Recipe: Korean Spicy Rice Cakes

I love Korean food and over the past year I have learnt to make a few of my favourite Korean dishes. I thought I'd share my easy Korean Spicy Rice Cakes recipe today which is great as a snack or starter. 

This recipe has been adapted from a mixture of different recipes that I have looked at over the year. I don't cook regularly so I like to keep things simple, after trial and error this is the one that I have come up with that is both easy and tasty! (Most recipes use anchovy stock but I just use a chicken stock cube instead because it is easier.)

Serves 1-2 people.

Ingredients:

You will also need:

+ Water (I used about 300ml) 

+ Oil (I used sesame oil)

Method:

1. Prepare your ingredients according to the photo above.

2. Add some oil to your pan and fry the onions, garlic and carrots until they are lightly browned.

3. Add in your water, stock cube, sugar, gochujang and stir until everything has dissolved nicely. 

4. Add in your rice cakes and fish cakes and cook until the rice cakes become soft and spongey and the liquid has thickened. This should take about 6-10 minutes. Remember to keep stirring!

5. Add in your ramen and 3/4 of your spring onions. Stir for another minute or two until the onions have wilted.

6. Transfer to a bowl, top off with your egg and garnish with the rest of your spring onions!

7. Enjoy! They taste best when eaten right away!

Notes:

I. You can use more or less Gochujang, I recommend starting with a little at first then adding more as you taste.

II. You can use more water if you like to have more sauce. I recommend adding in about 100ml and then adding more after you add your rice cakes and fish cakes in. (Remember the water will reduce and thicken).

III. I use demerara sugar, use whichever you prefer.

IV. You can also garnish with sesame seeds too. Unfortunately I ran out :(

I hope you enjoy this recipe & let me know if you do try it out!


Extra notes:

You can find rice cakes, fish cakes and Gochujang at Korean food stores and some oriental stores. Buy fresh rice cakes if possible as these will taste the best. If you are using frozen ones make sure you soak them before cooking & use 12 rather than 6 halved as those tend to be cut to size already.

I buy my rice cakes and fish cakes at Centre Point Food Store in London, which is a great store for Korean ingredients. They have now moved to New Oxford St which is just around the corner from their old location. They also have Gochujang but I usually buy mine from Tesco.