Korean Spicy Rice Cake (or Tteokbokki/떡볶이 in Korean) is arguable one of the most famous Korean food around. I remember going to South Korea and seeing this literally everywhere. Where there are street food vendors, chances are you are going to find this popular snack.
Rabokki is combination of instant noodles (Ramyeon/라면) and Tteokbokki, turning this simple snack into a full meal. This is served in a restaurant as opposed to being sold on the streets.
The main component for the sauce is korean red pepper paste (gochujang/고추장). This gives the sauce its distinct taste. The first time I made tteokbokki was back during my uni days in Sydney. Back then, I mainly referred to these 2 YouTubers – Aeri’s Kitchen and Maangchi. They are still active on YouTube and both also run food blogs, focusing on Korean cuisine. Do check them out if you have interest in Korean food.
Aeri’s Kitchen
https://www.youtube.com/user/aeriskitchen/featured
Maangchi
https://www.youtube.com/user/Maangchi
The recipe shared below is based on theirs with slight amendment to the ingredients based on what is available here in Malaysia. Do give this a try and let me know how you like it.
Rabokki: Korean Spicy Rice Cake with Instant Noodles
Ingredients
Optional
Garnish
Steps
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Prepare the ingredients
Slice onion and carrot into thick slices.
Halves the fish balls.
Finely minced the garlic.
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Sauce base
Add water to a deep pan and switch on heat to medium.
Add in korean red pepper paste, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, salt and instant noodles seasoning. Stir well and bring to a boil.
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Add the vegetables
Once the sauce is boiling, add in onion and carrots. Let it simmer for around 2 minutes.
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Cook the rice cakes
Then, add in the rice cakes and fish balls.
Let it cook until the rice cakes slightly soften.
Occasionally stir the rice cakes to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
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Add instant noodles
Finally add in the instant noodles. Submerge the noodles into the sauce and let it cook for around 4 minutes. Occasionally stir. Once the noodles are cooked, switch off heat.
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Optional - add cheese
To turn this into a cheese rabokki, at the final minute, sprinkle a handful (or two!) of shredded cheese on the dish. Let it melt slightly then turn off heat. The residual heat will melt the rest of the cheese.
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Garnish and serve
Garnish with spring onion, sesame seeds and hard-boiled eggs.
Ready to be served. Enjoy!
