Oh gosh it's DDEOKBOKKI (떡볶이)

Boy, has it been a while since I have been on this blog

I have been so busy with the other aspects of my life that I totally forgot about this blog, if it wasn't because I had remembered a blog I used to follow I think I would have forgotten that I ever created this blog.

Now I'm really sorry for not posting for like the past year(?) but I will start again soon, and hopefully I can make it a habit.

So to start things off again...I think I should tell you about the food I had when I was on holidays back in January. Yes, I know that it was AAAAGGGESSS

SS ago...but better late than never. So I went to Hong Kong and Japan, but what I'm gonna tell you is about something that I had when I was in Hong Kong.

When I was in Hong Kong, I had my first ever Korean BBQ. Now being Australia I'm accustomed to have BBQs but a Korean BBQ is actually quite different from the usual Australian one. For one we don't have it outside and the servings of meat are quite...well small. I knew what a Korean BBQ would be like... but it was the flavours that surprised me.

My family can't really eat spicy, only I can. So I was a bit disappointed that I was unable to experience the authentic Korean BBQ. :( But non-the-less, the food was delicious. I loved the meat and especially the sauces that we could have. The side dishes were all amazing....

I wish I had taken photos...but I didn't so I am reserved to have to use photos from Google images, but I'm sure that you get the same idea.

NOW, to move on to the recipe that I will be telling you about this time. I'm going for Korean because well....I was talking about Korean food just then.

I'm gonna introduce to you guys a dish called ddeokbokki (떡볶이). I know that it is usually labelled as a snack...but when I was in Hong Kong I was fortunate to have the whole dish to myself. I have had it before in Australia as well...and lets just say that it is just one of the Korean dishes that I have fallen in love with.

I love the chewy rice cakes and the spicy gochujang (고추장) paste. Now I'm gonna show you guys how to make two variations of this dish, a spicy version and a more mild version for those of you who can't eat spicy things.

Spicy Ddeokbokki

Ingredients

Tube shaped rice cake (300 grams)

Hot pepper paste [gochujang (고추장)]

Dried anchovies (a must for a tasty dish)

Sugar

Water

Green onions

Directions:

1. Separate the tubes of rice cake into individual pieces.
2. In a pan, pour 4 cups of water and add 7 large dried anchovies after removing their heads and intestines. Boil the water for 10 minutes over medium heat.
3. Remove the anchovies and add the rice cakes, 4-6 tbs of hotpepper paste, 1 tbs of sugar, and 1 tbs of hotpepper flakes (optional). Stir it constantly.
4. Cut 7 green onions into 5 cm long pieces, and add them to the pot.
5. Keep stirring until the sauce is thick and the rice cake is shiny.
6. Transfer it to a plate and serve

Now for the mild version

Mild Ddeokbokki

Ingredients:

1 package of rice cake

Beef strips

Soy sauce

Sugar

Garlic

Onion

King oyster mushrooms

water

Directions:

1. Saute 200 grams of beef strips with 2 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs sugar, 2 cloves minced garlic, and 3 tbs of sliced onion.
2. Add 3-4 sliced king oyster mushrooms and 2 chopped green onions to “1″ and stir it.
3. Add 1 cup of water and put rice cake in it and keep folding until rice cake is soft
4. Serve it on a plate and eat it when it is warm

Now, that is my two recipes for ddeokbokki. I hope you guys like it in this wintery weather in Australia...and I'll try and post a recipe for those of you who are in the Northern hemisphere in the summer :D