Tteokbokki 떡볶이 (Spicy rice cakes)

Tteokbokki or spicy rice cakes is a ubiquitous street food fare in Korea. Food trucks manned by busy ahjummas are usually seen in busy street corners serving  this piping hot, chewy snack food usually in the  late afternoon or evening. People coming home from work would stop by for odeng and tteokboki, two of the most popular snacks best best chowed down with cold soda or soju shots. 

Here's what you can see on Seoul streets at night:

Seoul Tteokbokki ahjumma serves freshly made tteokbokki for 3,000 won. The sauce is too hot for me though! I end up with  flaming lips afterwards!

Sweet potato twigim, sundae (blood sausage), korean veggie pancakes..yum!

Here in the homefront, Korea's most popular street food is simple to make and requires ingredients readily available at your local Korean grocery. Let’s go make some Tteokbokki!

TTEOKBOKKI  (SPICY RICE CAKE) RECIPE

Ingredients:

350 grams Korean rice cakes (tteokmyeon)

150 grams fish cakes cut in bite sized squares

2 1/2 cups anchovy stock (1 tsp Dasida achovy powder in 2 1/2 cups water)

Gochujang sauce:

3 tbsps gochujang paste

1.5 tbsp  sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp minced garlic

60 grams thinly sliced onions

Garnish:

Finely chopped green onions

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp toasted seasame seeds

3 hardboiled eggs

How to make:

1. Soak rice cake noodles for 10-15 minutes. Boil anchovy stock. Add gochujang  sauce. Add rice and fish cakes and thinly sliced  onions. Boil for 5 minutes until rice cakes are soft and chewy. Simmer for additional 3-5 minutes until sauce thickens.

2. Add sesame oil and mix thoroughly. Add finely chopped green onions and add a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. Top with hardboiled eggs.

Homemade Green Tea Latte

All the ingredients you need to make a hot cup of matcha latte at home. Find a nice stoneware cup to serve it in. Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

Nothing beats healthy, filling blueberry muffins for breakfast! So good!


Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients: 

• 75 g. unsalted butter
• 200 g (1 1/3 cup) plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 caster sugar  or vanilla sugar
• pinch of salt
• 200 ml buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 200 grams blueberries

Directions: 

1. Melt the butter and set aside to cool for a little while.
2. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. Combine dry ingredients  in a bowl.
4. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Alternate with buttermilk mixture.
5. Add the blueberries.
5. Pour batter into prepared and greased muffin pans.
6.Bake until done.

Chocolate Muffins

Chocolate Muffins

• 1/2 cup butter
•  2 eggs
•  1 cup buttermilk
•  1 3/4 cup flour
•  2/3 cup cocoa powder
•  1 1/4 cup brown sugar
•  1 tsp baking powder
•  1 tsp baking soda 

Directions:
1. Melt butter for 30 seconds in the microwave. Let cool.  Add sugar. Blend in eggs. Mix well using whisk or mixer.

 2. Combine dry ingredients together.

 3. Alternately add dry ingredients and buttermilk to the creamed mixture.

 4. Pour muffin batter to cupcake trays. Bake at 350 until done.

 5. Enjoy your fresh muffins.

Vanilla Shortbread Sugar Cookies with Sugar Free Strawberry Filling

This is one of my favorite cookies ever. So buttery and pretty. Just perfect for Valentine gift giving.

Vanilla Shortbread Sugar Cookies with Sugar Free Strawberry Filling

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Beat butter until soft. Add confectioner's sugar and beat until well combined.
2. In a separate bowl blend together flour and salt.
3. Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Beat in vanilla extract.
4. Knead dough until mixture is well combined. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for one hour or overnight.
5. Thaw and roll out dough to 1/4 inches thickness. Cut out cookie sandwich using heart linzer cookie cutter.
6. Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.
7. Dust window (top cookie ) with confectioner's sugar (optional)
8. Spread sugar free strawberry jam on bottom cookie.
9. Assemble cookie like a sandwich.

Recipe adapted from Rosewater Shortbread Cut Out Sugar Cookie recipe

Tasty Weekend Muffins

Say hello to a happy weekend with fresh- from-the-oven-muffin  treats! These muffins taste just right and light. As this is a basic muffin recipe feel free to add  your flavorings of choice such as berries, chocolate chips or corn kernels.

Happy weekend!


Tasty Weekend Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1/2 stick butter (melted)

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

3.Melt butter in microwave.

4. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add the sugar, milk and vanilla to the eggs.

5. Grease and flour a muffin pan.

6. Pour melted butter into the egg-vanilla-milk mixture gradually.

7. Gently pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake immediately for 20 minutes or until  a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Vanilla Cherry Cupcakes

I just recently celebrated my  birthday. Instead of a chocolate birthday cake with magic candles (candle light that just won't die even how hard you huff and puff) I opted to make some very delicious vanilla cherry cupcakes! No candles here but just juicy and oh so  tempting red cherries on top.

The vanilla cupcake base is taken from Ming Makes Cupcakes' Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Filling and Meringue Frosting  recipe.

Vanilla Cherry Cupcakes 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
 
Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat in butter gradually. Beat in sugar and mix thoroughly. Beat in eggs, then vanilla and milk. Beat just until mixed. Pour into lined cupcake pan. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out almost clean.

Frosting 

1/4 cup milk 
1 cup confectioner's sugar 
Long stemmed red cherries

Mix milk and confectioner's sugar. Add or lessen milk to attain desired consistency and thickness of frosting. Spoon over cupcakes. Garnish top with cherry.   

Weekend Breakfast Burrito

This is a lovely breakfast item to enjoy on a weekend morning. It's chockful of antioxidants and vitamins to add zing to your day.   Try it!

Weekend  Breakfast Burrito

Ingredients:

• Softened corn tortillas 
• Chopped tomatoes
•  Chopped onions
•  Red bell pepper slices
•  Jalapeno slices (canned)
•  Scrambled eggs
•  Whole basil leaf (large)
•  Salt and pepper to taste
• Sliced cheddar cheese 
•  Dollop of sour cream

Directions:

1. Soften corn tortilla on a skillet. Add a small  amount of oil on the skillet and cook tortiila on both sides until slightly golden.

2. Cook scrambled eggs and slice all ingredients except for basil leave.

3. Pile ingredients in the moddle of the corn tortilla .  Add sour cream and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Wrap or fold the tortilla.  

Holiday Baking Preview

This cookie is so good with coffee, tea and ice cream. Make a batch today!


Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt 
• 1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature 
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar 
• 1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

Shortbreads: In a separate bowl whisk the flour, cocoa powder with the salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch (.6 cm) thick circle. Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter. Place on the prepared baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. (This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked.) Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Recipe from Joy of Baking 

Mochaccino Cupcake

MOCHACCINO CUPCAKE

Here's a fun coffee inspired treat that's literally a cupcake!  It's inspired by this recipe earlier posted in my Sweet Tidings blog. The chocolate mudcake recipe is taken from The Cook Book. Enjoy!



Chocolate Mud Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 and 3/4 cups  cake flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable il
• 1 cup sour milk (1 cup whole milk with 1 tsp white vinegar added) or buttermilk
• 1 cup coffee (long black strength)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

Directions:

 1. Sift flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add eggs, coffee, milk oil and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes with a hand mixer until well combined.

2. Pour into baking cups in  a muffin pan and bake in a 180 C  (350 F) oven for approximately 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Whipped Cream Topping 

• 1 and 1/3 cup whipped cream
• Chocolate syrup (optional)
• Cocoa powder  

How to assemble:

When muffins have cooled, remove mud cake from baking cups and transfer to  teacups/coffee cups. Decorate with chilled whipped cream and garnish with sifted cocoa powder or chocolate syrup.

It's a Wrap!

I love this hearty and filling vegetarian chili bean and chicken combo wrapped in soft and yummy flour tortilla. So good!


ADUKI BEAN CHILI AND CHICKEN WRAP

Ingredients:

• Flour tortilla
• Shredded chicken
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Aduki chili bean
• Homemade salsa

Aduki Bean Chili  Recipe

Ingredients :

• Aduki beans (pre-soaked overnight or 8-10 hours)

• 1 large onion (finely chopped)

• olive oil or water to ‘fry’

• 3-4 garlic cloves (crushed)

• tomato puree

• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes

• 3 teaspoons ground cumin

• 2 teaspoons ground coriander

• 1 heaped teaspoon turmeric

• oregano

• spanish paprika

• hot chilli powder to taste (1-2 teaspoons)

• water

Directions:

1. Lightly fry onion and add garlic.

2. Add soaked and rinsed aduki beans and mix with onion and garlic.

3. Add tomato puree, and dry herbs.

4. Add chopped tomato.

5. Add water as desired, or if mixture appears too dry.

6. Bring to the boil and simmer for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally

7. Serve with rice or jacket potato

Recipe adrapted from Elizabeth Harfleet 


Texan Flour Tortilla

Ingredients:

• Two cups of all-purpose flour (can make them whole wheat by substituting one cup of whole-wheat flour for white flour)

• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil

• 3/4 cups of warm milk

Directions:

1. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil.

2. Slowly add the warm milk.

3. Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed.

4. Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft.

5. Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.

6. After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)

7. After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. (If you roll out pie crusts you’ll have no problem with this.) Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.

8. In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.

9. Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat.

10. Can be reheated in a dry iron skillet, over your gas-burner flame or in the oven wrapped in foil.
While you probably won’t have any leftovers, you can store in the fridge tightly wrapped in foil or plastic for a day or so.Makes eight tortillas.

Recipe from Homesick Texan