Today I want to share a popular Korean snack meal – Rabokki (라볶이). Rabokki is a combination of the words for Ramyeon (라면, instant ramen noodles) and Tteokbokki (떡볶이, Korean spicy rice cakes). I actually prefer Rabokki more than Tteokbokki as there’s more interesting and delicious additional ingredients in it. 🙂 How about you?
I originally shared my Rabokki recipe here back in 2007 and it was OK. It was good but quite sweet at the same time. The sauce ratio was gochujang (1) to sugar (1). (OMG! Clearly, I didn’t do as much recipe testing back in those days as this blog was only my experimental cooking journal.) Even the recipe title was “Sugar High, Stir Fried Rice Cakes and Noodles (Rabokki)”.
WHAT’S IN RABOKKI?
The standard ingredients that go into Rabokki are Korean rice cakes, ramen, Korean fish cakes, cabbage leaves, spicy sauce and hard boiled eggs (to top it up).
But as you know me, I love adding extra ingredients when it comes to snacks! Korean instant dumplings and deep fried seaweed spring rolls will do just perfect here! These usually come with high calories (very unfortunate) but they really go well in Rabokki! I can’t stress enough how good these are together! 🙂
Some people choose to add chewy noodles (jjolmyeon, 쫄면) instead of ramen noodles as well. Also some people add Korean ramen seasoning powder (which usually contains msg) in addition to the spicy sauce. (I know, right?!) Another ingredient you could add is sliced cheese. I forgot to add it this time, but I try to add it if I can.
Anyway, try it soon! I hope you enjoy my recipe!
MAIN
- 1 instant ramen noodle pack
- Fresh Korean rice cakes 16 pieces (180g/6.3 ounces), separated, if you use pre-packaged or frozen rice cakes, separate them first then soak in warm water for 10 minutes before you use them.
- 2 sheets (110g/3.9 ounces) of Korean fish cakes, rinsed under hot running water for 1 min, chopped into small rectangular pieces
- cabbage leaves (80g/2.8 ounces), chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 small onion (60g/2.1 ounces), thinly sliced
- 4 deep fried seaweed spring rolls (100g/3.5 ounces) – I bought them from a Korean grocery store (freezer section) but you can make them if you have the time.
- 2 instant Korean dumplings (45g/1.6 ounces)
- 2 hard boiled eggs, cut into halves
BROTH
- 3 cups water
- 5g/0.2 ounces dried kelp
- 15g/0.5 ounces dried anchovy, head and black innards removed
SAUCE (MIX THEM WELL IN A BOWL.)
- 4 Tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 1 and 1/2 Tbsp raw sugar
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
GARNISH
- 1 stalk of green onion (20g/0.7 ounces), thinly chopped
- some roasted sesame seeds
*1 Tbsp = 15 ml, 1 cup = 250 ml
** If you want to learn more about Korean cooking ingredients, check my 30 essential Korean cooking ingredients list!
HOW TO MAKE RABOKKI
1.Put the water (3 cups) in a medium pot and add the dried kelp and anchovies. Boil it for 10 mins uncovered on medium heat. Take out (& discard) the kelp and continue boiling for a further 10 mins. Take out the anchovy. Sieve through the boiled broth over damp cheese/linen cloth to remove small particles from the kelp and anchovies. (If you don’t mind these particles, you can skip sieving.) This should result in about 400ml of broth. (Check here if you need step by step photo instructions for this process.)
2. Pour the broth into a wider pot, add the sauce and stir it well. Boil it over medium high heat. (I used a shallow pot and portable gas burner to enjoy Rabokki like a hot pot dish at the table.)
3. Once the broth starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium low. Add the rest of the ingredients and as they cook, stir around occasionally.
4. (If you’re cooking at the table) Add the garnish ingredients and start eating them as they get ready. Otherwise, serve when everything is cooked. Add the garnish ingredients just before serving.
https://mykoreankitchen.com/rabokki/