Spicy Rice Cake (Tteokbokki)

If you are a K-drama follower, this is one Korean snack you just need to try. The closest taste I can think of is our local chee cheong fun, but instead of rolled rice noodles with sweet brown sauce and with fried shallots, our Korean counter part have theirs with a fiery red spicy sweet sauce.

Needless to say, its fun to eat, especially more sharing them with friends as it can be rather filling.

Adapted recipe from aeriskitchen.

Ingredients
2 cups (15) rice cake sticks
2 pieces fried fish cakes
1 cup cabbage
1 small onion
1 small carrot
1 spring onion

Anchovy stock:
2½ cups water
6 pieces kelp (1×2 Inch)
1 dried anchovy pack (Optional)

Sauce Ingredients:
3 tbsp red pepper paste
1 tbsp red pepper powder
2 tbsp corn syrup
½ tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp minced garlic
Some sesame seeds for garnish

Method:

1. Slice ½ cup worth of an onion into quarter inch pieces. Cut ½ cup worth of a carrot diagonally. Cut 1 green onion into ½-inch pieces. Cut ⅔ cup worth of cabbage into quarter inch pieces.

2. To make the broth, boil 2½ cups of water, 6 pieces of kelp, 2 pieces of fish cake, and 1 dried anchovy pack together for about 10 minutes. The dried anchovy pack is optional.

3. Remove the kelp, fish cakes, and anchovy pack from the broth. Keep the fish cakes for later and discard the kelp and anchovy pack.

4. Cut the cooked fish cakes and the sticky rice cakes into 2 inch pieces.

5. In the broth, add 3 Tbsp of red pepper paste, 1 Tbsp of red pepper powder, 2 Tbsp of corn syrup, ½ Tbsp of sugar, 1 Tbsp of soy sauce, and ½ Tbsp of minced garlic. Depending on your taste, you can make your tteokbokki sweeter or spicier by changing the amount of sugar or red pepper paste. If you can’t eat too spicy food, skip the red pepper powder. You can use sugar instead of corn syrup. Cook it for 5 minutes on medium-high.

6. Add the rice cakes, carrot, onion, and cabbage into the broth.

7. Cook it for about 5 minutes until the rice cakes become soft on medium-high.

8. Add the fish cakes and cook for 1 more minute.

9. Add sliced spring oinion cook for another minute, and then turn off the heat.

10. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top of TteokBokKi to serve.