Tteokbokki

Whilst grocery shopping can be mundane for most people,  I really love searching through the aisles of supermarkets for interesting products - especially when it comes to supermarkets which stock exotic things I've never tried before. So when we started eating out regularly at a restaurant just across from a Korean supermarket not too long ago, I naturally found myself stocking up on Korean groceries- even their cucumbers are different to the cucumbers I normally get!

I bought myself a pack of rice cakes and some chilli paste to make Tteokbokki, though I know you can get rice cakes from normal Asian supermarkets anyway, but the cylinder shaped ones from the Korean supermarket look cooler than the flat Chinese ones :P

I've only ever had Tteokbokki once before, and to be honest, wasn't too much of a fan because it was much too hot for me, so I only made a small serving to give it a try, intending to tweak it a bit afterwards to use the rest of the packet up. The recipe was surprisingly simple, with a couple of veggies, chilli paste and rice cakes cooked together and then you're done! :) I toned down on the chilli paste a tad bit so the spiciness was more bearable, and added extra veggies since I had so much in the fridge anyway- and it was perfect!


Infact, I loved it so much that I went back to the fridge a couple of days later to make it again, only to be devastated to find they'd started growing mould after the second week of being in the fridge! Lesson learnt: cook the whole batch in one go (especially since it's so good you'll probably finish it all in one go anyway!).

Tteokbokki Recipe
Recipe from My Korean Kitchen
Serves 2

300g Fresh rice cake
2 sheets Fish cake
1/2 an onion
1 stalk of spring onion
2 leaves of cabbage
1/3 cup Water
Note: I also added a carrot (sliced) to mine

Seasoning sauce
2 Tbsp Gochujang
2 tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Korean chili powder
1 tsp Minced garlic


1. Thin slice the onion. Cut the cabbage and spring onion into medium size pieces (I cut my spring onions into small pieces). Cut the fish cake sheets into medium size pieces. Separate the rice cakes with your hands.
2. Mix together the seasoning sauce ingredients
3. Pre heat the wok for about 10 seconds. Add some cooking oil and the onion and stir fry until softened, followed by cabbage, rice cakes, fishcakes, sauce and water (and carrots if you are using). Heat until sauce boils and starts to thicken. Add the spring onions, give it a good stir, turn off the heat and serve immediately.