These rice cake and sausage skewers are a popular Korean street food. It’s crispy on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside. It also takes less than 30 minutes to make!
Korean rice cake and sausage skewers (소떡소떡 so-tteok so-tteok) are first grilled or pan-fried, then brushed with a gochujang based sauce. The sauce is a bit spicy and the perfect balance between sweet and savory! Be careful, though, because these are very addicting.. trust me 😅
You’re probably very familiar with tteokbokki, which are stir-fried spicy rice cakes, but not as familiar with these skewers. I have many tteokbokki recipes on my blog which you can find here:
I first tried so-tteok so-tteok at a small pub in Korea. I didn’t expect much at first, but after the first bite I was hooked. The rice cakes and sausages were crispy but soft inside and the sauce had so much flavor. I KNEW I had to recreate the recipe at home and share it with all of you!
Cylinder rice cakes (가래떡 garae-tteok)
These cylinder rice cakes are soft and chewy with a very mild flavor. It’s made from rice, so it has a light flavor and pairs best with a flavorful sauce. You know how a strong tasting dish pairs perfectly with plain white rice? Similarly, rice cakes are best paired with a strong tasting sauce.
This is obvious, but fresh is best for rice cakes! Freshly made rice cakes are sometimes sold in long ropes to be cut at home. The next best option is refrigerated rice cakes which taste pretty good in my opinion! If neither option is available to you, then try frozen rice cakes. These tend to crack easily and do not taste as fresh as the other options, but I’ve had many satisfying dishes made with frozen rice cakes.
Where to find rice cakes
Cylinder rice cakes can be found at a Korean grocery store like H-Mart, or any Asian supermarket. It will be sold fresh at room temperature (best option!), in the refrigerated section or the frozen section. If these aren’t available to you, then try Amazon. You will be paying a slight premium though.
How to prepare
Rice cakes sometimes have small bits of starchy rice dust, so quickly rinse it in cold water to remove. Next, drain and boil in water for 1 to 2 minutes until soft. Lastly, skewer on wooden bamboo sticks and grill or pan fry on the stove.
I like both ways of cooking rice cakes. Grilling with minimal oil gives a really nice char to the skewers and pan frying on the stove creates an extra crispy crunch.
Ingredients
All of the ingredients used here are very common in a Korean kitchen.
Gochujang
Gochujang is a Korean red chili paste that’s sweet, savory and spicy. I have a higher spice tolerance so I don’t think it’s spicy, but you may disagree! The spice level also depends on the brand. I noticed that gochujang in America is far less spicy than the ones I’ve tried in Korea. So, test out a few and see which one is your favorite!
Soy sauce
I’m certain you already have soy sauce in your kitchen. All types of soy sauce are fine for this recipe. It provides a salty, umami flavor to the sauce.
Honey
I use a very small amount of honey in this recipe because I didn’t want it to overpower the other flavors and wanted the dish to be more savory than sweet. You can use only honey as sweetener for this recipe, or mix it with sugar.
Oligodang syrup
Oligodang syrup is a new ingredient that I discovered and is very common in Korean cooking. It’s a healthier substitute for corn syrup and has about 40% less calories than sugar. It sweetens and thickens the dish you add it to. If you can’t find this ingredient, just use corn syrup, rice syrup or white sugar as replacement.
Sesame seeds
Sesame seeds are a very common ingredient in many Korean dishes. It lends a nutty flavor and nice crunch to the dish. Toasted sesame seeds are best because the sesame aroma becomes stronger.
Storing leftovers
It’s best to serve rice cakes fresh, but you can also store in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Reheat the leftovers on the stove in a nonstick pan by adding a splash of water on medium to low heat and covering until soft.
Korean Rice Cake & Sausage Skewers
- Total Time: 20
- Yield: 36 skewers 1x
Description
These rice cake and sausage skewers are a popular Korean street food. It’s crispy on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside. It also takes less than 30 minutes to make!
Ingredients
- 18 rice cakes
- 18 mini Korean sausages
- 3 tbsp gochujang
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp oligo syrup (see note)
- 1 tbsp water
- toasted sesame seeds/green onions (optional)
Instructions
- First, prepare the sauce by adding the gochujang, honey, soy sauce, oligo syrup and water to a bowl. You can use sugar, rice syrup or corn syrup as a substitute for oligo syrup. Taste test the sauce and add more sweetener if desired, but keep in mind the flavors become stronger after cooking. Set the sauce aside for later.
- Rinse the rice cakes in cold water to remove debris. Then add the rice cakes and sausages to boiling water and cook until soft, about 1-2 minutes. Quickly rinse with cool water and drain well.
- Skewer the rice cakes and sausages and let it air dry before cooking.
- In the meantime, heat a nonstick pan on medium heat and add the sauce. Cook until it bubbles slightly and thickens, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
- The skewers should be dry by now. Make 2 small slits on both sides of the sausages with a knife so it does not pop when cooking.
- I recommend 2 cooking methods: grilling or shallow frying. Both taste great, but shallow frying will make the rice cakes puff up to be extra crisp. For shallow frying, add a generous amount of oil to a pan on medium heat. Add the skewers and cook for about 3-4 minutes until crisp and toasted. Make sure to flip the skewers occasionally.
- Once the skewers are done cooking, brush with sauce and garnish with sesame seeds and/or green onions. Enjoy!
Notes
Oligo (oligodang) syrup is a healthier substitute for corn syrup and has about 40% less calories than sugar. It’s common in Korean cooking but may be difficult to find. You can use rice syrup, corn syrup or sugar as a substitute.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
