Ddeok-ko-chi (Spicy Fried Korean Rice Cake Sticks) Recipe

Every year I go back to Korea, and I notice the slight changes in street food. Obviously ddeokbokki (spicy stir fried rice cakes) with fried veggies and dumplings are still the ultimate street food. But it’s sad to see that there are more fried meat products now than ever before. It didn’t use to be that way when I was growing up. We had much more veggies and rice products back then.

Ddeok-ko-chi (Spicy fried Korean rice cake sticks) was my favorite street food while growing up. My friends and I would stop by this ahjumma’s (a Korean lady) cart every day to get one. It was the ultimate street food for kids. You can still see that they are served in the small street carts and little tiny shops.

Anyway, I thought I’d share this easy recipe. We don’t eat it often, but Bill and I both love it. I love the spicy and sweet flavor. The chewy and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside texture of the ddok-ko-chi is delicious!

Bill says it reminds him of tofu hot wings. He sometimes asks me to put hot wing sauce on it instead of the Korean pepper paste sauce, and we love it.

Kids love it as a energy boosting snack as well, so maybe you can make it sometime and try it out!

Ddeok-ko-chi (Spicy Fried Korean Rice Cake Sticks) Recipe

Ingredients
1 pack of long rice cakes
1 Tbs Vegetable Oil

Sauce Ingredients (OR you can just use straight hot wing sauce or barbecue sauce, totally different flavor, but delicious!)
1 Tbsp pepper paste
1 Tbsp Thai sweet Chile sauce (you can get this at the grocery store)
1 tsp sugar (more or less, depending on how sweet you like it)
1/2 tsp diced garlic and green onions (optional, street carts make them without, but I sometimes put them in for a different flavor)
a pinch of black pepper to taste

Directions
1. Add the sauce ingredients together.
2. Wash the rice cakes (the rice cakes should be soft, so if they are frozen, they need to be thawed and should be room temperature so they are soft before you cook them!)
3. Add oil and lightly fry each side of the rice cakes on medium heat so they become golden brown.
4. Place the fried rice cakes on a skewer and brush them with the sauce.

Add the sauce ingredients first!

With a small amount of oil, lightly fry it so it turns golden brown. So it’s a bit crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Put them on a skewer like this!

I use a sauce brush to put the sauce on. You can also sprinkle green onions or sesame seeds to make them look pretty. I was in too much of a hurry to eat these to think about that…. 😛

It’s so yummy. Takes me right back to elementary school. Again, you can also just use hot wing sauce or barbecue sauce if you want an American taste!