Instant noodles in a spicy tteokbokki sauce, topped with boiled egg and pan-fried dumplings – or whatever you like, really. There is lots of room for improvisation as long as you get the sauce right.
It’s like… tteokbokki plus.
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Broth is boss
If you have the time, I recommend you make the broth fresh for ideal results. It takes just three ingredients and some time without much supervision. In case you don’t have anchovies at home already, you can usually find them in the frozen section. Some recipes explicitly call for them to have or not have the head removed, but I haven’t found that to make a difference in my broth.
Don’t worry, though; the recipe is still a banger if you skip this and just use instant dashi powder (dashi no moto).
Stew it yourself
Rabokki is not a soup like you might expect from a dish based on instant ramen, as the liquid will be very thick and sauce-like when you’re done. The sauce makes this dish, so don’t worry too much about having the exact “fillings” and toppings for the stew (besides noodles on rice cakes). Whether your fish cakes are sticks or sheets, if you have green or napa cabbage, if your dumplings are mandu or gyoza, if you use leek or green onions. The filling of the dumplings doesn’t matter much either, but I like it better if they’re more on the mild side, as stronger flavors can clash with the sauce.
As for the noodles, the classic choice would be blocks of instant (wheat) noodles aka ramen or ramyeon noodles. However, I also really like the texture and taste of these frozen Chinese noodles, which I used the day I shot this recipe.
Taste is king, so use whatever ingredients you prefer and let the results speak for themselves. You can also make the dish vegetarian by using a seaweed-based broth or plain water, and skipping the fish cakes. And finally, I’ve seen people online sprinkle cheese on top, which is never a bad idea.
Rabokki
Equipment
- 1 large spice ball optional
Ingredients
For the broth (optional)
- 750 ml water
- 0.5 sheet dasima kelp aka kombu
- 15 g dried anchovies
For the stew
- 1 block instant or ramen noodles or whatever noodles you like
- 150 g Korean rice cakes
- 2-3 fish cakes sheet-shaped
- 0.25 head napa cabbage or green cabbage
- 1 yellow onion small to mid-sized
- 2 stalks green onion or 1/2 stalk of leek
- some neutral oil for frying
- some sesame seeds (black or white) for garnish, optional
For the toppings (optional)
- 2 eggs
- 4-6 mandu or gyoza
For the sauce
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp gochujang
- 1 tbsp gochugaru or any chili flakes
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1-2 tbsp white sugar
- 1 pinch black pepper
Instructions
Make the broth (optional)
- Note: If you don't feel like making fresh broth, you can put instant dashi powder (dashi no moto) into the water instead, or just use plain water.
- Put the water into a small pot and add the the seaweed. Let it soak for one hour for best results, or proceed with the next steps right away if you don't have time.
- Turn up the heat to high and add the anchovies (ideally in a spice ball) to the water.
- Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes, skimming off the foam that gathers on the surface.
- Remove the kelp and let the anchovies simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes.
- Take it off the heat and set aside. If desired, strain through a cheese cloth or similar to get rid of any impurities.
Prep the ingredients
- Soak rice cakes in cold water for 15 minutes.
- Hard-boil the eggs (~10 minutes), peel them, slice into halves, and set aside.
- Cut onions into thin slices.
- Thinly slice the green onions.
- Cut cabbage into bite-sized chunks.
- Slice the fish cakes into bite-sized strips.
- Finely mince the garlic (or use a garlic press), then thoroughly mix it it with all the other sauce ingredients in a bowl.
Make the stew
- Take out a large frying pan or flat-bottom wok for the stew, a small pot for boiling the noodles, and (if using) a small frying pan for the dumplings.
- Start bringing a small pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
- As you follow the next steps, once the water boils, put the noodles in. Cook them a minute or two short of the package instructions, drain, and set aside.
- Heat up some oil in a large frying pan or flat-bottom wok.
- Add the onions to the frying pan and sauté until translucent.
- Add broth and stir in the sauce. Let it come to a boil.
- Add the rice cakes and let them cook for at least 5 minutes.
- Add cabbage and fish cakes and let it cook for a few more minutes.
- In the meantime, if you are adding dumplings, heat up some oil in the small frying pan and fry them.
- Stir the already (under-)cooked noodles into the stew.
- Add some of the green onions, stir for another minute, and take off the heat.
- Distribute the rabokki in bowls, put sliced eggs and dumplings on top. Sprinkle with remaining green onions as well as sesame seeds.
