From Culinary Class Wars · 2024-2024 · Reconstructed
Tteokbokki Semifreddo with Gochujang Caramel
Serve when
Serve the moment the semifreddo is unmolded and the gochujang caramel is poured over just before it starts to soften.
In the series
Season 1
- S1E12 · ~00:55:00 White Spoon Edward Lee plates a tteokbokki-inspired semifreddo finished with a gochujang caramel as his final-round dessert, the runner-up dish of the competition
In the series
Turning tteokbokki — a spicy, chewy street-food staple — into a frozen dessert is the final round's boldest swing: taking the sweet-and-spicy backbone of a dish everyone recognizes and rebuilding it entirely as fine-dining pastry, which is enough to carry it all the way to runner-up.
Pairing
Serve alongside a Chamoe-Makgeolli Old Fashioned — the drink Edward Lee pairs with this dessert on the plate, using the same sweet-melon and rice-wine notes that run through the semifreddo itself.
Ingredients
- For the semifreddo:
- For the gochujang caramel:
Method
- Whisk the egg yolks with half the sugar over a double boiler until pale, thick, and warm, then remove from heat and whip until cooled to room temperature.
- Whip the cream with the remaining sugar to soft peaks, then fold it into the cooled yolk mixture along with the toasted chopped tteok.
- Pour into a lined loaf pan or individual molds and freeze for at least 6 hours, until firm.
- For the caramel, melt the sugar with the water over medium heat without stirring until deep amber, then carefully whisk in the warm cream off the heat.
- Stir in the gochujang and salt and let cool slightly to a pourable, glossy sauce.
- Unmold the semifreddo, slice, and pour the warm gochujang caramel over just before serving.
Substitutions
- Tteok: fresh or frozen Korean rice cakes work equally well here — thaw frozen tteok fully and pan-toast it dry before chopping so it keeps some chew once frozen into the semifreddo.