Mild Ddukboki

A classic Korean comfort food; I grew up eating the bright red, spicy version.  It is also a popular Korean street food.  I didn't discover the mild version until I found an old Korean cookbook years ago.  Since then, I have made and consumed large quantities of this hearty and savory dish.  It is a family favorite now.  Today I used Maangchi's recipe.  (She's amazing, by the way.  If you love Korean food, you should bookmark her page.  I can tell you as a Korean, that her recipes are very authentic.)  I made just a few tweaks because I didn't have any beef strips or steak to make into strips.  I substituted ground beef, because it's what I had on hand, and added fresh spinach, because I love it. Season to taste by adding a little more soy sauce and a pinch more sugar if you need it.  I also added a few grinds of pepper.

Mild Ddukboki
by Maangchi

1 package of rice cake
220 grams beef strips
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped sliced onion
3 to 4 white mushrooms
2 green onions, chopped

Saute beef strips with soy sauce,sugar, minced garlic, and sliced onion.
Add sliced white mushrooms and chopped green onions and stir it.
Add 1 cup of anchovy broth and put rice cake in it and keep folding until rice cake is soft
**Add two handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves
Serve it on a plate and eat it when it is warm

Anchovy broth:
7 dried achovies, cleaned
4 cups water
Boil for approx 10 minutes

This is what the package of rice cakes looks like.  It says ovaletts, but that's incorrect.  There are ovaletts, but they are oval and thin.  You want to look for the ones that look like little sticks.

If you find a market that sells the rice cakes, you will probably be able to find dried anchovies too.  This is a large bag that I keep in the freezer, but they sell smaller portions.

I clean the anchovies (pull off the heads and take out the black grossness) and put them in a little contraption that is meant for tea.  You can just boil them without this, but you will have to "fish" out the fish when you're done.

The biggest challenge in making ddukboki is separating the dduk (rice cakes).

I have found the most effective way for me is to separate them with a bench scraper.  Don't use a knife!!!  It's dangerous, and you don't want to cut the rice cakes, just use the corner of the scraper and gently pull them apart.

Start by sauteeing the meat, garlic, mushrooms, sugar and soy sauce.

Add a couple of ladles of the hot anchovy broth and the rice cakes and keep folding and stirring until they are soft.  Add more broth as needed.

When the rice cakes are nice and soft, add some spinach (optional)