Spicy Korean rice cakes / Oil Tteokbokki / Korean street food / Vegan appetizer

I became familiar with Korean cuisine after watching K-movies and dramas :). Spicy Korean steamed rice cakes aka Oil tteokbokki (Pan fried or Stir-fried rice Cakes) is one of the popular Korean street food items. I used less oil to make it a bit healthy. Korean rice cakes are similar to South Indian Kozhukattai/ Undrallu/ Kudumulu. This can be a quick snack bite or can be a light dinner. Let’s go into details.

Ingredients:
1. Rice cakes – 325g or 11.5oz (I used half of the frozen rice cake pack bought at a local Korean grocery store )
2. Gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder) – 1 tbsp – Can be replaced with replaced with regular chilli powder.
3. Green onions/ Spring onions -3
4. Garlic clove -1 crushed
5. Soy sauce – 1.5 tbsp
6. Oil (preferably sesame oil) – 2 tbsp
7. Salt – as per taste
8. Toasted sesame seeds – to garnish

Procedure:
1. Soak the frozen rice cakes for 1 hour in warm water and discard the water.
2. In a bowl, put the rice cakes, add salt, red pepper powder, crushed garlic, 1 tbsp oil and mix everything lightly.
3. Meanwhile, chop green onions/ Spring onions and separate the white & green parts. Add some of the green onions to the prepared mixture.
4. Sauté the hard white part of the onions for a minute, add the tteokbokki mixture and fry it for 3-4 mins.
5. Then add soy sauce and sauté everything on a low flame for a minute or two.
6. Garnish with the remaining green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Notes:
1. If the rice cakes are still hard after soaking, do either a) or b)
a) Defrost them in a microwave for 30 sec. If the rice cakes are microwaved for more than 30 sec, there are high chances of getting soggy.
b) Dip the rice cakes in boiling water for 2 mins and use them.
2.. When mixing the rice cakes take care not to apply pressure as they are very delicate.
3. Use only medium low heat to fry the rice cakes.