gungjung tteokbokki - korean stir-fried rice cake with beef and vegetables

This is definitely a week of Korean food for me. For some strange reason, I really am into Korean food and can't seem to stop cooking all sorts of dishes.

Some time last year, I shared a recipe on how to cook Korean hot and spicy rice cakes. Today, I am sharing another recipe also using rice cakes.

I really like cooking Korean food because many Korean dishes are really not difficult to cook at all. In addition, I really like that I can make use of roughly the same types of sauces in so many different dishes.

To cook this dish, I started by boiling the tteokbokki in salted water for a few minutes, until the rice cakes floated to the surface. I then fished them out and placed them in a bowl.

I added light soy sauce and sesame oil and stirred to mix. This was then set aside.

I halved a zucchini lengthwise and sliced each half thinly. Onto the zucchini, I added some salt and left them to sit for about 10-15 minutes. At the end of this time, I squeezed the water out of the zucchini.

Into a heated frying pan, I added a little olive oil. I cooked the zucchini for a few minutes, then transferred them into a bowl. I repeated the same with the carrots and mushrooms. I added a little salt to the carrots and mushrooms while cooking them, but not to the zucchini.

Then into the same pan, I added a little more olive oil and sauteed the onions for about 2-3 minutes to soften them. The marinated beef was added and I sauteed the beef for about 2-3 minutes.

Then I added the tteokbokki and vegetables and stirred to mix.

Finally, I added more soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, sesame seeds and minced garlic.

Once everything was mixed evenly, I checked the seasonings and the dish was ready to be served.

This is really not difficult to cook at all.

And it is one satisfying dish!

RECIPE
Gungjung Tteokbokki - Korean Stir-Fried Rice Cake with Beef and Vegetables (Serves  4-6)
Adapted from Korean Bapsang

Ingredients:
1 pound (500g) garaetteok/tteokbokki tteok*, about 2-inch long pieces
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
(*Tteokbokki tteok is garaetteok made thinner. If using regular size garaetteok, quarter them lengthwise into thinner pieces.)

150g lean beef like sirloin or rib eye
4 or 5 shiitake mushrooms (dried or fresh)
Marinade for the beef:
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons rice wine (optional)
1 clove garlic minced
pinch pepper

1 medium size carrot, sliced thinly
1/2 medium size sweet onion, sliced thinly
1/2 medium size zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
salt and pepper to taste
vegetable or canola oil

For the Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 garlic clove minced

Optional garnish:
ginkgo nuts or pine nuts

Method:
Bring water (about 1 litre) to a boil in a medium size pot. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the rice cake pieces. Boil until all the pieces float to the top, 2 to 3 minutes. The time required will vary depending on the condition of rice cakes. The rice cake will be very soft, but it will become harder as it cools. Drain them out with a sieve. DO NOT rinse them. Immediately mix in soy sauce and sesame oil. Set aside.

Thinly slice the beef into 2-inch long strips. Cut stems off the mushrooms and slice into 1/4-inch thin strips. Mix in soy sauce, sesame, oil, sugar, rice wine, garlic and a pinch of pepper. Marinate while preparing the other ingredients.

Cut the zucchinis in half lengthwise and then thinly slice crosswise. Generously sprinkle salt over sliced zucchinis and set aside for 10 - 15 minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid from salted zucchini by hand. Thinly slice onion and carrot into 2-inch long pieces.

In a lightly oiled skillet, separately sauté each vegetable. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the onion and carrot, not the zucchini. Set aside.

In the same skillet, cook the beef and mushrooms. Add the rice cake and sauté together for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sautéed vegetables and the remaining soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, sesame seeds and garlic. Combine everything well. Add additional soy sauce or sugar as necessary.

Serve warm.