Spicy Stir-fried Rice Cakes with Noodles

Finally, after months and months of craving, I was able to cook my own version of rabokki and tteokbokki! Woo-hoo!

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, tteokbokki is stir-fried rice cakes with gochujang (red pepper paste). I acquired a strong liking for this very popular Korean street food ever since I tried it a couple of years ago. I even consumed a very large plate of this spicy snack once at Sigol Bap Sang. I guess I really love the combination of gochujang, chewy rice cakes, and fish cakes.

Rabokki, on the other hand, is spicy stir-fried rice cakes with noodles. It’s basically tteokbokki plus ramyeun.

Last week, I was reading my favorite Korean food and recipe blog when I came across very easy tteokbokki and rabokki recipes, inspiring me to cook my versions at home.

I immediately bought the necessary ingredients at a Korean convenience store, shelling out close to P500 for everything (approx. $10.60). It may seem expensive but considering I brought home a 500g pack of gochujang, 6 sheets of fish cakes, a small pack of gochugaru, 30 long sticks of garaetteok, and a pack of instant ramen that day, I was more than happy.

I successfully made rabokki, improvising a little on the recipe I found at My Korean Kitchen. Very spicy and yummy! I loved it so much that I didn’t eat anything else that day. And since I had more than enough ingredients, I decided to cook a batch of tteokbokki for my family the following day. It was a hit! And I know they were not just being polite because my nephew even had the audacity to touch my share of the spicy rice cakes.

If you are into spicy food, why not whip up your own rabokki? It’s very easy to prepare and cooking time takes less than 10 minutes. Here’s the rabokki recipe I used.

Recipe for Stir-fried Spicy Korean Rice Cakes with Noodles (Rabokki)

Ingredients for 3-4

gochujang (red pepper paste)- 3 tbsp
garaetteok (rice cakes)- 40 bite-sized pieces, soaked in water for 20 mins.
eomuk or odeng (fish cakes) – 4 sheets, sliced into medium-sized pieces, rinsed in hot water
instant noodles- 1 pack, seasoning not included
1 small onion- thinly sliced
1 stalk spring onion- sliced into medium-sized pieces
cabbage- 4 leaves, sliced into medium-sized pices
gochugaru (chili powder) – 1 tsp
brown sugar- 3 tbsp
garlic- 1 tsp, minced
water- 1 1/2- 2 cups
4 hardboiled eggs (optional)
sesame seeds for garnishing

Procedure

Make your sauce by combine the gochujang, gochugaru, brown sugar and garlic in a bowl. Mix well.
Boil the water in a pot.
Add sauce and stir well.
Add the instant noodles, cabbage, onion, rice cakes, and fish cakes. Stir well.
Reduce flame and stir well.
Add spring onions and eggs.
When the noodles are done, the rice cakes tender and the sauce thickens, turn off heat.
Garnish with sesame seeds and serve hot.

If you don’t want instant noodles with your rice cakes, then make tteokbokki instead. Just exclude the instant noodles and reduce the amount of water to about 1/3 cup. Also, do not forget to soften the rice cakes or garaetteok by soaking in water for about 20 minutes before cooking.

You can also control the spiciness of your dish by adjusting the amount of gochujang (red pepper paste) and gochugaru (red chili powder).

Enjoy your meal!