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Love tteokbokki but not the carbs? Here's a low-carb, healthier chewy vermicelli "tteokbokki" that'll satisfy your craving!
Still carrying all the amazing flavors of sweet, spicy, and umami, this "tteokbokki" is san ricecakes, which cuts down dramatically the numbers of carbs and calorie intake. Rather, this "tteokbokki" should be called dangmyeonbokki, or vermicelli-bokki, where a low carb vermicelli takes the place of ricecakes. Thus, our hunt for a vermicelli that is a suitable substitute began and the replacement we found is not disappointing! Keep reading to see the brand of vermicelli we found, why we recommend it, and our final thoughts and review!
The healthier alternative to classic tteokbokki
As you guys know, we love tteokbokki. I mean who doesn't? Nice and chewy, sweet, spicy, and full of umami. Hence, why tteokbokki is one of Korea's most popular streetfood. However, tteokbokki, made up of mostly rice cakes, are loaded with carbs and sugar, so not the most calorie friendly, especially after going into January promising ourselves to recover from the holiday stuffing, lol.
Now, if you're like us and is looking to enjoy this classic streetfood dish, but without all that carb, it's time to try this healthier, chewy vermicelli 'tteokbokki," or also known as dangmyeonbokki. This version of tteokbokki, as the name hints, replaces the tteok, or ricecake, for chewy vermicelli noodles (dangmyeon). With this substitution, we'll still have the pleasant chewiness and all the things that makes tteokbokki, just without the carbs.
Not all vermicelli noodles can suffice as ricecake substitute!
Some vermicelli are made of rice flour, which contains just as much carbs as rice cakes. Some are too thin to provide the proper mouthfeel. Others didn't have enough bouncy-ness or chew. We were on a hunt for vermicelli noodles that will absorb the sweet and spicy tteobokki sauce and also stay incredibly chewy. And then, we came upon Rothy vermicelli glass noodles!
Rothy's vermicelli glass noodles are made of cassava starch, also known as tapioca starch. Which if you're a big fan of boba teas, you know how nice and chewy those tapioca pearls are. These vermicelli glass noodles are the same! Amazingly chewy, even after sitting in hot broth or sauces for a good amount of time. And the bonus? The noodles are gluten free and lower in calorie than other vermicelli glass noodles that are made of sweet potato starch or mung bean starch.
Rothy Vermicelli Glass Noodles
To be honest, we've never heard of Rothy noodles prior to this, but we are darn happy that we found it! So far we have tried the classic Rothy vermicelli glass noodles and the red edition. Both are the same type of noodles with the exception that the red edition comes with a couple of sweet and spicy seasoning packets. Did I mention how tasty those seasoning packets are?! No wonder why Rothy is one of Korea's most trusted brands!
Rothy's vermicelli noodles are often seen featured on TV and also on many popular mukbang YouTuber's channel. One of the most popular Korean mukbang YouTuber, Dorothy, is often seen enjoying Rothy's vermicelli glass noodles on her eating channel. She makes it look so tasty!
Cooking instructions for Rothy Vermicelli Noodles
Because Rothy vermicelli glass noodles are made for more than just preparation like instant noodles, there are many cooking option you can experiment with. Depending on how you want to incorporate these vermicelli noodles into your dish, here are some general cooking guides for different styles of serving:
- Stir fry and soup:
Add the noodles to a pot of boiling water and boil them for about 7-8 minutes, then add it to your soup or stir fry sauce and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Personally, we also like to rinse the noodles after boiling and before adding to our soup and sauce. - Use in cold dishes:
Add the noodles to a pot of boiling water and boil them for 10-12 minutes. Rinse the noodles in cold water and drain them well. Toss the noodles in your sauce and enjoy! - Rothy vermicelli glass noodles (Red edition) with seasoning packets "instant" method:
With the red edition of Rothy's vermicelli noodles, you can enjoy it like instant noodles and ramen. Simply combine 700mL of water, the vermicelli noodles, and both packet of the seasonings and boil for 8½ to 9 minutes. - Rothy vermicelli glass noodle soup (Red edition) with seasoning packets:
For this fancier version of the instant noodle soup, using the seasoning packets, add the noodles to a pot of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain the noodles and add it to a pot, along with the seasoning packets and 400mL of water. Let the mixture simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile, also add your desired toppings like egg, leeks, green onions, vegetables, cheese, etc.
White substance on the noodle
When we first used Rothy's vermicelli noodles, we were concerned about one thing. That is the white substance on some of the vermicelli noodles, especially on the bottom sides. So to save you guys some questions and concerns, we did some research and contacted the company and was reassured that the white substance is simply a natural occurrence created by the noodle production process. It will disappear once the noodles are boiled.
Left: Rothy's glass noodle (RED); right: Rothy's classic glass noodle This is how the vermicelli looks straight out of the packaging.
Ways to enjoy Rothy Vermiccelli Noodles
One of our favorite things about Rothy vermicelli glass noodles is their versatility, whether if you use the classic ones or the Red edition. With the classic package, you can easily substitute it into your favorite pasta and noodles dishes, such as cream pastas like Alfredo, and Korean's favorite noodle stir fries: japchae and jajangmyeon. You could even use it in your favorite Chinese noodles dishes like malatang (麻辣汤) or hotpot. The options are endless! Even if you have Rothy's Red edition vermicelli noodles, you can incorporate it into your favorite sweet and spicy dishes. Our favorites so far, using the Red edition, is for making budae jigae (Korean army stew) and dangmyeonbokki, as you can see, haha.
Our final thoughts about Rothy and their vermicelli noodles
After trying out Rothy's vermicelli glass noodles, both the classic and Red edition, we have to admit that we are very impressed by it, not only speaking as a sponsor, but also a consumer. Their vermicelli noodles are easy to use, are of great quality, have really good texture, very versatile, and best of all, low carb and calorie! We also really enjoy flavors of the seasoning packets included in the Red edition. No joke. The seasoning encompasses the iconic base flavors of almost all Korean dishes that are sweet and spicy.
We highly recommend giving both Rothy vermicelli glass noodles a try, especially if you are looking for a carb substitution in your favorite noodle dishes! You can order both the Rothy vermicelli glass noodle and Rothy vermicelli glass noodle (RED) on Amazon.
Cook with love!
Mei ❤️
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📖 Recipe
Healthier Chewy Vermicelli "Tteokbokki"
Ingredients
- 1 pack Rothy Wide Vermicelli Noodle
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup gochujang (Korean red chili paste)
- 1 Tablespoon gochugaru (coarse) (or Korean red chili flakes)
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¾ Tablespoon soy sauce
- ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt (or to taste)
- 7 ounce Korean fish cake , cut into bite size pieces (about 2 sheets)
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch (for slurry*)
- 2 large egg (optional for hard-boiling)
- Shredded mozzarella cheese (optional as toppings)
- Green onion (optional for garnish)
Instructions
For the eggs:
- Gently place the 2 eggs into a small sauce pan and fill it will enough water to cover the eggs. Bring the water to a boil and start the timer for 12 minutes. Once the time is up, drain the eggs and run them under cold water. When the eggs are cool enough to handle, peel and set aside until needed.
For the Rothy Vermicelli and tteokbokki sauce:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil the Rothy vermicelli noodles for about 7-8 minutes. Once cooked, drain the noodles and rinse them under some cool water. Set aside until needed.
- In another saucepan, combine the the water, gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, sugar, and salt and bring it up to a boil then down to a simmer. Add the precooked Rothy vermicelli and fishcakes and let them simmer in the sauce for about 2-3 minutes.
- Now, if you prefer a thicker tteokbokki like we do, make a slurry with the cornstarch by combining it with 1 Tablespoon of cold water. Stir up the cornstarch slurry and drizzle it into the vermicelli tteokbokki. Let the mixture simmer for just a few seconds then remove it from the heat.If you prefer the thin, sauce-y tteokbokki, just leave out the cornstarch slurry.
- Top the Rothy vermicelli "tteokbokki" with some shredded mozzarella cheese, sliced green onion, and a hard boil egg. Enjoy while it's hot!
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