukbang hwachae video. She made the punch bowl look so tasty and fun to eat, and I knew I had to try it!

This Korean fruit punch is a popular drink in South Korea in the summer months. The watermelon is the one non-negotiable in the dish, but the rest is quite customizable - use your favorite fruit, whatever type of milk you'd like, and top it off with carbonated water or soda of your choice.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this traditional Korean punch.

• Fresh watermelon (try to use a seedless watermelon) - I highly recommend hollowing out your watermelon and serving the punch in it if you can. It's a really pretty way to serve it if you're making it for a group.
• Fresh berries or other fresh fruit (bananas, melon, etc.) - you can use your favorite fruit like strawberries, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, dragonfruit, cantaloupe, or kiwi.
• Can of Fruit Cocktail - this is optional, but I like that it recreates the chewiness of fruit jelly. You could also add a popping boba instead of a fruit cocktail.
• Strawberry Milk (or other flavored milk like banana) - choose your favorite creamy flavored milk of choice.
• Carbonated Drink (7Up, Sprite, Ginger Ale, or other lemon-lime soda) - the classic
• Ice - you'll add several ice cubes to keep the punch chilled.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Place the chopped watermelon, different fruits of your choice, and drained fruit cocktail in a large bowl. Stir to combine.

Pour the strawberry milk over the fruit. Add the ice and stir to combine. Finally, pour in the soft drink and stir gently to combine.

Serve immediately.

Tips for Hwachae

Ingredient Tips - Keep everything chilled before using it - everything should be cold when added together.

Recommended Tools - Use a large, sharp knife to cut the watermelon and a small knife to chop strawberries or other fruit.

Storage

This recipe is best served fresh because of the carbonation, but it can be stored in the refrigerator for one day if necessary. Add an additional fizzy drink if you'd like it to be bubbly again!

Substitutions & Variations

This recipe is endlessly customizable - here are a few ingredient swaps you can make.

• Watermelon - Feel free to cube the watermelon or get fancy with a melon baller and make watermelon balls.
• Fruit - Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew, pomegranate seeds, banana, dragon fruit, or any other types of fruit will work in this recipe.
• Fizzy Drink - I used sugar-free 7Up, but you can use Sprite, Lemon Lime Lacroix, ginger ale, or any sparkling lemon juice.
• Toppings - If you want to add some garnish, serve with a lemon slice or edible flowers.

If you try this viral Korean mocktail recipe, let us know! Connect with us on Instagram and share your photos, or leave us a rating.