Tteokbokki - Hot and Spicy Rice Cake Recipe (Korean Cuisine)

Ingredients:

Rice cakes

1/3 cup pepper paste

1 tbsp pepper flakes

1 tbsp sugar

Fish cake/balls (cut into bite size)

Kikiam

Hard-boiled eggs

4 cups water

Spring onions (cut into strips and small chunks for garnish)

Stock:

7-10 pcs of anchovies (without the head and guts)

A good amount of kelp or seaweed.

On a casserole, put the kelp, anchovies and water. Bring them to a boil. 

While waiting for the it, mix pepper paste, pepper flakes and sugar in a bowl until well incorporated. Once the water is boiling, remove the anchovies and seaweed and put in the rice cakes and the pepper-sugar mixture. Mix it gently and simmer for a couple of minutes. Next, put the fish cakes, kikiam, and eggs.

Put in more water if sauce is too thick as the rice cakes will absorb some of it. Adjust the spiciness as well to your desire.

Garnish with spring onion and serve hot with or without rice.

VERDICT:
WILL: "There is a reward to the one who waits."

I waited not days, not weeks, but months for my husband to cook this for me. Well, you can't force a chef to cook something, why? It will reflect to the food. When he decided to make schedule for spicy rice cake, I immediately affirmed on it. Haha!

The aroma of spiciness makes my tummy grumbles even more. He announced for lunchtime and my cravings was satisfied. Tsk! The sauce clicked really well to the rice cake and fishballs. 

Because the sauce is really delicious, I asked Abbey if I can have a bowl of rice. He explained that the rice cake is my carbo for that food but I insisted to have a separate rice for the spicy sauce. Yummmmy to the max! 

Fort Siloso Singapore

ABBEY: This is the part of Sentosa where we haven't set our foot in, but the ground must be covered. 

By 12:30PM at Beach Station, an "old bus" will take you to the fort. An entrance free of 12SGD should be paid. Fort Siloso served as the primary stronghold against the war enemy that comes from the south sea.

We were glad that our tour guide is charming and always smiling. Her name is Annabelle, but we wondered why her nameplate shows Baxter. Anyways, she led us to the first stop of the tour, the recreation area of POW during Japanese Occupation. In here was a diorama of Pulau Blakang Mati which is now known as Sentosa and its different zones. Next is the tunnel under a war gun where the ammunitions were kept. Being a soldier is tough specially in war; poor ventilations, small spaces and large chance of being killed. The third stop is all about the life under Japanese regimen. Foods were rationed, people will be jailed, tortured and killed without any reason and a lot of propaganda for brainwashing specially the little ones.

The tour ended on what they called as Surrender Chambers. It relives the scene of Singapore surrendering to Japanese forces led by Gen. Yamashita. And on the next room was the scene where Allied Forces led by Lord Mountbatten liberated Singapore from Japan. Those are touching scenes and a lot to learn from the history.

WILL: We need to know the past and learn from it or history will just repeat itself. 

That is why Singapore gives a big effort to let locals and tourist know how it was to be on their  "dark ages". The time, World War II, when they were conquered by Japanese with the leadership of General Yamashita. It was a big trick or I should say Yamashita knew the "art and power of making a deal" that time. 

Here in Fort Siloso, you will see the real cannons. You can check-out the bankers, undergrounds tunnels and the famous signing of Japanese surrendering to the Allied Forces. 

This is an informative day for us. You can join a tour if you do not have an idea where to start. The entrance fee for locals is $10 and for tourist is $12. If you're already at Sentosa why not check this out. 

Kiseki Japanese Buffet Restaurant - Orchard Central

ABBEY: It's been a very late celebration, but only 22nd of April is the best time for us to dine at Kiseki Japanese Buffet Restaurant.

We did reserve a week before and at last.. the time came. The restaurant is in the eighth storey of Orchard Central. Once we were led to the table, I put my bag down and started to roam around checking what they have to offer. They have fried delights like crispy chicken, ebi tempura, and salmon head. I don't know how long they have been on the serving station but I find them too oily and not that crispy anymore. 

They also have grilled foods; baby potatoes, sweet corn, pork, squid, and chicken yakitori. Beef and chicken tepanyaki were also available. Mussels and shrimps were there but they're off limits to me. So I feasted on salmon meat and belly. Every bite is heaven once the salmon is dipped the soy sauce and wasabi. I washed them all with lemonade, soda and hot green tea. 

The dinner costs almost 75sgd for both of us.

WILL: Do you know the song “Everything is Awesome” from the 2014 Lego Movie? Sing with me using the below lyrics...

Everything is Oily... When you eat at Kiseki..
Evertyhing is Oilyyyyy!

Why I said that? Read more.

The cashier in front told us that Salmon Head is their house recommendation. When I saw the salmon head, right away picked one of it. I giggled loudly when I saw the mountain of ebi tempura. I got a plateful instantly.

I went to our table and agonizingly waiting for my husband to take his food. After a prayer of thanks, I attacked the tempura relentlessly. Haha! But on every bite I notice that it is oily. I took the Salmon head, and its oily too. I used tissue to the crab claw to squeeze out the unnecessary oil. 

This is not-all-rant-blog, I want to commend their hotpot, the perfectly grilled corn and the bean sprout! 

Thanks Kiseki for being part of our April celebration. Hope you check on “too oily” issue.