Sausage Pepper and Onion Rice Cakes Alla Soju

Sausage Pepper and Onion Rice Cakes

This warming, creamy dish of Korean style rice cakes, Chinese sausage, and peppers and onions, all smothered in a pink soju sauce, is perfect for this time of the year. The sauce is inspired by vodka sauce, but uses soju instead for a slightly sweater spin on the Italian classic. The sausage also adds sweetness and the rice cakes, or garae-tteok, are so tender in the middle and crispy around the edges! An all around perfect combo of flavors and textures!

The inspiration for this recipe

I am always interested in using rice cakes where you might use gnocchi and vice versa. Last week I made a sweet and spicy gnocchi dish that maybe would have been more expected to have rice cakes in it. This week you would definitely expect gnocchi in a pink Italian sauce like this! In my opinion, the crispy and chewy rice cakes worked better with the soft peppers and onions!

Toast the rice cakes

There are different types of rice cakes, and I think the cylindrical ones, or garae-tteok, are the best for this dish. Prep the rice cakes to your package instructions. I soaked mine for about 20 minutes, then boiled them for 5. Then toast them up in the pan after cooking he sausage. They will be sticky but as long as you continue to separate them they will toast up nice and stop sticking.

Sausage and rice cakes in the pan

Start the sauce

Crisp up the peppers and onions in the sausage fat, then add the tomato paste. Cook a few minutes, then add the garlic and soju.

start the soju sauce with peppers and onions

Finally the rice cakes go back in the pan and then some chili flakes. I would have added the chili flakes earlier but I didn’t know the dish needed them until I tasted it at this point.

add the rice cakes

Some reserved pasta cooking liquid and stock go in along with the cream. Then some basil and parmesan cheese and it’s ready to serve!

finish the sauce with cream and basil

Serving the sausage pepper and onion rice cakes

Just add the sausage pepper and onion rice cakes to they bowls and dig in! You could also add some basil on top or more pepper flakes or black pepper if you want but I thought it was good to go.

sausage pepper and onion rice cakes

The rice cakes were great in this sauce but the biggest surprise to me was the Chinese sausage and how well it paired with the pink sauce and the basil!

sausage pepper and onion rice cakes

Twists on this sausage pepper and onion rice cake

Yes you could use gochujang to make this pink instead of the tomato. You could also swap the Chinese sausage with Italian sausage. And of course, vodka or other alcohol would be fine instead of soju! Use your discretion and swap out anything to make it more Korean or more Italian!

To make traditional sweet and spicy rice cakes, check out this recipe.

For more Italian – Korean fusion, check out my gochujang vodka sauce, this jajang bolognese, or my kimchi risotto!

Sausage Pepper and Onion Rice Cakes Alla Soju

Korean rice cakes tossed in a pink soju sauce inspired by Italian vodka sauce loaded with peppers, onions, and sweet and spicy Chinese sausage
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Keyword: Mash-Up, Spicy
Servings: 3 people
Calories: 1114kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Korean rice cakes
  • 1/2 pound spicy Chinese sausage chopped small
  • 1 small onion chopped into chunky strips
  • 1 green bell pepper chopped into chunky strips
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 5 cloves garlic sliced thin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 1/2 cup soju
  • 1/2 cup chicken or veggie stock
  • 1 cup cream
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  • 25 basil leaves

Instructions

  • Add the rice cakes to a large bowl and cover with water. Allow to soak for 15 minutes while you prep the other ingredients. Refer to the packaging because the soaking and cooking might be different.
  • Strain and rinse the rice cakes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well. Add the rice cakes and boil a few minutes until they start to float. Again – refer to the packaging for more details.
  • Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Strain the rice cakes and toss them with a little olive oil.
  • In a large frying pan add some olive oil and cook the sausages. Cook on high for about 5 minutes to brown on the edges. Remove from pan.
  • Add the rice cakes into the pan and toss to cook. Cook on high until the edges are golden brown. The rice cakes will stick at this point, so make sure to continue to unstick them and toss them well to brown all he edges. Eventually they will stop sticking when all the edges are browned. Remove from the pan.
  • Add the peppers and onions to the pan on high heat to brown. Cook and toss for 10 minutes to char on the edges.
  • Add in the tomato paste and toss to combine. saute the tomato paste with the onion and pepper and continue to stir, adding oil if needed. After 5 minutes, add in the garlic and chili flakes and continue to toss to combine.
  • Add in the soju and cook for 5 minutes. Add in the broth and 1/2 cup of the reserved rice cake cooking liquid. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
  • Remove from heat and stir in the cream basil, and cheese. Serve!

Nutrition

Calories: 1114kcal | Carbohydrates: 144g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 144mg | Sodium: 810mg | Potassium: 809mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 2699IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 138mg | Iron: 4mg

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