Tteokbokki (Spicy Stir-fried Rice Cakes)

Hey there! Welcome back! This week I have decided to make Tteokbokki. This was one of the recipes they made in the Try Guys video. It looked interesting and fun to make so I thought I'd try it out. From what I understand Tteokbokki is a popular Korean street food and I can see why. This dish is spicy, filling and all around amazing. The main ingredient of this dish is garaetteok, which is a cylinder-shaped white rice cake. While the rice cake can seem so simple I think it is one of the coolest ingredients. I also like to make brown or white rice to go with the Tteokbokki. I know, it's a lot of rice but that's the way I like it.
And of course we need a playlist to go with the cooking! This week I went with some more BIGBANG. Since this is street food I felt their track We Like 2 Party was fitting. It's such a fun song and makes me want to spend time with friends doing crazy things. I also really love the music video. It's different than their usual music videos in that it has a more relaxed vibe. It's like they invited you in and showed you a little bit of their world. Enjoy! Now just imagine me rapping along to T.O.P's part and cooking. Fun, right? Although, my hair will never be on T.O.P's level, his hair is always on point. #HairGoals.
In addition to BIGBANG I also decided to listen to EXO. EXO recently did a collaboration with Star Wars and released a new track called LIGHTSABER. I think it's a fun track and the garaetteok are kind of like little chubby lightsabers. EXO was the first Kpop group whose music I really enjoyed. I think it may be because I'm nostalgic for the boy band days. EXO makes fun, catchy songs with amazing dance moves to go with it. Normally their videos showcase their awesome dance routines, however, the video for LIGHTSABER is different and it doesn't feature all 9 members but I enjoyed the Star Wars theme. Overall it's a cool video.
Ok now on to the actual cooking! This recipe so from the Korean Bapsang's blog. I really enjoy her recipes and I find that they are easy to follow.

Ingredients

1 pound tteokbokki tteok (about 24 3-inch long rice cake pieces)
1 sheet of eomuk (fried fish cake)
4 ounces green cabbage
1-2 scallions
3 cups anchovy broth (or water)
3 tbsp of gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste)
1-3 tsp gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes) amount depends on how hot you would like the dish.
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Step 1.
Make the anchovy broth. I had some left over from my previous recipe so I used that. While you are making the anchovy broth and cutting vegetables let your rice cakes soak in water for about 20 minutes.

Step 2.
Cut up the cabbage, scallions and fish cake. I usually use two sheets of the fried fish cake instead of one. I also like to cut it into triangular pieces so it looks nice :)

Step 3.
In a large pant add the anchovy broth, gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, sugar and garlic. Bring to a boil over medium heat, mixing all the ingredients together until the gochujang is dissolved.

Step 4.
Add the rice cakes and bring to a boil once more. Allow this to cook for another 8-10 minutes or until the rice cakes have become very soft and the sauce has thickened. Make sure to stir it so the rice cakes don't stick to the bottom of the pan.

Step 5.
Add the vegetables and fish cakes to the mix. Continue to boil until everything is cooked. About 4-6 minutes. You can taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings as need. I don't usually change the seasoning but that might be different for you. Add the sesame oil and sesame seeds right before turning of the heat.

Now it is ready to serve! In the recipe she mentioned that this dish doesn't reheat in the microwave very well and to heat it up on the stove with some anchovy broth. While I think it would probably taste better that way, I have reheated it in the microwave and it was still delicious.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I greatly appreciate your support! Let me know if you have any suggestions on what I should make next. I look forward to connecting with you all next time. Have a great week!

Xoxo,
Rachel