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.

Hoddeok Happy

While searching for oriental inspired snack alternatives online, I came across this wonderful Korean winter street food  Hoddeok recipe from the fabulous Korean food blog Maangchi.   Hoddeok is a  sweet pancake filled with sticky brown sugar syrup. It's a very heartwarming snack that's also perfect for brunch.  I love this snack so much that I can't wait to make it again!

Maangchi's Hoddeok Recipe 

Ingredients:

Yeast starter 

1 cup lukewarm water
2 tsp yeast
2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups all purpose flour 

1. To make hoddeok dough, place 1 cup of lukewarm water into a mixing bowl. Add 2 tbs white sugar, 2 ts yeast, ½ ts salt, 1 tbs vegetable oil, and stir  until dissolved.

2. Add 2 cups of all purpose flour and mix by hand. Let the dough rise in a plastic covered bowl  at room temperature for 1 hour until double in size. Knead dough  to remove the gas bubbles.

3. Let it rise for another 10-20 minutes.

Hoddeok Filling:

½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tbs chopped walnuts

1. To make Hoddeok, take 1 dough ball, flatten it, and put some  cinnamon sugar filling in the center of the dough  and then seal it to make a ball. Knead the dough again to remove the gas bubbles.

2. Place and spread about ½ cup flour on your cutting board. Put the dough on your cutting board and knead it. Make it into a lump, and cut it into 8 equal-sized balls. Repeat this 8 times to make 8 stuffed balls.

Heat up your non-stick skillet pan over medium heat and add some vegetable oil. Place 1 ball on the pan. Press the dough with spatula to flatten it. Cook until golden brown on both sides.

Recipe from Maangchi 

Sara's Secret: Korean Beef Recipe

Here's a lovely Korean Beef recipe from my all-time favourite chef Sarah Moulton. Perfect for a busy weeknight.

Seoul Food

An Asian cafe in my city serves oriental favourites such as Mee Goreng, Pandan Chicken, Lemongrass Ginger Chicken and Yakisoba over fragrant Jasmine rice in funky Chinese lunch pails. However, they've missed putting Korean Beef on their menu. A classic Asian dish, Korean Beef has intense smokey, barbeque-y flavour coupled with the saucy tartness of tomato sauce. It is an absolute rice bowl favourite.

Korean Beef

1/2 kg beef sirloin, sliced into thin strips
3 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
150 g. bean sprouts

Marinade:

2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 stalks green onios, chopped
1 can (273 g.) spaghetti sauce
1 tsp. brown sugar

Marinate beef for 30 minutes, Drain but reserve marinade. Stir-fry beef in oil until cooked. Set aside. In the same pan, simmer marinade for 5 minutes. Combine with cooked beef. Add bean sprouts and sesame seeds. Stir once.

Chow, baby!