Korean Rice Cakes- Tteokbokki

We still had some rice cakes in the fridge that needed to be cooked, so we decided to cook this traditional Korean dish.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound (450g) tteokbokki, about 24 3-inch long rice cake pieces

  • 1 sheet fish cake (optional)

  • 4 oZ (30g) green cabbage and/or any additional vegetable

  • 1-2 scallions

  • 3 cups (250ml) anchovy broth or water

  • 3 tbsp Korean red chili pepper paste (gochujang)

  • 1- 3 tsp Korean red chili pepper flakes (gochugaru) - preferably finely ground

  • 1 tbsp soy sauce

  • 2 tbsp sugar

  • 1 tbsp corn syrup (or MAPLE syrup or agave)

  • 1 tbsp minced garlic

  • black and/or white sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Make anchovy broth if using. Soak the rice cakes for about 20 minutes if hardened or refrigerated. Cut the fish cake, cabbage, and scallions into about 2-inch long pieces.

  2. Add the anchovy broth (or water) to a large pan. Stir in the sauce ingredients. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the red chili pepper paste (gochujang).

  3. Add the rice cakes. Boil until the rice cakes become very soft and the sauce is thickened, about 8 - 10 minutes. Stir frequently so the rice cakes don't stick to the bottom of the pan.

  4. Add the vegetables and fish cakes. Continue to boil, stirring constantly, for an additional 4 - 6 minutes. Depending on rice cakes, you may need more time to reach a desired level of softness. Add more broth or water if necessary. Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve immediately.

It is probably not the same as you would get at a korean restaurant but I thought it was pretty good and very spicy, as it should be. I actually used a dashi broth instead of an ANCHOVY broth as i DON'T really like anchovies but wanted some more depth of flavor. I also did not use fish cakes as I did not have them on hand but instead added some tofu, mushrooms and some water spinach. IF you do not have these certain ingredients on hand you could add other INGREDIENTS, probably not completely authentic but i wasn’t striving to make the exact dish. But be sure to saute the additional ingredients in a pan before so that you can make sure that they are completely cooked before adding them to the broth. Mine came out a bit more soupy so I guess next time I could have cooked it a bit longer or added less liquid at the beginning. But we had leftovers for the next day and the sauce thicken then.

cookingJackie Wongkorean, rice cakes, spicy, tteokbokkiComment