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The Korean Vegan

Traditional Korean Recipes

Tteokbokki (Spicy Korean Rice Cakes)

I grew up eating food that required large quantities of water to put out the fire in my mouth.  Tteokbokki–spicy Korean rice cakes–are right up there with chigae and kimchi as standard Korean comfort food.  This is the type of food you eat after working a 12 hour day with a bottle of makgeolli (Korean rice wine).  The rice cakes get tender and chewy, while the heat from the chili flakes keep you alert and thirsty.

Easy to make and delicious.

Make sure to have a gallon of water handy, though.


Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Recipe Difficulty: Very Easy
Servings Amount: 4

Recipe Lead: For mouthwatering fire. In your mouth.

Ingredients
  • 1/2 package fresh Korean rice cakes (cylindrical)*
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp sesame oil (plus more for drizzling)
  • 1/2 onion (thinly sliced)
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 carrot (chopped into discs)
  • 4-5 florets of broccoli (chopped)
  • 1/2 zucchini or Korean squash (chopped)
  • 2-3 green onions (chopped)
  • 4-5 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (reconstituted and chopped)
  • 1 cup mushroom dashi (or vegetable broth)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Korean chili flakes**
  • 2 tbsp gochujang^
  • 2 tbsp + 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • Optional: cooked ramen noodles
  1.  Add 1 tbsp sesame oil, salt, and pepper to rice cakes and massage. Set aside while you prep your veggies.
  2. Add 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp of soy sauce, and salt to mushrooms. Set aside.
  3. Prepare sauce by adding Korean 1 1/2 tbsp of Korean chili flakes, 1 1/2 tbsp of gochujang, 2 tbsp of soy sauce, and 2 1/2 tbsp of maple syrup.  Stir together.
  4. In a large pan, add 1 tbsp of oil over medium high heat. When hot, add marinated mushrooms, garlic, and onions and cook until onions are soft.
  5. Add broccoli, carrots, and zucchini and cook until veggies soften.
  6. Add rice cakes and sauce.  Stir until all veggies and rice cakes are evenly coated.
  7. Add mushroom dashi/veggie broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to allow sauce to simmer.  Stir with wooden spoon as sauce thickens.
  8. Optional: Before sauce thickens too much, add cooked ramen noodles.
  9. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and drizzle with a little more sesame oil before serving.

*You can buy rice cakes here.

**You can buy Korean chili powder here.

^You can buy my favorite vegan certified gluten free gochujang here.

Tteokbokki (Spicy Korean Rice Cakes) was last modified: May 26th, 2020 by the.krn.vegan@gmail.com
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the.korean.vegan

The Korean Vegan, Esq.
Earlier today, I watched a video of a white man en Earlier today, I watched a video of a white man encourage his 3 year old son to “make fun of his Asian uncle” by pulling the corners of his eyes back into slits.  When confronted by a number of Asians explaining how offensive the video was, he grew defensive, claiming it was “just a little fun.”
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Several years ago, someone asked me what the big deal was about white people making fun of my eyes.  He claimed, “people make fun of my appearance all the time, I guess I’m just not as sensitive as you.” Being bullied for one’s appearance is always wrong and can definitely be traumatic no matter what. But when that appearance is tied to your ethnicity, and when that ethnicity is outnumbered, that kind of bullying can take on a different level of harm. If someone makes fun of my nose, I may spend the rest of my life hating my nose. But if someone makes fun of my eyes—an attribute tied to my Koreanness—then I not only hate my eyes, I also hate my Koreanness.
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Bottom line, I never thought that in 2021, I’d have to explain why making “Asian eyes” to an Asian is offensive, inappropriate, and insensitive.  But apparently, it’s a message that continues to be in demand. In lieu of yelling at people, though, I thought I’d just share a story.
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Finally, a couple translations: “Dominick’s Language” is what I used to call English, because it was the gibberish my Dad spoke at the grocery store. “Sohknehbok” is Korean underclothing, something my grandmother made me wear in summer, lol, because she was always afraid I would catch my death.
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You can find the recipe for Tteokbokki (or its popular sister recipe, Rabokki) on my blog.
I’ve been grappling with this a lot lately—the I’ve been grappling with this a lot lately—the feeling that people automatically question my authenticity, are waiting for me to screw up and reveal my non-Koreanness. I’ve been called out for using the wrong ingredients, providing incorrect translations, even typos in my hashtags—all as if these errors somehow serve as proof that I’m not as Korean as I “pretend” to be. This makes me so angry sometimes because I feel like so much of my work is directly on behalf of the Korean and Korean American community, and my choice to avoid animal products shouldn’t just erase that. Over the past two years, I’ve spent a great deal of time researching for my book. I talked to my family, went to South Korea, and educated myself on the ingredients I took for granted. But I worry that ppl will see “Vegan” after the word Korean and assume that I’m immediately disqualified from participating in the discourse of diaspora. I even thought about changing my @ but I like the challenge implied by joining Korean and Vegan. Even if it makes me nervous! Lol.
Jumeok bap for Oppa. Jumeok bap for Oppa.
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