Ddeok : A New Ingredient for Me!

About a month ago, two of my friends shared super-delicious looking Korean meals on Instagram with ddeok -- an ingredient I had never heard of. I was so curious! Sadly, we don't have any Asian grocery stores here in Santa Cruz - but my excellent friend Alana offered to pick some up for me since she has an Asian grocery store near her job. When we had our bagel date, she also gave me my very own bag of ddeok and a recipe so I'd know what to do with them (she knows me so well!) 

rice ovalettes!

Ddeok are made with rice and wheat starch and salt, and I gather they come in a lot of different shapes. You might not be able to see it, but these were called "rice ovalettes" (love that!), and I loved this shape so much. In fact, I totally fell in love with ddeok and I guess I'm gonna have to bribe Alana to feed me with a steady supply of these lovelies. I am quite smitten. 

Alana is a great friend, and not just because she gave me ddeok! 

such a super yummy and satisfying meal!

A while ago Chung Jung One sent me some of their gochujang sauce to review. At that time, I had never even tried gochujang -- it's a wonderful, spicy, Korean sauce. Now, my jar is empty and I will have to order more. I'm excited to keep learning more and more about Korean food. As you can see in this picture, I also got some spicy kimchi -- it was a great condiment with my dinner!

Here's the recipe Alana gave me, with my veganized variations:

Delicious Dinner with Ddeok
300g rice sticks (ddeok)
8 oz tofu, cut into 1/2-inch-3/4-inch cubes
2 Tbsp Gochujang
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
splash of soy sauce
splash of rice vinegar or sherry
1 tsp neutral oil
1 onion, in thin slices
1 lb asparagus, broccoli, or cabbage, cut into bite-sized chunks
3 scallions, sliced

Heat a lightly oiled cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is heated, add the ddeok and cook them in the skillet until they begin to brown a bit. If they stick together, pull 'em back apart. I like to get 'em good and toasty. When you're satisfied, remove them and set them aside.

Next, put your tofu cubes in the skillet and saute them until they are also browned and toasty on most sides. When they're ready, add them to the ddeok which you have set aside.

While the tofus and ddeok are browing, you can mix together the sauce: in a small bowl, use a fork to mix together the gochujang, brown sugar, garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar or sherry.

After the tofus are ready and set aside, add 1 tsp oil to the skillet. Add in the onion and saute until the onion softens and becomes translucent. Next, add in the veggies and saute until they look cooked to your satisfaction -- adding a little water as necessary. (when I use broccoli, I add a little water and cover the skillet so the broccoli can steam for a couple minutes). Add in the ddeok and tofus, along with the prepared sauce and toss it all together and cook for another minute or two. Then, right before serving, toss in the scallions.

Let me know if you try it! 

Also, send more ddeok!