Gungjung-tteokbokki (Korean rice cakes)

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 oz Beef brisket
0.5 cup Bell Pepper (green)
0.5 cup Bell Pepper (Red)
0.75 tsp black pepper
0.4 cup carrots
2 unit Egg Yolks
2 clove garlic
0.5 tsp honey
0.5 cup onions
1 tbsp pine nuts
1 lb Rice cakes for tteokbokki
1 tbsp Rice Syrup
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
1.5 tbsp soy sauce
2 cup White mushrooms

Directions

Source: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/gungjungddeokbokki

For marinade (4 servings)
1 garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon honey (or sugar)
¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper
½ teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:
Prepare your ingredients:
1. Cut the beef brisket into matchsticks. Mix the marinade ingredients together and add the beef. Keep in the fridge.
2. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Beat the yolks and add a pinch of salt.
3. If you buy frozen rice cakes, thaw them out. And if your rice cakes are really big and thick, you should soak them in water for 5 minutes so they will soften up during cooking.
4. Slice the vegetables and mushrooms: mushrooms into bite sized pieces, carrots/bell peppers into very thin strips, onions sliced.

Make gyerannoreunjajidan (yellow egg yolk strips) to use as a garnish:
1. Add a few drops of cooking oil to a heated non-stick pan. Wipe off any extra hot oil with a paper towel.
2. Turn the heat down very low. Pour the egg yolks into the pan and tilt it in different ways so the yolks spread thinly and form a sheet at the bottom.
3. Turn off the heat and let the thin egg sheet finish cooking on the residual heat of the pan. When it’s 70% cooked flip it over and let it cook on the other side.
4. Slice the yolk sheet into strips and set it aside.

Put it all together:
1. Heat up a skillet and add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil, 1 clove of minced garlic, and the marinated beef. Stir for a few minutes until the beef is half cooked.
2. Add all the sliced vegetables and mushrooms. Stir for 1 minute.
3. Add the rice cakes, ½ cup water, 4 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon of rice syrup (or honey or sugar), and ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper. Keep stirring for 2 to 3 minutes until everything is juicy and shiny and the rice cake softens.
4. Add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil before removing from the heat. Transfer to a plate and garnish with sesame seeds, the yellow egg yolk strips (gyerannoreunjajidan), and chopped pine nuts if you have them.
5. Serve hot.