Rice Cake Skewers, Tteok Kkochi, or 떡꼬치

Rice skewers (tteok kkochi) are another version of popular Korean street food style rice cake dish. The rice cakes are pan-fried on skewers and glazed with a savory sauce made with gochujang.

We've been missing and craving for Korean street food for sometime and these rice cake skewers (tteok-kkochi, 떡꼬치) was the just right cure for our craving.

Living in the southern hemisphere, the continent furthest from Korea, we're constantly missing Korean food that we can’t find here, especially the food from street vendors in Korea.

If you live in Korea or are visiting Korea for business or vacation, please enjoy the great goodies that you can easily find on any major shopping streets. Do it for us!

Around this time you will find many sweet pancakes, roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts, and different types of rice cakes and fish cake soups. These are just the tip of the iceberg. Just thinking of all the goodness makes us drool, slurp!

So we bugged our husband to drive us to a Korean grocery store last weekend, which is about 1 hour away from where we live. We could drive, of course. But it is impossible to find parking space in that neighborhood.

So he has to drop us off in front of the store, where we can quickly grab a few things we need while he drives around the area until we finish shopping. The Korean stores are quite small and we can finish the shopping within 15 minutes.

Fresh Rice Cake Ropes

One great thing about Korean grocery stores in Buenos Aires is that you can usually get freshly made tofu and rice cakes along with fresh produce.

We love plain rice cakes. We often eat them plain, right out of package without any additional flavor. Chewy and satisfying, it is a carb lover’s dream. These fresh rice cake ropes make the popular Korean spicy rice cakes (tteokbokki).

But if we have to add something to make it even more savory, here is one unfussy recipe that we would like to share. With this recipe, you can mimic one of the most famous Korean street foods. It’s the rice cake skewers called “tteok kkochi (떡꼬치)”.

If you like anything skewers, try korean chicken skewers known as dakkochi. It’s another savory snack or appetizer that is direct to preapre.

What rice cakes to use?

If you can access the freshly made rice cakes, you are lucky.

If not, use chilled rice cakes you usually find in many Korean grocery stores. You will need to blanch the cakes in hot water until they become soft. Wipe off excess moisture with a piece of paper towel and proceed with the recipe.

Now let’s see how easily you can imitate a savory Korean street snack in your own kitchen.

How the dish comes together

For the sauce; Ketchup, Korean chili paste, strawberry jam and/or sweet chili sauce. You can use either strawberry jam or sweet chili sauce, but if you happen to have both? Use them both.

In a small mixing bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Cut the rice cakes to the desired size; usually about 3-inch long.

If you are using frozen rice cakes, make sure to blanch the cakes in hot water until softened, wipe off the moisture with a paper towel.

Pierce 3-4 rice cakes with skewers.

Fry in the oil until the surface of the cakes gets bubbly and crisp, about 2-3 minutes on each side.

In another small skillet, boil the sauce until it thickens a little.

Coat the sauce over the rice cake and sprinkle with some chopped nuts of your choice. Walnuts, almonds or peanuts are great!

Enjoy it! You will love the crisp texture on the outside but the chewy soft stickiness of rice cakes inside. Even our husband, who is not a big fan of anything “rice cake”, thought it was great.

We left Korea some 25 years ago, and never been able to live there since then. Although we occasionally visit and spend some time with our family, it is not the same.

We envy those who get to live in Korea. Aren’t you having so much fun? Jealous!

• Yield: 4 people
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 15 minutes
• Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb rice cakes, fresh or frozen (chilled), about3-inch long pieces
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 3 tbsp Korean chili paste (gochujang)
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp strawberry jam, or sweet chili sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1-2 tbsp water
• dashes freshly cracked pepper
• 2 tbsp finely chopped nuts, of your choice

Method

1. Insert 3-4 fresh rice cakes through each skewer. If using frozen rice cakes, blanch the cakes in hot water until soften, wipe off the moisture with paper towel, then insert the skewers.
2. In a small bowl, combine chili paste, ketchup, garlic, jam (and/or sweet chili sauce), honey, water, and black pepper; mix well. Pour the sauce in a small skillet and boil for 1 minute until slightly thicken. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and fry the rick cake skewers until crisp and bubbly on the surface, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Brush with the sauce and sprinkle the chopped nut over.
4. Serve warm or at room temperature.