Gungjung Tteokbokki with Tofu Recipe, Korean Royal Court Rice Cake Stir Fry, Gluten Free, Vegan

I've posted before about how I make tteokbokki, stir fried Korean rice cakes, usually in a spicy sauce. While spicy tteokbokki is the most common as a street food in Korea currently, this recipe, gungjung tteokbokki, is the type of tteokbokki that was made in the Korean royal courts, and it is quite different from the other kind but no less delicious. Korean royal court tteokbokki is traditionally made with beef but making it with tofu is terrific and makes this vegan friendly, in addition to being gluten free and allergy friendly.

For this recipe I used the vegetables listed, but you can play around with this and use whichever stir fry vegetables you like.

Gungjung Tteokbokki with Tofu Recipe, Korean Royal Court Rice Cake Stir Fry, Gluten Free, Vegan

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion
1 carrot
1 cup broccoli
1 pepper
6-7 dried shitake mushrooms or fresh
1 batch of homemade garaetteok /Korean rice cakes or equivalent amount store bought
1/2 block firm tofu
4 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce plus 1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce, separated
2 tablespoons jaggery syrup or other sweetener of choice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon vinegar, apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 scallions
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Instructions:
1. Chop your rice cakes into 2 inch cylinders. Boil until they begin to float, strain, then mix with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil.

2. Soak your dried shitake mushrooms in boiling water.

3. Chop up your tofu into cubes. Mix 3 tablespoons soy sauce, jaggery syrup or other sweetener, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1/4 teaspoon vinegar together, and marinate your tofu in this sauce for approximately 30 minutes.

4. Chop up your vegetables into julienned or bite sized pieces, and slice your soaked mushrooms, saving the soaking liquid.

5. Heat up the oil in a wok or a large frying pan, and then add the onions. Once transparent, add the carrots, and cook until softened. Then add the broccoli and peppers and cook until they are as cooked as you like. Add the mushrooms, tofu, and rice cakes, along with the marinating sauce. Add also 1 1/3 cups of the water used to soak the mushrooms, mix well, and then simmer for approximately 10 minutes.

6. Add salt to taste and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Have you ever had Korean rice cakes before? How were they prepared? Does this look like a recipe you'd try? What vegetables would you use?