How to make Colm O'Gorman's street food favourite, Spicy Korean Fried Rice Cakes

I am generally reluctant to introduce readers of this column to ingredients that might be difficult to get hold of locally. The whole premise of the column is to share recipes that are perfect for a weekend feast, using ingredients that are reasonably easy to source. I have made occasional exceptions; regular readers will know that I have often used Gochujang, a beautiful Koran Chilli paste, in my recipes. This week’s recipe also uses Gochujang, but the ingredient I want to introduce you to this week is Tteok. These Korean rice cakes are made from rice that is steamed and pounded and then formed into different shapes.

Bokki means stir-fried in Korean, so Tteokbokki translates as stir-fried rice cakes. I blanche the rice cakes in boiling water for just a few minutes, before pan frying them in a little toasted sesame oil until the rice cakes are crisp and a little golden on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside. They are then coated in a delicious spicy, sweet, umami flavour packed sauce and served with a scattering of chopped spring onions, toasted sesame seeds and a few slices of fresh red chilli.

You may find Tteok a little difficult to source. Many Asian Supermarkets will stock them, but if you cannot find them locally, then AisaMarket.ie stock them and offer a fantastic nationwide delivery service. Asian Supermarkets are generally much better value than the big supermarket chains, so buying your ingredients from one will likely save you a fortune. If you are getting a delivery, make the most of it, and get all the ingredients you need to make your own Gochujang at the same time. It will taste better and be a lot more cost effective than buying a premade version. For your convenience, I have also included my recipe for Gochujang below. Make sure to buy cylindrical rice cakes which look a little like solid penne pasta, and not the flat ones. This shape works best for making Tteokbokki.

I always have a few packs of these rice cakes in my cupboards. They store easily, so buy a few packs, because once you try this recipe, I promise you, you will want to make it again and again. It takes no more than fifteen minutes to prepare and cook and is the perfect spicy flavour bomb snack.

Spicy Korean fried rice cakes

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

These quantities serve four, either as a snack or as a side dish.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 13 mins

Cooking Time

 7 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Korean

Ingredients

• Gochujang:

• 100g brown soybean paste

• 50g honey

• 25g Korean red pepper powder

• 1 tsp Apple cider vinegar

• 1 clove garlic 50ml cold water

• Tteokbokki:

• 400g Korean rice cakes

• 4 tsp toasted sesame oil

• 2 cloves garlic

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 3 tbsp honey

• 3 tbsp tomato ketchup

• 3 tbsp gochujang

• 3 tsp Korean red pepper chilli powder

• To serve:

• 2 spring onions

• 1 red chilli

• Some toasted sesame seeds

Method

1. If you are making your own gochujang, start with that first. It could not be simpler. Simply pop all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine. Transfer the sauce to a clean jar. It will keep for two to three weeks at least when stored in the fridge. It is a fabulous chilli paste, use it for other of my Korean recipes or slather it over a freshly cooked steak or on a cheese toastie. You will adore it, I promise.

2. Now make the sauce for your rice cakes. Peel and grate the garlic and pop it into a bowl. Add three teaspoons of the toasted sesame oil, the honey, tomato ketchup, gochujang, and the red pepper chilli powder and mix to combine. Set aside for now.

3. Next, blanch the rice cakes. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the rice cakes to the water. Cook them for two minutes, drain them and toss them in the remaining teaspoon of toasted sesame oil to prevent them from sticking together. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat and add the rice cakes in the sesame oil to the pan. If your pan is too small to avoid crowding the rice cakes, fry them in two batches. They need a little space to fry so that they get evenly cooked and crisp all over. Fry the rice cakes for two to three minutes before lowering the heat to low.

4. Finally, add the sauce and stir to coat the rice cakes. Cook for another two minutes until the rice cakes are coated all over and the sauce is bubbling gently. If you are using a heavy-based frying pan, you may find that the residual heat in the pan causes the sauce to reduce very quickly and become quite thick and paste-like. If that does happen, add a few tablespoons of water to loosen up the sauce and it will be perfect.

5. Serve your spicy fried rice cakes with some toasted sesame seeds, chopped spring onions and a few slices of thinly sliced fresh red chilli scattered over the top.