Savory and Spicy Jjajang Tteokbokki (Black Bean Sauce Rice Cakes)
A special tteokbokki simmered to be deeply savory and pleasantly spicy by combining stir-fried chunjang with gochujang and gochugaru.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
Frying the chunjang in oil first removes its astringency, while adding gochujang and gochugaru gives it a spicy kick that keeps every bite interesting. Simmered until gently thickened with vegetables, rice cakes, fish cakes, and broth, it makes a wonderful snack.
- Servings
- 2–3 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Tteokbokki20
- Fish cake (eomuk)2 sheets
- Cabbage2-3 leaves
- Onion1/3
- Carrot1/4
- Large green onion (daepa)1/2 stalks
- Chunjang (black bean paste)1 tbsp
- Minced garlic1 tsp
Seasoning sauce
- Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)1 tbsp
- Gochujang (Korean red chili paste)1 tbsp
- Regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang)1 tbsp
- Corn syrup (mulyeot)1 tbsp
- Mirin (cooking rice wine)1 tbsp
- Sugar1 tbsp
- Fish cake (eomuk) broth (or anchovy broth, water)1.5 cups
- To make the fish cake broth, briefly blanch the fish cake in rolling boiling water to remove impurities, then add 1 sheet of the blanched fish cake to 2 cups of cold water and simmer thoroughly to extract the flavor.
- Adding gochugaru makes it quite spicy. If making this for children, you can omit the gochugaru.
Steps
Microwave the rice cakes for 2-3 minutes to make them soft and pliable.
Cut 2 sheets of fish cake into large pieces, and slice the vegetables diagonally or cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Though the photo is missing, mix all the seasoning sauce ingredients into the broth in advance.
To make the fish cake broth, briefly blanch the fish cake in rolling boiling water to remove impurities,
then add 1 sheet of the blanched fish cake to 2 cups of cold water and simmer thoroughly.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil, add 1 tbsp of chunjang, and stir-fry it. Fry over medium heat for about 2 minutes, then set aside.
As I mentioned before when making jjajangmyeon, stir-frying the chunjang thoroughly gets rid of its astringent taste.
Heat another pan, add oil, and stir-fry the minced garlic; then add the carrot and cabbage and stir-fry.
When the vegetables have shrunk by about half, add the fried chunjang and mix well.
Pour in the seasoned broth...
Add the rice cakes, fish cakes, and large green onion, and simmer until the sauce thickens.
Ppunwife's tips
- Stir-frying the chunjang thoroughly removes its astringent taste.
- Rather than using only chunjang, blending in the right amount of gochujang and gochugaru keeps it from tasting heavy and gives it a nice spicy kick.
FAQ
How do you remove the astringent taste when cooking with chunjang?
Stir-frying the chunjang in an oiled pan over medium heat for about 2 minutes thoroughly eliminates its characteristic astringency.
How can I adjust this for children who cannot handle spicy food?
When cooking for children, you can simply omit the spicy gochugaru.
Can I use a different broth instead of fish cake broth?
Besides broth made by simmering fish cakes, you can substitute anchovy broth or plain water to make the sauce.
