Dukbokki aka Korean Rice Cakes with Chilli Paste

Hello lovely people,

As it is freaking chilly out-we are experiencing January weather, record lows, and major snow happenings, way too early for November, I decided some major, stick to your ribs, vegetarian, yum-yum noms were in order.
Look at that picture up there, how can she be denied?!?
Yup, that is spicy ass goodness right there my friends!
I cannot express how much I have swooned for this lovely Korean street dish.
I saw all these wonderful pics and bowls of it at this Korean market I stop a,t whenever I am in town, but never partook of it because there was gluten in all the one's I found.
Then the nice lady at this other Asian market I go to told me about this other brand that does not have gluten but is produced in a facility that has some gluten products, but no one has ever had a reaction to it, as the production line is totally separate.
I squealed for joy and went ingredient shopping with no time to spare.
The first Chilli paste container I got was small but after making this dish twice, I quickly realized that a bigger container was needed.

I bought the 3KG one and felt no shame whatsoever.
I found a recipe on Pinterest and as per usual, I tweaked it and pretty much made it my own.
Honestly, it was a bit too tame for me. I wanted more garlic, more ginger, and more greens so I had fun and did my own thing.
My son proceeded to write down the recipe as I made it this past week, funny thing is I had already sent it in his messages but he forgot.
You will have to forgive the recipe layout, it isn't as neat and organized as usual but this recipe is a quick, fly by the seat of your pants, chuck it in the pot and enjoy, kinda recipe. Just go with it, live a little, and have fun. You will have no spicy regrets.

My recipe for Korean Rice Cakes:
-Soak 1 pack of rice cakes for 20-30mins in warm water.
-Gently separate when softer. Set aside.
-In pot add 4 cups water with 2 stock cubes (vegetable or herb) add 1/2 sliced onion and bring to boil.
-While that’s heating up, in a bowl mix 2 Tbsp Chili paste with 1 clove garlic minced, 1 knob ginger fine diced, 3 Tbsp soya sauce, 3 Tbsp maple sugar.
-Once water is boiling add paste mix you made, and add 1 bunch chopped scallion and drained rice cakes.
-Cook for 10-15 mins with no lid.
-At this point I chop Chinese cabbage and keep it aside along with about 1/4 cup cheese. Omitting cheese keeps this vegan should you prefer. I have had it both ways and with vegan cheese, it's just boomtastical period.
If you want the sauce to be thicker you can thicken it with 2 Tbsp soy sauce in 1-2 Tbsp cornstarch or tapioca starch but I find the noodles add the starch and thicken it up nicely on its own.
-Put in mix when dumplings are soft and thicken a bit.
Adjust seasoning if needed I add Korean hot sauce about 1/2 tsp and a bit more maple sugar as needed. ----When thick, add cabbage and cheese, mix through, cover and let sit 2-4 mins and serve hot.
Enjoy immediately and share it!

My 3Kg container of crazy good spicy awesomeness!!! It called out to me in the store, I had to adopt it.

My mom said it had to be for us cuz it looked like the Canadian, EH, on the package. Honestly, I only ever noticed the yum-scrum peppers.

I divided it into several containers and froze some, gave some, refrigerated the rest, and ate a nice meal of it, upon opening. Haaaaaaad to test it and make sure it was a good batch-all for you folks in the land of blog reading. I know, I'm such a giver...

I want you to know the calorie count in this dish, in the spirit of full disclosure; cuz it is a girdle buster if you’re not careful.
For me it is really my cheat day meal, which I am having tonight as I write this. I prepped all the ingredients at around 3pm and just waited til 5pm and it was ready to eat in no time.
Now as with all things comfort food, this should be enjoyed in moderation and as a treat. This having said that, I went a little nuts on this spicy, dumpling, full-flavour wonder and ate it repeatedly over the month of September and October. I kinda get cracked out on a food item and just go nuts on it for a period of time and then I’m like, please don’t show it to me again for a while. Except pancakes and Dukbokki, haven't seem to have found my bottom yet for those two delights!

I did have rules though when I indulged in this food. I have been using the Under Armour Fit App, (No, this is not an endorsed blog post, I totally pay for the use of it and have no business dealings with them; this is my experience with no monetary gain) and I have to stick to my calorie and fat count for my days.
I always chose to make this part of my cheat meal days and it worked out well. Plus, I recently discovered a really nice vegan poutine cheese that I can get here in Quebec, and it is a great replacement for my way fattier cheese curds.
All that to say, enjoy but be wise and keep your thighs to a respectable and healthy size.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post, if you have any questions or if you tried this recipe, I love to hear from you; just leave it all down below in the comments section.

Take care, be well, love freely,

Chef Kiki

The rice sticks come in all shapes and sizes, these are the big, phatty, rice sticks. We found them fun once but switched back to the regular, smaller one's along with the flat rectangle style.