This was the main course for our Korean picnic as part of my cooking through the countries activity during quarantine. Rabokki is basically the equivalent of Korean carboloading, and it is seriously some delicious comfort food! It consists of ramen noodles mixed with rice cakes, fish cakes, hard boiled eggs, and a delicious savory sauce. Sounds like a strange combo but tastes great! I first had this dish at a Korean restaurant and which is now closed due to quarantine, so I knew when I got to Korea I wanted to try my hand at this dish. This came together really quickly and was very easy to make!
My friend and I each made our own versions of Rabokki and shared at the picnic. My recipe was fish-based with a homemade dashi stock made from kelp and anchovy, while hers was more veggie-based with a bone broth base. In the end we decided that the best version occurred when we mixed both of ours together, and so I am posting a combo of our two recipes. Yum!
Ingredients:
1 small package dried kelp (about 3 leaves)
2 cups bone broth
3 green onions, white bulbs and green stems separated
2 tsp sesame oil, divided
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp minced garlic, plus 3 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp Korean chili flakes (I left this out)
1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 package instant ramen noodles
4 sheets Korean fish cakes, sliced into bite size rectangles
20 Korean rice cakes, rinsed in cold water
6 fish balls, mixed variety
2 hard boiled eggs, cut in half
1 small onion, diced
1/2 Korean squash, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms
Toasted sesame seeds
Salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Soak the kelp in water for an hour.
2. Marinate the rice cakes in 1 tsp sesame oil, salt, and pepper. In a separate bowl, marinate the mushrooms in 1tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp soy sauce, and salt.
3. Whisk together gochujang, sugar, 1 tsp garlic, chili flakes, and tomato paste in a small bowl. Set aside.
4. Rinse the kelp and boil with the white onion bulbs in a medium pot with enough water to cover for 10 minutes.
5 Discard the kelp and onion, but keep 1 cup of liquid from the pot. Set aside.
6. Add 1 tbsp oil to a large sauce pot, and add in onions and mushrooms. When they have browned, add remaining 3 tsp garlic and stir.
7. Add squash to the pan and cook until just soft.
7. Reduce heat to medium low and whisk in sauce along with noodles, rice cakes, and fish cakes.
8. Add in bone broth and kelp water and bring to a gentle boil over medium high heat. Add in eggs after 5 minutes and continue cooking until all ingredients are cooked through and sauce thickens.
9. Garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onion tops.
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