Bacon Tteok Gui

1. Prepare tteok if you are not using freshly made tteok. For frozen tteoks, it's best to defrost them in cold water for 30 min or defrost them in the package on the counter for a few hours. Then separate the tteok into individual sticks and blanch them quickly in boiling water until it's soft. Drain water from the rice cakes and let them cool on a plate.

Gochujang Sauce (Optional)

1. Make sauce - mix gochujang, maple syrup, ketuchup and vinegar. Serve this as a dipping sauce or drizzle the bacon tteok gui with this sauce when done. This sauce is not needed but adds great brightness and a zing which I think is wonderful but it's up to you.
2. Cut bacon into 1/2 lengths.
3. Wrap each tteokbokki tteok with bacon. You can wrap just the center of the tteok with the bacon or wrap at a diagonal, covering most of the tteok. When wrapping, it's good to let the edges overlap a bit so they don't unravel easily.

Time to cook these beauties!!

1. Stove Top - heat frying pan (doesn't have to be non-stick) on medium heat. Place bacon wrapped tteoks on the frying pan with the loose end side down so that they don't start to unravel when they cook and shrink up. Keep watch and turn the tteok occasionally to make sure it gets browned evenly throughout. It should take about 7-8 min altogether.
2. Air Fryer - bake in the air fryer at 400 ℉ for 11 min or until it's nicely brown and crispy. Air fryer work great because all the fat can be drained away while they are getting cooked.
3. Convection Oven - Roast or Bake in the oven at 400 ℉ for about 20 min or so. To help the fat drain away, place the tteok on a baking pan lined with a rack. If you dont' have a rack, you can just simply roast them in the pan lined with some baking sheet or tin foil. When cooking in the regular oven, it's good to check a couple times and turn them over so all sides cook evenly.
4. Serve the Bacon Tteok Gui warm inserted with toothpicks for an easy party finger food appetizer. Drizzle some of the gochujang sauce on the tteoks or serve as a side dipping sauce - it's up to you!!