Spicy Korean Rice Cakes (Ddeokbokki or Tteokbokki)

Description

This is a very hot and spicy snack eaten all over Korea in homes and at food stands in the street. It consists of a lovely red sauce and chewy rice cakes which look like very thick, short noodles. If you’re a spice lover and want to try a new texture, I would highly recommend this ddokboki, which we made with the kids at my school. It is always done to taste: some sweet, some hot, some with heavy garlic. You can imagine the variety we got with so many kids cooking it. Either way it is a definite Korean comfort food that you can experience with a quick trip to your Asian grocery store.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ quarts water
  • 1 (24 ounce) package thinly sliced tteok (Korean rice cakes), drained
  • 1 (14 ounce) package eomuk (Korean fish cakes), sliced
  • 3 tablespoons simple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), or more to taste
  • 2 tablespoons red chile powder, or more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup diced white onion
  • 1 cup chopped green onions

Instructions

  1. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add rice cakes and fish cakes; return to a boil. Add simple syrup
  2. gochujang
  3. chile powder
  4. garlic
  5. salt
  6. and pepper; cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add onion and green onion. Simmer until sauce is red
  7. thick
  8. and silky
  9. about 5 minutes.

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 14 mins

Total Time: 29 mins

Servings: 6

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