Tteokboggi / Rice Cake with Vegetables in Spicy Sauce (떡 볶기)

Tteokboggi is a very popular street food in Korea, I used to buy tteokboggi on the way home from school in the late afternoon, could not wait until dinner time,  to comfort my empty stomach, Most of Korean audlts have a  fond memory of tteokboggi , and one of the most popular street food for the forever hungry Korean teenagers.

I am often asked by my cookery class ,mostly they are curious about Tteokboggi that have seen in the Korean movie or drama.  I like to make with thin and bite size of rice cake to enjoy with drinks, a snack for the grown ups .

Rice cake/tube or flat 100g

Braising Steak  or pork fillet 100g.

Celery stick, shitake mushroom, carrot, onion, red ,yellow, green pepper 

Crushed garlic, Gochujang ( Korean chilli paste),chicken stock

1.Cut rice cake to bite size ( prefer 3cm cube or thin tube ), Cut all th vegetables like match stick 5m long, meat as well, in a small bowl, 1 tbsp soy, 2 tsp sesameoil 2tsp sugar, 1tsp garlic with a pinch of pepper and stir well,add meat leave to marinate for 20 minutes.

2.   Heat oil in a pan , add onion, mushroom,carrot, celery, cook for a few minutes then rice cake,pepper, In a bowl put stock, add gochujang( 2tsp) stir well and pour into the rice cake mix, add garlic and cook slowly , if you like to have spicier , add more gochujang, fianally put 2 tsp sugar cook  for 2-3 minutes. and serve with a pinch of toasted sesame seed on the top

Kimchi Jjigae ( Kimchi Stew) /김치찌게

Kimchi Jjigae has to make with fermented cabbage  kimchi, freshly made kimchi does not have special flavour that fermented kimchi have. it would be just spicy cabbage stew not kimchi jjigae. It has to be cooked slowly , simmering for loong time. Like any stew ( beef stew etc..) it is tastier on next day . I  am guessing this kimchi jjigae was developed by a changce to use up old fermented kimchi, as all Korean house hold has kimchi all the time, so well fermented kmchi has to use up to make freshe one, all the time.  It is a heart warming dish, and kind of comfort food, specially during  cold Winter month. One of my korean cookery class's lady described kimchi jjigae as a big hug , like a warm loving human touch, I think that was a perfect description. well, we all need a big hug now and then.

1/4 of fermented kimchi

100g shoulder or belly of pork( diced)

1 pack of tofu(hard), 1 onion( sliced) spring onion.

3-4 cups of good chicken stock.

Bean paste( 2tsp) chilli flakes, crushed garlic.

1. Take off stuffing from the kimchi,cut to bite size, chop the onion and pork as well, in a stew pan, heat oil and fry onion first add meat and sliced kimchi cook slowly, add 2 tsp of korean bean paste, pour stock and boil, simmer for 30 minutes, taste add light soy sauce ( if you need), chilli flakes, 1 tsp garlic and tofu( cut 2cm cube) and simmer anothe 30 minutes. Serve in a heated brown Korean stew dish with chopped spring onion on the top.
For the vegetarian: take out meat,  add shitake mushroom for more body, and use vegetable stock, you can add egg , in the middle when you serve ( fried, or raw( it will cook with heat in the stew)  

Stuffed Ccumber Kimchi (오이 소배기)

  This stuffed cucumber  kimchi is my favourite Summer kimchi, it is not strong as cabbage kimchi/Baechu kimchi,( many of none koreans think, need a some special acquried taste to appreciate cabbage kimchi,/ what about blue cheese? I'd argue, need a lots of acquried tastes for the blue cheese or any cheese that matter!!!)
 I love its refreshing taste and crunch to bite and looks preety on the plate.And more, unlike cabbage kimchi, this is a  perfect  side dish with pork steak,grilled salmon, lemon chicken with new potatoes or pasta. you have to use mini cucumber for this kimchi because  English cucmber contains much more water than mini ones.

1. 8 mini cucmber, 2tbs korean chilli flakes, 1tbs crushed garlic, 2tsp grated ginger, 2tsp sugar, 1tbs salted baby shrimps( Korean shop has), mooli(M), 1bunch of spring onion, sea salt.
2. Make 15% of salted water in a big bowl by resolving sea salt in the water,( table salt is OK too) 
3. Carefully slit cucumber in the middle (lengthy way) and leave 5 mm on the back  to make pocket to be able to stuffing in .
4. Leave cucumbers in the salted water about 3 hours and wash, drain, dry with tea towel, have to take out water as much as you can, set aside.
5. Slice mooli thinly and cut like match stick( 5cm long) as spring onion as well. put all the ingredients in a bawl (except salt) and mix well, leave at least 30 minutes . If you need salt, add little by little, mind you cucumbers are already salted. this kimchi is not salty one, more like spicy salad!!
   Carfully open the pocket of the cucumber and put stuffing inside evenly by hand  or with chop sticks, becareful not to split. just enough to hold(1tbs will be enough ).
6. Put in the air tight jar (with robber ring), and store in the fridge, you can eat next day , but eat within a week. 
7. I  found, mini cucmbers are cheaper at Indian shops than other shops