Dukk Bok Gee

Dukk bok gee (spelling may vary, as there doesn't seem to be a standardized phoneticization of Korean) is one of my favorite Korean dishes. It's easy to make at home if you can get two things: good gochujiang (Korean chili paste) and fresh dukk (rice cakes). Fresh dukk is soft and doesn't require soaking or a long cooking time, and it tastes much better than the kind that's vacuum sealed and refrigerated. You can add whatever meat and vegetables you have on hand to the dish to make it more healthy, flavorful, and filling.

Usually I start by sauteeing an onion, a handful of pork slivers with crushed garlic massaged into them, one sliced up fish cake, one carrot, one zucchini, and a handful spinach (that's the order in which I added everything to the wok). When everything is just heated through, set aside.

Heat up a few tablespoons of oil and use it to sautee two tablespoons of gochujiang with three to five chopped garlic cloves until fragrant. Add the dukk and toss to separate the rice cakes and coat with sauce. Slowly add hot water until you achieve a gravy-like consistency, then turn the flame down to medium and cook until the dukk softens up slightly. Add back the bowl of sauteed vegetables and stir to combine. Add a tablespoon of sugar, then taste for seasoning. Add more gochujiang if it needs more body or spice, plain salt if it's not salty, and sugar and pepper to taste. Cover the pot and let simmer for at least half an hour to allow flavors to absorb into the dukk. I don't think you can overcook dukk, since at restaurants they just let it stew for hours.

Peeled hard boiled eggs, bell peppers, bok choy, kimchi, and seafood are other things you can add to dukk, but I've also seen a poor man's version with just dukk and sauce. It's like fried rice: anything goes, from unadorned to a fully balanced meal in a bowl.