Kid-friendly ddukbokki (soy rice cakes)

You’ve probably seen pictures of the spicy red-orange ddukbokki — even Trader Joe’s has its own version that I’ve heard is popular. Today we’re making the classic version, ganjang (soy sauce) ddukbokki which is entirely savory, sweet and delicious - not a hint of spice.

See my reel for this recipe, as well as many other peanut, dairy and egg-free recipes on my Instagram, The Asian Allergy Mom.

Dduk. Dduk is made of a particular type of rice flour and can be found at a Korean grocery store. In my HMart, it’s in the refrigerated section with a huge pink sign that says “Rice Cakes.” (Kudos to HMart for the clear labeling!). Commercial dduk also includes wheat, though homemade recipes don’t use it. I also recently found dduk on Amazon, though there are some complaints that they didn’t arrive as expected. I looked up recipes to make dduk from scratch and it seemed like a lot of work.

Storing dduk. Dduk comes vacuum-packed and refrigerated. When you bring it home, you can stick it right in the freezer if you’re not going to use it for a while (it defrosts beautifully). You can also put it in the fridge. My mom stores it in the fridge like she does with tofu: submerged in water. When you do this, all you have to do later is drain it and it’s ready to cook (either fry, stir-fry, put in soup, whatever).

A lot of recipes for ddukbokki have you boiling the dduk in water to soften them, marinating them in sauce, and then adding them to the stir-fry. I found these two steps to be unnecessary, so in true Asian Allergy Mom fashion, we have omitted these steps. To soften the ttuk, we simply steam it in the sauce and veggie juices by covering the pot in step 5. Super easy.

As for equipment, you’ll need to use your biggest nonstick skillet with a corresponding lid. Nonstick because the sugar in the sauce may get sticky, and you don’t want it to burn in the bottom of your pan.

To make this on a busy weeknight, prep your vegetables and make your sauce ahead of time.

Kid-friendly ddukbokki (soy rice cakes)
Serves 4

Ingredients:

Sauce
3 TBS soy sauce (or temari for wheat-free)
1 TBS mirin
1 TBS sugar
1 TBS toasted sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp minced garlic

1 small package dduk (떡), 500g or 1.1 lb. submerged in water
Neutral oil (canola, vegetable)
1/2 lb. ground meat (beef, turkey)
1 bell pepper, sliced thin
1/2 medium onion, sliced thin
1/2 lb mushroom of choice, rough chop
Salt
Chopped scallions for garnish

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients for sauce in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve sugar. Set aside.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add 1 TBS oil. When the pan is hot, add ground meat, breaking up meat with spoon or spatula. Sprinkle with heavy pinch of salt. When all the pink is gone, set meat aside in a bowl.

3. Without rinsing the pan, add another 1 TBS oil. Add chopped vegetables and sautee until soft, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with heavy pinch of salt. When vegetables are soft, create a well in the center.

4. Drain dduk and place in the center of the vegetables. Add soy sauce mixture. Add meat. Stir to combine.

5. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid to essentially steam the dduk. Without this step, the dduk will be too hard. Steam until dduk is soft all the way through, about 3-4 minutes.

6. Remove lid. Taste and - if necessary - add additional soy sauce 1 TBS at a time to achieve desired level of saltiness.

7. Add chopped scallions as an optional garnish.

Allergens: soy, wheat, sesame

Notes:

• To make it extra kid-friendly, give kids some dipping sauce for the dduk. do 2 tsp soy sauce and a tiny drizzle of sesame oil.