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.