Foodie Goodie | Instant Tteokbokki (Korean Spicy Rice Cake).

Tteokbokki or topokki (others refer to this as ddukbeokki) is a dish made by sauteing cylindrical rice cakes (tteok) in red pepper paste (kochujang). It's a very popular snack in Korea, and can be bought in restaurants, street carts, and even convenience stores.

I've seen all sorts of tteokbokki from all the Korean dramas and variety shows that I've watched. There's haemool tteokbokki, which is made with seafood: jjajang tteokbokki, which is made with black bean sauce, and then there's rapokki - tteokbokki with ramen noodles. But I've always been curious with the traditional tteokbokki - the one in spicy red sauce.

Luckily, I chanced upon some instant tteokbokki while I was at the supermarket yesterday. Without thinking twice, I grabbed a pack, together with a pack of instant jjajangmyun which I will be sharing in a different post.

Yopokki - instant tteokbokki!

This 320 gram pack of Yopokki serves two, and sells for Php 164. I did a bit of research and found out that this brand is manufactured by OK Food of Korea. This instant tteokbokki also comes in 200 gram bowls similar to that of cup noodles, though there were none available at the local supermarket.

Yopokki from OK Food.

Cooking is a breeze. Simply put the tteok (rice cakes) in a saucepan, add 100 mL of water, and let it boil for five minutes.

Tteok + kochujang. :)

Add the spicy sauce once it starts boiling, and let it simmer for another two minutes before serving.

Tteokbokki in a flash! 

So how do I find this instant tteokbokki?
It's pretty good, although I can't really compare it with the regular tteokbokki since I haven't tried one yet. The tteok is soft and chewy, and the sauce is sweet, salty, and spicy all at the same time. The spiciness stands out, but it's not too overwhelming. For someone who is not a big fan of spicy food (yes, that's me) the spiciness of this one is tolerable.

I'm thinking of buying another pack next time and try to amp the dish up by adding ramen and hard-boiled eggs. Heol, I am being ambitious after a first successful attempt at the instant kind. Haha!

How about you, have you tried tteokbokki before? :)

Shared with Food Friday and Food Trip Friday.

Foodie Goodie | Lucky Me! Special Pancit Palabok.

On days when I don't feel like cooking (i.e. during weekends when the little man is at my in-laws and I'm basically home alone) or during instances when I crave for palabok but don't want to go through the hassle of prepping and cooking, I go to this big winnowing basket and reach for a pack (or two) of these.

Lucky Me! :)

Oh yes, instant palabok from Lucky Me! More specifically, they're Special Pancit Palabok made by the popular food company, Monde Nissin.

This big basket actually came last month - delivered right at my doorstep by representatives from Lucky Me. One of them came garbed in a chef's uniform, much to my surprise! Too bad I wasn't able to take a photo. Hee!

Packed the way real palabok should be.

Yep, that's me! :)

For my non-Filipino friends and followers, palabok is a traditional Filipino food. It's a dish made with rice noodles, smothered with shrimp sauce, and topped with chives, meat, pork cracklings, and egg.

With Lucky Me's instant version, you get pretty much the same thing. The best part? It only takes four minutes to cook!

Place noodles in a bowl, then add boiling water.
Cover, and let it stand for four minutes.

Carefully drain the water.
Add the sauce and mix well. Top with garnish.

Voila! A hearty meal ready for your enjoyment!

Many thanks to Lucky Me! and Monde Nissin for sending The Rebel Sweetheart packs and packs of this authentic tasting, fuss-free, instant dish! :)

Shared with Food Friday and Food Trip Friday.