Cabbage Cup

As I continue to make my way through The Wok by J Kenji Lopez-Alt, I’ve been trying to use ingredients I’ve never used before and flavors that I haven’t experienced. A lot of this cooking adventure was spawned by my love of Asian styled meals and being frugal. My awesome local Chinese Restaurant- Imperial Wok had a Hunan pork dish that I really liked. The main ingredient is Douchi or fermented black (soy) beans. Once you pick up a bag of Douchi from your local market, the rest of the dish is pretty straightforward. Douchi won’t really ever go bad if it’s refrigerated and I have the same beans I bought 6 years ago in the back of my fridge now.

Anyway! Tteokbokki is pretty straightforward but I needed to pick up some Gochujang as I’ve learned that there is a gulf of different between Gochujang and Gochugaru. Having just finished it, I can confidently say it’s a really delicious dish, amazing depth of flavor and that I will need to buy a less spicy Gochujang. Mine is a level 3 on the GHU scale – which is very cool that there is a heat scale for a condiment!