Hello From Seoul! I have been asked for a long time like “Aaron, how can I make rice cakes? Is there any substitute?”
You know what? I wanted to show you better substitutes for rice cakes because making rice cakes is so hard and takes a lot of time, but I was not satisfied with the substitutes, so I just ended up deciding to make 2 kinds of Rice Cakes from scratch.
MAKE RICE FLOUR
Ingredients:
- 4 cups short-grain white rice
Instructions:
1. For 2 types of rice cakes, we need rice flour. Thoroughly rinse the rice until the water runs clear. (Normally, we rinse the rice two or three times but when we make rice flour, it should be more than that. FYI, I did it 8 times.)
2. Soak it in water and put it in a fridge for at least 8 hours. Drain the rice. Get rid of the moisture with paper towels (or a clean towel). If the rice is too wet, you can use a hair dryer. I’m serious.
3. Grind the rice with a coffee grinder (or a food processor). Add the rice little by little. Sift the ground rice flour into a large bowl. If there are too thick or large particles, grind them again so that they can be sifted. (You can store the leftover rice flour in the freezer for later use.)
#1 SSALTTEOK
The first one is called “ssaltteok” which is made of rice flour only! It is a traditional rice cake and it is chewier than miltteok. But when cooked, it easily gets mushy.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups rice flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240ml) hot water
- Toasted sesame oil (or any cooking oil), to coat
Instructions:
1. Put 2 cups of rice flour in a bowl.
2. In a small container, mix together 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 cup (240ml) of hot water. Pour into the bowl little by little and mix well with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and make some holes with a fork. Microwave for 2 minutes.
3. Take out the dough and mix well. Microwave for another minute. Repeat until it’s not too sticky. (FYI, I did it 8 times.)
4. Spread a little bit of sesame oil (or any cooking oil) on the cutting board to prevent any sticking.
5. Take the dough and pound it with a rolling pin. The longer you pound, the chewier your rice cakes will be. Roll and cut into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces. You can make tteokbokki right now or store in the freezer.
#2 MILTTEOK
The second one is called “miltteok” which contains wheat flour. It absorbs the sauce really well and it doesn’t get mushy easily. If you have ever had tteokbokki from street vendors in Korea, I am pretty sure that was made with miltteok.
Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour (220g)
- Rice flour (75g)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 150ml water
- Toasted sesame oil (or any cooking oil), to coat
Instructions:
1. In a bowl, mix together all-purpose flour and rice flour.
2. In a small container, mix together the salt and water. Pour into the bowl little by little, and mix well.
3. Pound the dough. Again, this step is the most important for a chewy texture.
4. Optionally, put the dough in a ziplock bag and let rest it in the fridge for 1 hour to get a better texture.
5. Spread a little bit of sesame oil (or any cooking oil) on the cutting board to prevent any sticking. Place the dough on the cutting board and roll out the dough. Cut into the rectangular shapes and make the shape of rice cakes.
6. Boil for 10 minutes and cool it down in ice water. (If you want to keep them in the freezer, coat them with some sesame oil.)
LET’S MAKE TTEOKBOKKI
Ingredients:
- 1/4 yellow onion
- 2 green onions
- 1 cup cabbage leaves
- 1 sheet Korean fish cake
- 1 cup (240ml) water
- 2 cups rice cakes
- 1-2 hard-boiled eggs, to serve
Tteokbokki Sauce:
- 1 tbsp Korean chili paste (gochujang)
- 2 tbsp Korean chili pepper flakes (gochugaru)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp concentrated chicken stock (or chicken bouillon powder, dasida, soy sauce, etc.)
Instructions:
1. Thinly slice the onion and green onions. Cut the cabbage and fish cake into bite-sized pieces.
2. Make the sauce. In a small container, mix together Korean chili paste, Korean chili pepper flakes, sugar, minced garlic, black pepper to taste, water, and chicken stock.
3. In a pan, add 1 cup (240ml) water and the sauce. Bring it to a boil. Once it starts to boil, add the onion, green onions, cabbage, fish cake, rice cakes, and hard-boiled eggs. Give it a good stir until the sauce is thickened.Enjoy!
Today, I made rice cakes in 2 ways. I really hope this recipe will be a great help to people who cannot get it.But I have to say, if there is a Korean grocery store near your place, do not even think about making it. I am serious! Alright, this is it for today and I’ll see you next time.
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Recipe by Aaron and Claire
Ingredients
4 cups short-grain white rice
- Ssaltteok:
2 cups rice flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (240ml) hot water
Toasted sesame oil (or any cooking oil), to coat
- Miltteok:
All-purpose flour (220g)
Rice flour (75g)
1/2 tsp salt
150ml water
Toasted sesame oil (or any cooking oil), to coat
Directions
- Make Rice Flour
- Thoroughly rinse the rice until the water runs clear. (Normally, we rinse the rice two or three times but when we make rice flour, it should be more than that. FYI, I did it 8 times.)
- Soak it in water and put it in a fridge for at least 8 hours. Drain the rice. Get rid of the moisture with paper towels (or a clean towel). If the rice is too wet, you can use a hair dryer. I’m serious.
- Grind the rice with a coffee grinder (or a food processor). Add the rice little by little. Sift the ground rice flour into a large bowl. If there are too thick or large particles, grind them again so that they can be sifted. (You can store the leftover rice flour in the freezer.)
- #1 Ssaltteok
- Put 2 cups of rice flour in a bowl.
- In a small container, mix together 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 cup (240ml) of hot water. Pour into the bowl little by little and mix well with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and make some holes with a fork. Microwave for 2 minutes.
- Take out the dough and mix well. Microwave for another minute. Repeat until it’s not too sticky. (FYI, I did it 8 times.)
- Spread a little bit of sesame oil (or any cooking oil) on the cutting board to prevent any sticking.
- Take the dough and pound it with a rolling pin. The longer you pound, the chewier your rice cakes will be. Roll and cut into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces. You can make tteokbokki right now or store in the freezer.
- #2 Miltteok
- In a bowl, mix together all-purpose flour and rice flour.
- In a small container, mix together the salt and water. Pour into the bowl little by little, and mix well.
- Pound the dough. Again, this step is the most important for a chewy texture.
- Optionally, put the dough in a ziplock bag and let rest it in the fridge for 1 hour to get a better texture.
- Spread a little bit of sesame oil (or any cooking oil) on the cutting board to prevent any sticking. Place the dough on the cutting board and roll out the dough. Cut into the rectangular shapes and make the shape of rice cakes.
- Boil for 10 minutes and cool it down in ice water. (If you want to keep them in the freezer, coat them with some sesame oil.)
Notes
- 1 Tbsp = 15 ml, 1 Cup = 240 ml
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