[Ttuck: rice cakes, Gui: grilled]
Today, I want to introduce you to a simple way of enjoying ttuck with a crispy crunch. I like any kind of ttuck (떡), which are rice cakes. I especially love Korean rice cakes that are usually less sweet than the Japanese mochi. If I had to choose between a French pastry and a Korean ttuck I would definitely choose the ttuck. As part of our Flushing routine when we go Korean grocery shopping, we stop by a Korean butcher shop then pick up some ttuck at wonderful ttuck store only a few stores down. I especially enjoy their ssook-injeolmi, which is a plain rice cake made with sweet sticky rice and ssook. Ssook is mugwort in English and is a popular herb used in a variety of Korean dishes similar to how parsley is used in various Italian dishes. You have to eat ttuck within a day or two, so if you buy too many, simply put them in a Ziploc bag, squeeze out any air and place them in the freezer as soon as you can when they are still soft. All you have to do when you are ready to eat them is to take them out of the freezer and pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds to a minute. The owner of the ttcuk store also said you can place them in a rice cooker on top of cooked rice for about 10 to 15 minutes.
*Yedang (www.yedangusa.com): This wonderful ttuck shop has one location in Flushing and two in New Jersey.
*Hankook Meat (한국정육): At this Korean butcher in Flushing, you can find most variety of Korean beef and pork cuts and the quality is fabulous. 718-762-6245
Ingredients:
- Plain ttcuk with no fillings, such as injeolmi, as many as you want
- About 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil, preferably grape seed oil
- A drizzle of honey
- On medium low heat, add about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil on a skillet and spread it out evenly.
- Place a plain ttuck on the skillet and do not move it until the surface is browned and crispy. Flip it on the other side and do the same. Today, I used ssook-injulmi (쑥인절미) and hyunmi–injulmi (현미인절미), which is a rice cake made with brown rice.
- Gently remove the ttuck and serve it with a drizzle of honey. I like to have this with a cup of coffee or tea.
GANGNAM KITCHEN 