This tteokbokki (Korean Stir Fry Rice Cake) recipe is a non spicy version. It’s marinated beef mix with vegetables and chewy rice cakes. So fun and delicious!
Rice cake! Rice cake! I love rice cake! Rice cake always has a special place in my heart. It is something really unique and different. Nothing I have ever eaten has a texture like rice cake. It is chewy with a bite. There is not much flavor to rice cake itself. The sauce is the secret to a good rice cake dish. I have grown up with Chinese rice cake, which is usually thinly sliced and cook with pork and soy sauce. Not only until recent years, I found out about Korean rice cake which is usually in a shape of long tube. However, most Korean rice cakes that I saw were cooked with a spicy sauce. I don’t eat spicy food, so I have never tried it. This recipe is just perfect, because it is not spicy! The sauce was delicious with tons of beef flavors and a hint of sweet. The cucumber was refreshing, and the carrot gave some crunch. I really love this dish that I think I can cook this every week. I hope you will like it too.
Tteokbokki (Korean Stir Fry Rice Cake)
Ingredients
- 3 large dried shiitake mushroom
- ½ pound beef rib-eye slices (thinly sliced)
- ½ onion (finely sliced)
- 1 carrot (peeled and cut into thin strips)
- ⅔ English cucumber (cut in half lengthwise, scoop up the seeds and cut into thin strips)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 11 ounces Korean Rice Cake (tube shape)
- 1 green onion (finely chopped)
- soy sauce (optional)
- sugar (optional)
Marinade for beef slices:
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 green onion (finely chopped)
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin (Japanese sweet cooking rice wine)
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
- For the dried mushrooms, rinse them under cold water to clean, and soak them in cold water for about 5 hours until the mushrooms are soft. If you want, you can soak them overnight. Once soften, rub lightly with fingers to remove any dirt. Pat dry with paper towels. Cut to remove the stems. Cut the mushrooms into thinly slices and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the marinade. Add the beef and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap. Marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Rinse the rice cakes under tap water for 30 seconds. Separate any rice cakes that stuck together. Set aside to drain.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, warm up the vegetable oil. Add the onion and cook until transparent, about 3 minutes. Add the shiitake mushroom, and cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in the beef and cook until the beef is almost all browned. Put in the rice cake, carrot and cucumber. Mix well, cover with a lid and cook for 4 – 5 minutes until the rice cake is soften and cooked through. Taste and adjust with soy sauce and little bit of sugar if needed. Serve hot.
Notes
- The rice cakes that I used in this recipe were thinner and smaller, so the cook time was a bit less. Just make sure to taste and try the texture of the rice cake to your likeness before serving.
- Dried mushrooms have a deeper umami flavor. But if you can’t find them, you can use fresh shiitake mushrooms.
- For a short cut way to soak shiitake mushroom, you can soak them in warm water for about 1 hour.
- Both the rice cake and thinly sliced beef can be bought in most Asian supermarkets.
[…] For me, I only ate things that are not red, like Korean BBQ, japchae (sweet potato noodles), tteokbokki (non-spicy rice cake version) and bibimbap (with very little gochujang […]