Rabokki - Tteokbokki + Ramen - Balance With Jess

Rabokki - Tteokbokki + Ramen

5 from 19 votes

Rabokki, or Tteokbokki with Ramen, is one of Korea's most popular street foods for a reason! Chewy rice cakes and ramen noodles are generously coated in a spicy-sweet gochujang sauce. Delicious add-ins like fish cake, hard-boiled egg, and cheese make this dish extra hearty, rich, and addictive!

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings servings

Calories 626

Author Jessica Kwon

Ingredients

1-2 tablespoon cooking oil
½ onion sliced; about 1 cup
3-4 cloves garlic minced
2½ tablespoon gochugaru Korean chili flakes
3 tablespoon white granulated sugar
1½ tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
½ teaspoon fish sauce
3 tablespoon gochujang Korean chili paste
4 cups water
1-2 packs instant ramen
1 lb tubular rice cakes
2-3 half sheets fish cake (eomuk) cut into triangles
3-4 green onion whites sliced thinly and dark green cut into 1 inch segments
½ tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Toppings

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

If your rice cakes are frozen or refrigerated, soak in water for 15-20 minutes until separated. Then drain and set aside.
Heat oil in a large, wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion along with a pinch of salt and cook for 2-3 minutes or until edges start to get translucent. Then add garlic and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. If the bottom of your pan has browned bits, add a splash of water and use your wooden spoon to scrape up the bits.
Add gochugaru, sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, gochujang, water, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Stir to dissolve the seasonings and bring to a boil. Then turn the heat down to let simmer for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the ramen and rice cakes. Let simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until ramen is cooked through, rice cakes are soft, and sauce has reduced. Don't worry if it still looks watery, it'll continue to thicken.
Stir in fish cake and dark green parts of green onion, letting it warm through. Then turn off heat and stir in sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top and cover with lid. Let sit for 2-3 minutes to allow residual heat to melt cheese.
Top with hard boiled eggs, whites of green onion, and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Notes

A lot of people like to add the seasoning pack that's in the instant noodle packs. Feel free to but you may need to reduce the amount of salt, soy sauce, and fish sauce or else it'll be too strong or savory.
Double check the cook time of your noodles. You want it to be al dente by the time the rice cakes are done cooking. Tteok will take 8-10 minutes to soften in the sauce, so add your noodles accordingly. If using instant ramen, add it at the same time as the tteok.
For an extra saucy rabokki, par-boil the ramen separately first so it absorbs less sauce.
Substitutions:
- To make this gluten-free, use gluten-free ramen noodles. Replace the soy sauce with tamari or coconut aminos and use a gluten-free gochujang. Read the labels carefully to avoid cross-contamination.
- To make this vegetarian, leave out the fish sauce, fish cakes, and hard boiled eggs.
- To make a less-spicy, mild rabokki, use a mild gochujang and start with half of gochujang and gochugaru. If it's still too spicy, add more water to dilute the spices and extra cheese will cool the spice.

Nutrition