Crisp rice cakes and sausage in a ketchup glaze

Name: Crisp rice cakes and sausage in a ketchup glaze
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Korean, American
Ingredients: 1 lb Korean rice cakes (tteok), the cylinder shape, refrigerated or thawed; 1 English cucumber, cut into 2-inch spears (about 1 lb); 1 cup ketchup; 1 tbsp white miso; 2 tsp toasted sesame oil (divided); ½ cup scallions, thinly sliced (plus more to finish); 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds; 2 tsp rice vinegar; 1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed; 1 small yellow onion, diced; 3 cloves garlic, smashed; 3 baby bok choy, cut into 1-inch pieces; chili crisp, to serve (optional); neutral oil, salt, pepper

Rice cakes fried until they crackle, then lacquered in ketchup and miso with the sausage.

At a Glance

Time

50 min

Serves

Story

The soak and the fry do two different jobs. Twenty minutes in cool water softens the rice cake right through, and the pan only ever reaches the outside, blistering it into a thin crackled shell around a chewy middle. Skip the soak and no amount of frying rescues it, because the outside scorches long before a firm center gives.

Ingredients

1 lb Korean rice cakes (tteok)the cylinder shape, refrigerated or thawed
1 English cucumbercut into 2-inch spears (about 1 lb)
1 cup ketchup
1 tbsp white miso
2 tsp toasted sesame oildivided
½ cup scallionsthinly sliced (plus more to finish)
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 lb sweet Italian sausagecasings removed
1 small yellow oniondiced
3 cloves garlicsmashed
3 baby bok choycut into 1-inch pieces
chili crispto serve (optional)
neutral oilsalt, pepper

Method

Sausage and ketchup reached Korean kitchens by way of the American bases after the war, the same road that gave the country budae jjigae. Korea was bottling its own ketchup by 1971. Street stalls took the idea to its obvious end, rice cakes and little sausages threaded on a stick, fried and glazed.

This is that skewer taken off the stick and made into dinner. Ketchup and a spoon of miso cook down into a sweet, tart lacquer, and a salted cucumber salad on the side keeps the whole thing honest.

Put the rice cakes in a bowl, cover with cool water and work your fingers through them to separate any clumps. Leave them for at least 20 minutes. They will keep like this in the fridge for up to 8 hours.
Salt the cucumber spears with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and tip them into a colander in the sink to weep while you get on.
Whisk the ketchup, miso, 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil and ½ cup of water. That is half the water you might expect, because this is a glaze and not a braise.
Toss the drained cucumbers with the scallions, sesame seeds, rice vinegar and the last teaspoon of sesame oil. Set aside.
Heat a 12-inch skillet over high until very hot. Add the sausage, press it into an even layer and leave it alone until the bottom is deeply browned, 9 to 10 minutes. Season, then break it into small bits and cook through. Scoop it onto a plate, keeping the fat in the pan.
Drain the rice cakes and pat them properly dry. Add a slick of neutral oil if the pan looks thin, turn the heat to medium high and lay them in a single layer. Fry, turning now and then, 6 to 8 minutes, until blistered gold and soft when you bite one. They spit, so stand back and keep a lid handy. Tip them out onto the sausage.
Onion into the pan with a pinch of salt, 3 minutes until translucent, then the garlic for 1 minute. Add the bok choy and a tablespoon of water and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until just tender.
Return the sausage and rice cakes, pour in the ketchup mixture and toss over medium for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bottom, until the sauce has reduced and clings to everything in a shine. Pull it off before it catches, because ketchup is mostly sugar and burns the moment you look away.