TToekoboki

Korean rice cakes are chewy, delicious and addicting.

TTOEKBOKI

12 ounces rice cakes

5 to 6 ounces fishcakes

2 cups soup stock (ie dried kelp. I used dashi)

1 onion thinly sliced

sauce

3 tablespoons gochujang

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon gochugaru

1 teaspoon minced garlic

garnish

sesame seeds

sesame oil

green onion

Soak rice cakes in warm water

Boil broth.  Add rice cakes, fish cakes and onion.Add sauce, let cook.  It will thicken as it cooks.

Serve with garnishes.

gochchang

Dan Dan Noodles

I can't even begin to tell you how flavorful and amazing this dish is.  I have never had it before.  I stumbled across this dish in my internet searches and after watching Mark Weins and all his amazing food travel videos.  I totally binge watched his videos during the whole COVID 19 thing.  I couldnt get enough.  And sadly thinking, will anyone ever travel again.  Well, of course they will.... right?

Are you familiar with Sichuan peppercorns?  I really wasn't.  I mean I knew of their existence but didn't really know their effect until recently.  I was watching Mark Weins on You Tube (at 31:41 you will see the peppercorns) and he was eating fresh Sichuan peppercorns and his tongue was going numb.  Wait.  What?  Why?  So because I am so curious about food and ethnic food in particular, I had to research.  Well, after watching lots of videos and wand reading countless Chinese cookbooks and acquiring two new cookbooks (Fuschia Dunlop, Every Grain of Rice and The Food of Sichuan), I now know more. And really I was like why would someone want there tongue to go numb.  I am not really sure but I can tell you it is a pleasureful experience.  And mixed with these crazy delicious flavors, you simply cant go wrong.  You will be addicted to the Sichuan "numbing" experience.

DAN DAN NOODLES
If you are not a fan of spicy food, keep moving.  This has serious kick.  Certainly you can increase or decrease to your liking- the chili oil and the Sichuan peppercorns.

topping:
1 pound pork, ground
1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine

1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn

1 teaspoon ginger

2 tablespoons preserved mustard greens

sauce:

1 tablespoon black vinegar

2 tablespoons sesame paste*

1 tablespoon chili oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon chicken flavoring

2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine

1 teaspoon ginger, fresh, grated

Noodles

Greens, ie. bok choy, broccoli rabe, swiss chard

garnish:

chopped peanuts

sliced scallions

This is a multi step process.  Nothing difficult, just time consuming.  But good things come to you when you put forth the effort.  You will not be disappointed.

1. Rinse preserved mustard greens. Drain. Set aside. Chop peanuts. Set aside.  Slice green onions. Set aside.

2.  Make sauce. Combine black vinegar, sesame paste,  chili oil, sugar, light soy sauce, chicken flavoring, Chinese cooking wine and ginger. Spoon into bowls. This will be the bottom layer of the noodle dish.

3. Cook noodles, timing so that they get done a little before pork.

4. Cook pork, breaking it up as it cooks.  You want small pieces. Let it get a little golden.  Then add garlic.  Cook one minute.  Add Chinese cooking wine, Sichuan peppercorn,  dark soy sauce and ginger. Combine quickly and let cook 1 minute all the while stirring it around.  Remove from heat and add mustard greens.

5. Cook green seperately in salted boiling water.

6. Place noodles on top of sauce in bowls.  Place pork topping on bowls, dividing evenly.  Then sprinkle peanuts and scallions over top. Place greens on side.  Serve immediately and have people stir their noodles quickly as you dont want the noodles sticking together.  Enjoy!

*I did use tahini but Chinese sesame paste is different.  I have also seen many people use peanut butter instead so feel free to choose.

Tteokbokki

Did you ever watch Maangchi on You Tube? Love her vidoes, she's cute, informative and fun.  This is one of  her dishes, well, inspired by one of her dishes.  I did not have the ingredients she had in her tutorial.  I did buy the rice logs frozen at our local Asian market.  I would like to make them some time though.  A future post... 

I did not have the fish cake, the next time I will be sure to add that.  I kind of made my recipe from a  bunch of different ideas on the internet.  Here is a link to one of the recipes.

TTEOKBOKKI

4 cubes vegetable bouillon (mine)

1 quart water

1 teaspoon kosher salt

juice of 2 limes

2 tabelspoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1 generous teaspoon chili oil

1 tablespoon gochugaru flakes (Korean chili flakes)

1 tablespoon palm sugar

4 large cloves garlic

5 scallions sliced in 2 inch pieces

rice logs

Soak rice cakes in warm water for 10 mins.

In a large pot stir bouillon into water.  Add salt, white pepper, juice of two limes, fish sauce,  chili oil, palm sugar, gochugaru flakes and garlic.  Bring to a boil.  add rice cakes and onion. Bring to a boil again and then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 10 to 20 mins until the rice cakes are fully cooked. 

Add the sesame oil, sesame seeds, and green onion then quickly stir. Serve warm.

ATAKILT WAT

This is such a warming dish.  Warms your insides. I love these heavily spiced dishes in the Autumn.  Its comfort food.  But its healthy.  You can skip the beans if you like.  If you have this dish at an Ethiopian restaurant, you probably won't find green beans in it.  Maybe, I dunno.  I haven't been to like a ton of Ethiopian places though.  

I will tell you about fenugreek.  I used to hate it.  It is also called methi (Indian).  It must be an acquired taste, was for me anyhow.  I love it now.  Just totally love it. It is very warming and has a super unique taste.  


ATAKILT WAT
Ethiopian Carrot, Potato and Cabbage

2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil or butter
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)

1/2 cup chopped onion 
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

3/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 

1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1/8 teaspoon cloves powder

a generous dash of black pepper

3/4 cup sliced carrots

2 medium potatoes, chopped, 1.5 generous cups

2 cups of cabbage, finely chopped

2 cups green beans
1/2 tsp salt

In a large skillet, saute garlic, ginger, chili, and onion until fragrant in oil,about 5 minutes. 
Add cumin, turmeric, fenugreek seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper, cook for 2 minutes. Add the carrots, potato, beans and cabbage mix well. Add salt. Mix well, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Stir periodically. 

Taste and add salt and pepper as desired, a little more oil if needed. Mix in, reduce heat to low-medium. Cover and Cook for another 15 minutes or unti