Experimental Rice Cake Skewer
Have you ever seen delicious, mouth-watering Korean street food being devoured by an actress or actor in a drama? Maybe you have been to Korea and tried tteok-kkochi—a tasty, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, sweet and spicy rice cake goodness on a stick? Perhaps you live somewhere where this savory snack is hard to come by, or simply isn’t on the market in your country? Let’s experiment a little and try to find the best substitute ingredients for this snack and make it from scratch!
RICE CAKES
Firstly, there might not be any rice cakes ready for purchase, so let’s begin with the ingredients for them.
You will need a bowl, a steamer rack, parchment paper, wooden cooking sticks, pestle and a wooden cutting board for shaping the rice cakes.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of rice flour
- 1 cup hot water (boiled)
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- Sesame oil
Directions:
- Combine the rice flour, salt and boiling water. Mix them well. Make sure the dough is not too dry or contains too much liquid.
- Put the parchment paper on the steamer rack. Add the rice cake dough, and steam for about 30 minutes over high heat.
- Spread some sesame oil on the wooden cutting board and place the hot rice cake on it. Pound it well with a pestle until it becomes smooth and elastic.
- Time to shape your rice cakes! Imagine you are making long snakes from clay and roll the dough to shape them.
- Cut the rice cakes in about 5 cm length each. You can either cook them right away or put them in a freezer for later use.
- Wet the wooden sticks and slide on the skewers. Heat up the pan and fry until you can see a hint of golden and crispy surface.
SAUCE
Secondly, the sauce is also a very important addition to the whole recipe, so it is important you have the ingredients ready.
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons of red chili (gochujang) paste*
- 2 teaspoons of ketchup
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup**
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon ground peppers
- A pinch of chili pepper flakes (optional)
*Depending on the amount of spiciness and amount of sauce you would prefer. If there is no way for you to acquire red chili paste, try to use Sriracha chili sauce as a substitute.
**If you do not have corn syrup, you can use granulated sugar dissolved in hot water or honey.
- Cut the garlic into small pieces
- Mix all the sauce ingredients
- Put the sauce in a bowl to dip or warm it up in a small skillet and spread on the rice cake skewers. You can sprinkle some sesame seeds or seaweed for decoration.
Here you go! Hopefully this recipe was helpful. Do not be discouraged if your rice cakes turn out not as chewy for the first time, all it takes is some practice. You are free to experiment with the ingredients, and if you find a better substitute for some, do not hesitate to try it out and comment down below to share your cooking experience!
Written by Ruta Balzekaite
