Miyeok Saewoo Tteokbokki

Wakame Seaweed Beef Broth and Shrimp Tteokbokki!

     More Korean street vendor food!  Tteokbokki (rice cake sticks) are a popular street vendor food.  There are many old traditional recipes for tteokbokki.  There are also many new tteokbokki recipes that are created by Korean street vendors everyday.  Street vendor chefs do not have to play by the book of rules for traditional cooking.  Part of street vendor strategy, is to create something new and exciting in order to draw more customers.  Combinations of ingredients that were previously unheard of are offered by street vendors with a trial and error marketing venture style.

     Miyeok guk is Korean seaweed soup.  I have posted a recipe for Miyeok guk in this blog.  Beef usually accompanies the seaweed in miyeok guk.  Miyeok guk requires beef broth to give the soup its rich tasting character.  

     I decided to try adding shrimp, instead of sliced beef to a miyeok guk for this recipe.  During the French nouvelle cuisine era, traditional veal and beef sauces were commonly used for seafood and the result was quite appealing.  I figured that the beef broth and seaweed flavor of miyeok guk would go well with the shrimp and it could be used as the sauce for the tteokbokki.  The same Korean saute quick/braise marinade method for beef in miyeok guk was used for the shrimp.  

     The flavor of this tteokbokki recipe turned out to be rather nice!  This is a very healthy plate of tteokbokki too.  

     Miyeok Saewoo Tteokbokki Recipe:

     Soak 1 tiny handful of salt packed semi dried wakame seaweed in water, till the seaweed becomes fully reconstituted.

     Cut the seaweed into large bit size pieces and set them aside.

     Boil a pot of water over high heat, so the tteokbokki can be cooked later in the recipe.

     Heat a saute pan or wok over medium heat.

     Add 1 small splash of vegetable oil.

     Add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.

     Add 2 cloves of minced garlic.

     Add 1/2 teaspoon of minced ginger.

     Saute for 20 seconds, so the ginger and garlic become fragrant.

     Add 1 tiny handful of thin julienne sliced onion.

     Saute till the onions start to turn clear in color.

     Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of thin soy sauce.

     Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.

     Add 1/2 teaspoon of Korean red serrano chile pepper paste.

     Add 10 to 12 medium size whole shrimp.  Leave the heads on, but trim off the antennae.

     Add the reserved wakame seaweed pieces.

     Stir the ingredients as the marinade liquid reduces to a glaze.  

     When the ingredients become coated with the marinade glaze and the glaze starts to look dry, add 2 cups of rich beef broth.

     Add sea salt and white pepper.

     Reduce the temperature to medium low heat.

     Start boiling 1 portion of tteokbokki rice cake sticks in the pot of hot water.  (Rice cake sticks are easy to make, if you want to make them from scratch.  Pre-made tteokbokki can be found in Korean markets and asian markets.)

     After the miyeok guk simmers and reduces to a very thin sauce consistency, the tteokbokki should be fully cooked.

     Drain the water off of the tteokbokki.

     Add the tteokbokki to the shrimp and miyeok guk in the pan.

     Toss the ingredients together.

     Place the Miyeok Saewoo Tteokbokki on a plate.  

     Use a squirt bottle to paint a little bit of Korean red serrano chile pepper garlic sauce on the entree.

     This Miyeok Saewoo Tteokbokki creation is very rich tasting and healthy!  If you are a miyeok guk soup fan, then you will like how the flavor of the broth increases, because it is reduced to a thin sauce consistency.  The shrimp really create a savory flavor combination with the beef broth.  Yum!  ...  Shawna