Spicy Korean Rice Cakes (Ddeokbokki or Tteokbokki)

This is a very hot and spicy snack eaten all over Korea in homes and at food stands in the street. It consists of a lovely red sauce and chewy rice cakes which look like very thick, short noodles. If you're a spice lover and want to try a new texture, I would highly recommend this ddokboki, which we made with the kids at my school. It is always done to taste: some sweet, some hot, some with heavy garlic. You can imagine the variety we got with so many kids cooking it. Either way it is a definite Korean comfort food that you can experience with a quick trip to your Asian grocery store.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 14 mins
• Total Time: 29 mins
• Calories: 428 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 ½ quarts water
• 1 cup diced white onion
• 1 (24 ounce) package thinly sliced tteok (Korean rice cakes), drained
• 1 (14 ounce) package eomuk (Korean fish cakes), sliced
• 3 tablespoons simple syrup
• 3 tablespoons gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), or more to taste
• 2 tablespoons red chile powder, or more to taste

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add rice cakes and fish cakes; return to a boil. Add simple syrup, gochujang, chile powder, garlic, salt, and pepper; cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add onion and green onion. Simmer until sauce is red, thick, and silky, about 5 minutes.