Ddeokjjim

떡찜
Legend has it that Ddeokjjim was created by a royal chef as a way for the king to eat beef without burdening his digestion. (Many kings suffered from indigestion apparrently due to lack of exercise)

Servings: 4

Cooking TimesMove to Trash

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Ingredients

6		(approximately eight inches long) ddeok (slender cylindrical white rice-cakes, sometimes called rice noodle)
1/4	pound	chopped beef
50		watercress stems
1	cup	water
1		Onion
Marinade for beef
1	tablespoon	soy sauce
1	teaspoon	sesame seeds, ground
1	teaspoon	sesame oil
1	teaspoon	chopped garlic
1	teaspoon	chopped leek
2	tablespoons	pine nuts
Sauce
5	tablespoons	soy sauce
2	tablespoons	sugar
2	tablespoons	chopped leek
2	tablespoons	chopped garlic
2	tablespoons	sesame oil
2	tablespoons	toasted sesame seeds, ground

Procedure

Preparation

Mix all marinade ingredients together in a mixing bowl and let sit for 1/2 hour.

If the ddeok has been refrigerated and is hard, steam slightly or soak in very warm to hot water until it softens.

Cut the rice-cakes (Ddeok) into 1 1/2 inch lengths.

With a sharp knife, carefully cut slits into opposite sides of each ddeok piece, being careful not to split the piece in half.

Slice onion from top to bottom into roughly 1/4 inch thick slices.

Place all sauce ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix well.

Place beef in Marinade and let sit for 1/2 hour.

Cooking

Remove beef and pine nuts from marinade

Carefully place 1 teaspoon of the beef and pine nuts into the slits in a piece of ddeok. Repeat until all pieces are “stuffed”.

Par boil the watercress stems until just softened

Tie one watercress stem around each end of the stuffed ddeok pieces.

Heat a pan or skillet over medium to high heat.

Place sliced onion in pan and cook for twenty to thirty seconds.

Add sauce to pan and reduce heat to low.

Gently add stuffed ddeok, then pour water into pan from one side.

Stir gently until all ddeok pieces are well coated with sauce.

Cook until the ddeok pieces turn a light golden color (about ten minutes), then remove from heat.

Place the ddeok pieces onto a serving dish and pour the sauce over them. Serve warm.