This past year has been filled with many firsts; first paid photoshoots, first time building a computer, first broken bone, and many, many first-time recipes. This is one that I had always wanted to try, but could never find the correct ingredients when I perused the shelves of my favorite Asian market.
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The drive to recreate this recipe stemmed from my love for a local Korean restaurant near work called Kimchi Tofu House. They have my favorite kimbap, delicious bibimbap, and one of the best spicy pork dishes in Minnesota. One dish they serve often times is omitted on delivery apps that service the restaurant. That would be their Tteokbokki. I remember one time, my boss was placing the order for us and chose to call it in. He asked what I wanted and had to clarify that I did indeed want that really hard to pronounce dish, and was I sure they had it… Sorry Paul, but yes, they have “TEK-bok-Kee.”
Kimchi Tofu House makes their version of the classic Korean snack a bit different; they add glass noodles and sliced onion to the dish to differentiate textures and add even more flavor to this already potent dish. In my version, I chose to do the same and won’t be looking back.
Tteokbokki consists of rice cakes, fish cakes and a spicy, sweet sauce that is complex in flavor, yet simple to make, given the correct ingredients. The ingredients aren’t ones you will find at your local CUB or Hy-Vee however. To make this dish, you may have to do some online digging to find the closest Korean market or store near you. Some of you may be lucky enough to already frequent these markets and know exactly where to find these ingredients. Some of the other items you will need include dried anchovies, dried kelp leaves, gochujang paste, and Korean hot pepper flakes. While I was researching this recipe, I found a wonderful resource for all things Korean cuisine at www.maangchi.com There I was able to learn what the ingredients looked like and the different names they often go by in various packaging. I also used their recipe for this dish as the jumping-off point for my version, I hope you give it a try!
Tteokbokki
a classic Korean snack with rice cakes, fish cake, and a spicy/sweet sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds cylinder shaped rice cake
- 8 cups water
- 14 dried anchovies, heads and intestines removed found in the freezer section
- 2 6 x 8in dried Kelp
- ⅔ cup gochujang paste hot pepper paste
- 2 tbsp korean hot pepper flakes gochujang
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 6 green onion cut into 3in long pieces
- 6 hard boiled eggs, shelled optional
- 1 pound fish cakes fish balls work too
- 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
- 8 oz. glass noodles optional
- 2 tsp hondashi optional, if needed for flavor
Instructions
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Add water, dried anchovies, and dried kelp to a stock pot or large pan, boil for 15 minutes over medium heat uncovered.
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Hard boil (or steam) eggs and peel.
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In a large bowl, soak the glass noodles and rice cakes in cold water for at least 10 minutes, then drain.
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In a separate bowl, combine gochujang, hot pepper flakes, and sugar, mix until combined. Remove the anchovies and kelp from the pot and add the rice cake, glass noodles, mixture from the bowl, green onion, fish cakes, and hard boiled eggs.
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Bring combined mixture up to a boil and stir occasionally with a spoon, once it starts to boil, reduce to a simmer and continue stirring intermittently for 10-15 minutes until the rice cakes have softened. If the rice cakes are not soft after 15 minutes, add 1/4-1/2 cup water and continue simmering until soft.
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Remove from heat and serve warm with additional sliced green onions, sesame seeds, and kimchi.