Tteokbokki (Spicy Stir-fried Rice Cakes)

Carrying on with the Korean flex, today I tried making Tteokbokki! Tteokbokki is a Korean spicy rice cake dish and as I have figured out this month, Korean recipes are great for Vegetarians! Minus the bbq meats of course (and fried chicken!) 

The recipe I will be using and adapting slightly is from the blog called Korean Bapsang. I will link her recipe [here] 

Ingredients

600g of tteokbokki tteok (see bag below)

1. Some rice cake. I used mama's own recipe! Supporting mama since day one! But you can buy from any Asian grocery store.

 1 medium carrot.

4 oz of Green Cabbage.

1-2 Green Onions.

8 Dried Anchovies.

1 Sheet of Dried Dashima.

3 Tablespoons of Korean Red Chilli Pepper Paste (Gochujang, 고추장)

1-3 Teaspoons of Korean Red Chilli Pepper Flakes (Gochugaru, 고추가루)- Option for extra heat. 

1. 1 Tablespoon of Soysauce
2. 1 Tablespoon of Sugar
3. 1 Tablespoon of Cornsyrup
4. 2 Cloves of Garlic
5. 1 Teaspoon of Sesame Oil
6. 1 Teaspoon of Sesame Seeds (optional)

 Directions

1. Make anchovy broth by bringing to boil 4 cups of water with the anchovies and dried dashima. Boil on high heat for 10 minutes. Once done remove the anchovies and dashima from the stock. 

2. Soak the rice cakes for 20 minutes if hardened or refrigerated. 

3. Chop the carrots, green onions, fish cake and green cabbage. 

4. Stir in the red chili pepper paste, red chili pepper flakes, soy sauce, corn syrup, sugar, garlic (minced) into the anchovy made broth. Bring to boil over high heat until the red paste disappears. 

5. Add the rice cakes and boil until rice cake is softened, this takes about 8-10 minutes. Stir frequently so that the rice cakes do not stick to the bottom of the pan. 

6. Add in all the vegetables and fish cake and continue to boil for a further 6 minutes, stirring constantly. 

 Messy cooks make the best cook ok! So put your elbow in to ruin that stove! :)

7. Add the sesame oil and optional sesame seeds right before taking the pot off the heat. 

8. Serve immediately. 

I love a hot hot straight off the hob dish! Ish!

I added an extra hard boiled egg to mine just to make my dish a lil heartier. 

It was very nice and I would make it again, though whenever I make this tteokbokki recipe it doesn't quite turn out as nice as the one eaten at a restaurant!

I actually started writing this post months ago while I cut out meat for a month but only just snapped out of my lazy blogger mode to complete it now. I was successful in my month of being a pescetarian though! And that first bite of chicken was just a delight! :))