Vegetarian Tteokbokki

I love all types of Korean fare, but I can’t shake my soft spot for tteokbokki, an iconic street food consisting of cylindrical rice cakes, strips of savory fish cake, veggies, and hard-boiled eggs swimming in a sweet-and-spicy gochujang-based sauce. Even at Korean restaurants, I find myself ordering tteokbokki when it’s on the appetizer section, and it’s on the roster of repeat requests when I visit home and my mom asks me what I’d like for dinner. Something about the finger-licking, spicy-sweet flavor of the sauce and the soft chew of the rice cakes puts this humble dish squarely in the top tier of personal comfort foods.

Making the dish is actually quite simple: Stir a four-ingredient sauce into stock, throw in soaked rice cakes, cabbage and onion (plus Korean fish cakes, if you wish) and simmer until saucy and delicious. Depending on style and preference, tteokbokki can veer more sweet or spicy, soupier or thicker in consistency — this version stays pretty middle-of-the-road for a satisfying eating experience, regardless of how you skew. Though my mom’s eyeballed, no-real-measurements tteokbokki will always be my favorite, this rendition comes close to hitting that unique comfort and joy.