Korean Rice Cakes Recipe
John and I LOVE Korean Rice Cakes which are called tteokbokki. My version of the traditional recipe is super easy, delicious and allows us to eat one of our favorite Korean dishes while we are Upstate and aren't able to order it for takeout. This dish is essentially a stir fry that comes together quickly in one pan and is packed with nutrients from all the veggies but still hearty enough to satisfy any meat eaters.
In more traditional tteokbokki recipes, the rice cakes are seasoned just with salt and pepper but I like to use the Asian Seasoning Blend that I designed for an extra flavor boost. It has coriander, ginger, garlic, szechuan peppercorns and salt and pairs really well with all the flavors already going on in this dish.
Recipe featured on Rachael Ray's Meals in Minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) package of cylindrical rice cakes (tteokbokki)
- Salt and pepper or my Asian Style Seasoning Blend
- 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil
- 1 large handful of dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons of neutral oil
- ½ pound of fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced or chopped
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 4 - 5 baby carrots or 1 regular carrot very thinly sliced or chopped
- 2 cups chopped broccolini and/or Chinese broccoli
- 2 small zucchini, cut into thin short batons or chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic, sliced, chopped or grated
- A fat pinch of Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 3 tablespoons of gochujang
- 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons of light agave or honey
- Toasted sesame seeds, to serve
- Sliced chives or scallions, optional, to serve
Directions
Rinse and break up rice cakes. Place them in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper or Asian Style Seasoning Blend and massage with sesame oil.
Add the dried shiitakes to a small saucepan or saute pan and cover with the vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until the mushrooms are plump and have reconstituted. Remove the shiitakes and reserve the stock for later. Chop the shiitakes in half once they're cool enough to handle and reserve for later.
Heat the oil in a deep large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fresh shiitakes and let brown for a minute or two. Season with salt and pepper or Asian Style Seasoning Blend. Add in rice cakes and let crisp for another minute or two. Add onions, carrots, broccolini or Chinese broccoli and zucchini and stir fry to soften, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili flakes and reconstituted shiitake mushrooms.
In a small bowl, whisk together the gochujang, soy sauce and agave or honey into a sauce. Pour the sauce and reserved vegetable stock over the rice cakes, stir to coat in the sauce and cook until just tender.
Transfer to a serving bowl or serve directly from the pan with sesame seeds and scallions or chives on top.
