Dinner Tonight: Roasted Rice Cake

I've been infatuated with Korean cuisine for years now but never really understood rice cakes. They always seemed so mushy, bland, and covered in sweet sauce. But a recent midnight snack at a Korean bar changed everything. Instead of boiled, these were grilled, so they had that crackly outer layer, which gave way to a tender and succulent inside. They were also tossed with this fiery red sauce, which forced you to keep a drink close at hand.

Smoked Rice Cakes with Korean Clam Sauce

Inspired by linguine with clam sauce, this recipe radically reinvents the dish. Incorporating Korean flavors like gochujang (chili paste) and kim chi, replacing the pasta with chewy Korean rice cakes, and adding a flavorful fried onion-and-garlic topping, the result is a complex, layered, and satisfying meal.

Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cakes)

Glutinous, chewy Korean rice cakes, glazed with an irresistibly sweet-spicy sauce.

Fried Rice Cakes with Bacon and Cabbage

Render bacon till really crisp, fry Korean rice cakes in the bacon fat, then stir fry half a head of napa cabbage in what's left. Combine everything together with enough gochujang to make a sauce for a meal that takes almost no effort but reaps boundless rewards.

Rice Cakes with Chili Paste, Fermented Black Bean, and Sichuan Peppercorn

Rice cakes stir-fried with bok choy and Chinese sausage in a spicy fermented black bean sauce.

Kimbap (Korean Seaweed Rice Rolls)

Kimbap, one of Korea's most popular snacks, can have all sorts of fillings; this very classic version is a great place to start.

Injeolmi rice cake

Injeolmi is rice cake made with sweet rice (glutinous rice). It's one of the most popular and common Korean rice cakes and it's made on special occasions and Festival days.

White steamed rice cake (Baekseolgi-tteok)

Koreans often make baekseolgi-tteok to celebrate a baby's 3 week birthday (saei rye in Korean) or any child's birthday, but it's most often traditionally prepared to celebrate a baby's 100 day birthday (baek il in Korean). The white cake represents purity and perfection and is attained by using...

Grilled cheese & rice cake skewers (Cheese-tteok-kkochi: 치즈떡꼬치)

In my last recipe I showed you how to make Korean street toast. I'm very happy to see many people have made it and enjoy the recipe. Today I'll introduce you to another Korean street food: Grilled cheese and rice cake skewers! When I visited Korea a couple of years ago, I tried this from a...

Crispy rice

Crispy rice is just rice that's pan fried until crispy golden. Crazy delicious snack or base with topping to make appetisers / finger food!