If you’re a true gourmet or just trying to give a shot at some new cuisines, then we suggest you try Korean cuisine. Since Korean food is all about rice, vegetables, seafood, and meat, there are so many tasty options to go for.
Yet there is no better way to explore a national cuisine than trying something locals enjoy the most. Thus, Tteokbokki is exactly what you should begin your Korean journey with.
But what is it? And can it even be cooked at home? You bet!
If you aren’t familiar with this dish, don’t worry. Today you’ll learn about the easiest Korean rice cake recipe and all the tips you might need on the way.
Get ready!
What is Tteokbokki?
Before we move to the Korean rice cakes recipe, let’s find out what the tteokbokki is.
Tteokbokki is a traditional Korean street food. The name itself means “stir fry rice cake”. Correspondingly, the name makes it rather clear what we are going to deal with. The dish is a perfect combination of spicy red sauce and mild chewy rice cakes. It’s almost impossible to resist.
Given its distinctive taste, tteokbokki is highly appreciated by Koreans and people around the world. You can find it everywhere in Korea and even witness how it is cooked on the streets.
Still, you can easily cook Korean rice cakes in the comfort of your own kitchen, if you follow the instructions below.
How to Make Korean Rice Cakes?
There are quite a lot of Korean rice cake recipes on the web. This makes the preparation process rather complicated as all of those recipes differ.
So, we want to give you a hand here and present a traditional tteokbokki recipe you’ll enjoy.
All the required ingredients, direct steps and recommendations 一 we’ve got everything you might need.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups water
- 1 pound cylinder-shaped rice cakes
- 7 large dried anchovies (without heads and intestines)
- dried kelp
- 1 tbsp gochugaru (hot pepper flakes)
- ⅓ cup gochujang (hot pepper paste)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ pound fish cakes
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- green onions
Instructions
Once you gather all ingredients, it’s time to learn how to make tteokbokki. Although they might seem too complicated, in reality, everything is pretty straightforward. Let’s get right to it.
Step 1:
Take a shallow pot or pan and add water, dried kelp and anchovies there. Leave it boiling for about 15 minutes on medium heat.
Then take the kelp and anchovies out of the pot after 15 minutes pass.
Step 2:
In the meantime, mix gochugaru, gochujang and sugar in a separate bowl.
Step 3:
After that, add rice cakes, prepared sauce mixture, fish cakes, boiled shelled eggs and green onion to the pot.
Just keep in mind that eggs and fish cakes are optional ingredients here. You can go without them just fine
Step 4:
Mix everything gently using a wooden spoon. Leave tteobokki simmering for about 15 minutes and keep stirring. Once the rice cakes are soft and the sauce is thicker, the dish is ready to be served.
If 15 minutes aren’t enough for the rice cakes to soften, add some more water and leave it simmering for a bit longer.
Freshly made Korean rice cakes usually need lesser time to be cooked. Nevertheless, you can still use frozen cakes. Just don’t forget to soak them in cold water before cooking the meal.
Step 5:
Remove your rice cakes from the heat and serve while they’re still hot.
Can you believe how easy these steps are? You simply have to be attentive and stir the tteokbokki through simmering. It is a crucial tip to remember since it helps all the ingredients to cook evenly and mix perfectly with one another.
How to Reheat Korean Rice Cakes?
We doubt there will be any Korean rice cakes left once you try this recipe. Yet, you might still want to learn to reheat Korean rice cakes so they feel like day one. There is a bunch of options for you to consider.
Reheat Korean Rice Cakes in the Microwave
To reheat tteokbokki in the microwave all you need is to press the button and get a warm and ready-to-eat dish in a few seconds.
However, it’s important to use medium heat, so your dish doesn’t lose flavour. If you’re looking for quick solutions, then this one is just for you.
Reheat Korean Rice Cakes in the Saucepan
Reheating Korean rice cakes in a saucepan is perhaps the most common method, understandably. This way you can preserve most of the flavour.
Just take a saucepan of the appropriate size, put the leftovers there and place it on the stove. Make sure to rehear rice cakes on medium heat and don’t forget to stir while reheating.
The result is worth your time. So don’t rush.
Reheat Korean Rice Cakes in the Oven
The last, but not least method to reheat Korean rice cakes is the oven. This option requires your full attention, since you can’t monitor the process directly and should always be there to monitor it.
Preheat an oven to 160ºC and put the leftover tteokboki there. Leave the dish heating for about 8 minutes. If it isn’t enough, leave the rice cakes in the oven for some extra time and don’t forget to stir them now and then.
How to Store Korean Rice Cakes?
When it comes to Korean rice cake storage, there are quite a few recommendations to keep in mind.
First and foremost, don’t keep Korean rice cakes at room temperature for too long, since they tend to go bad in 5 hours or so.
Also, make sure to use airtight containers or zip-lock bags to prevent the dish from going bad too soon. If you keep rice cakes in the fridge to make them last longer. This gives 2-3 extra days. All in all, this is perhaps the most optimal variant to go for.
Of course, it’s possible to store the tteokbokki in the freezer. What’s more, the storage period is greatly extended in this case - around 4 weeks! However, there is a significant drawback. If you keep the rice cakes in the freezer for such a long time 一 they will simply lose flavour.
So, here you have all tips we wanted to share with you. Hopefully, our recipe for Korean rice cakes will prove to be useful and you’ll quickly learn how to cook it at home.
