떡볶이 - Tteokbokki

After all the traditional Christmas foods I always start to crave for Asian foods with their clear tastes and crunchy textures (well, this dish I'm posting now doesn't have a crunchy texture though :D).

I encountered this yummy Korean dish first time in Japan at a school festival (in Japan they call it topokki). Luckily I've been able to find Korean rice cakes at local oriental grocery stores here in Helsinki, too. This dish is very easy and quick to make. This version is without meat, but you could add either some fish cakes (for example surimi sticks) or sausages, too.

The main ingredient, tubular rice cakes, are resembling Japanese mochi. One could call them also a VERY thick rice pasta. They are chewy and soft and I love the spicy sauce as long as it's not too hot (in a chili kind of way).

떡볶이 - Tteokbokki (Korean rice cakes in a spicy tomato sauce, yummy :P)

serves 2

300 g Korean tubular rice cakes

1/2 onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, grated

1 tsp vegetable oil

2 Tbsp tomato paste /puree

1 Tbsp ketchup

1 tsp sugar

1/2-1 tsp gochujang (Korean red chili paste), according to taste (beware, it's very spicy)

~300 ml water

green or Welsh onion, for garnish

Heat up the oil in a small pot. Saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add tomato paste and mix well. Cook for a minute or two (I find it takes away the acidity of tomato quite quickly this way). Add water, ketchup, sugar and chili paste. Let cook for at least 5-10 minutes.

Run some cold water through the rice cakes and add them to the bubbling tomato sauce. Let simmer under a lid for 5 minutes, remove the lid and cook until the liquid transforms into a sauce. Garnish with green or Welsh onion and enjoy (unfortunately I didin't have those at hand when I took the photos...)

떡볶이 - Tteokbokki (Korealaisia riisikakkuja/pötköjä tulisessa tomaattikastikkeessa)

kahdelle

300 g korealaisia putkenmuotoisia riisikakkuja

1/2 sipuli, kuutioituna

1 valkosipulinkynsi, raastettuna

1 tl rypsiöljyä

2 rkl tomaattipyreetä

1 rkl ketsuppia

1 tl sokeria

1/2-1 tl gochujang (korealaista chilitahnaa), tai maun mukaan

~3 dl vettä 

ruoho- tai purjosipulia, koristeeksi

Lämmitä öljy pienessä kattilassa ja freesaa sipulit. Lisää tomaattipuree ja sekoita. Anna lämmetä hetki, jotta tomaatin happamuus taittuisi. Lisää ketsuppi, vesi, sokeri ja chilitahna. Keitä miedolla lämmöllä kannen alla ainakin 5-10 minuuttia.

Huuhtele riisikakut kylmän veden alla ja lisää kuplivankuumaan kastikkeeseen. Kypsennä kannen alla 5 minuuttia, poista kansi ja keitä, kunnes kastike on sopivan paksua. Koristele ruoho- tai purjosipulilla (miyä minulla ei ollut kuvaushetkellä :D

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