Tteokbokki is rice cakes in a spicy, sweet, and umami-filled sauce. It is a famous street food in Korea and in this blog, I’ll teach you the basic way you can easily make it at home!
Tteokbokki or Spicy Rice Cakes is one of the best spicy street food in the world! This dish is widespread in the streets of Korea and it was more popularized because of K-dramas.
You’ll often find these sold from big pots, simmering all day which ensures a chewy rice cake in a hot, spicy, and rich sauce. They will then be served in paper cups that allow you to dip any fried foods they are also selling.
This is a common snack among all ages because it is very cheap and filling. It hits the spot with the carbs from the rice cakes, the quick protein from the fishcakes, and ultimately the spicy sauce bringing comfort all at once.
Varieties of Tteokbokki
There are many varieties of this dish. Some recipes date back to the Royal history of Korea, while some recipes are developed because of their rising popularity.
- Royal Court Tteokbokki – This is the non-spicy version of tteokbokki. The main ingredient is still rice cake, but it is mixed with beef, mushroom, and other vegetables which will be sauteed in soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.
- Jjajang Tteokbokki – This is also a non-spicy variety of rice cake dishes where the sauce base uses black bean paste. This is a spin-off of the classic Korean-Chinese dish, Jjajangmyeon.
- Rabokki – This is a common spin-off of the classic recipe wherein instant ramen noodles are added when you cook tteokbokki. The noodles make the whole dish a full meal, and its spice powder is an additional layer of flavor that makes it super addicting.
- Rose Tteokbokki – Since this dish is very spicy but very delicious, rose tteokbokki is a variant where the classic spicy rice cake recipe is added heavy cream or milk and cheese to make it creamier and more bearable in terms of spice.
Tteokbokki Ingredients
Disclaimer: I get a small commission at no additional cost to you when you make a qualified purchase under the affiliate links.
Rice Cakes
What are Rice Cakes?
Tteok or Rice cakes are cylinder-shaped sticks made from short-grain rice or glutinous rice flour. In its plain form, it is called garaetteok. It’s bland with a hint of sweetness in taste, and sticky and chewy in texture. It resembles an Italian gnocchi, Japanese mochi, or Chinese Nian Gao. When you put it in any dish, it will thicken up the sauce and become a great vessel of the flavors it is in.
The coin-shaped variant of rice cakes is what we use in rice cake soup or tteokguk!
Where do you buy rice cakes?
If you happen to be close to a Korean grocery you’ll most likely find fresh ones there. But generally, in Asian supermarkets, it can usually be found in the frozen section and it’s commonly vacuum sealed.
How to store rice cakes?
Make sure to store rice cakes properly in an airtight container. Once it has been thawed, you cannot refreeze them as the changes in temperature may change its texture. I also recommend using it right away as the rice cakes can easily dry up and break when stored for too long.
How to prepare rice cakes?
If you are using fresh rice cakes, you can directly add them to any dish. If you are using frozen rice cakes, soak them in water for 20 minutes to thaw them properly.
Fish Cakes
Eomuk or Fish cakes are the most common add-on or topping for tteokbokki. These are flat sheets made from blended and seasoned fish and they perfectly complement the rice cakes. Other recipes that use fish cake are stir-fried fish cake and fish cake soup!
Cabbage and Scallions
In its most basic form, you can just use rice cakes and fishcakes to make this dish. However, add other ingredients like cabbage, scallions, sausage, and hard-boiled eggs for more variety.
Tteokbokki Sauce
- Anchovy Stock or Water – The stock is going to be the base of the dish. While you can also use water, I highly recommend using an anchovy dashi pack because it makes all the difference in the depth of flavor in tteokbokki. If you are using only water, I recommend adding MSG or beef dashida to make the dish more flavorful. This is what makes it taste like authentic Korean street food!
- Gochujang – This is Korean red pepper paste, the sauce’s main ingredient. It is a fermented paste that is spicy and savory.
- Gochugaru – In making tteokbokki, use Korean red pepper powder also known as gochugaru finely ground. It will add additional spice without making the dish too salty and the powder will easily dissolve in the sauce. You can opt to add or skip this according to your spice tolerance.
- Soy Sauce and Oyster Sauce – This will bring umami, a little boost in the flavor of the dish.
- Sugar and Corn Syrup – This is going to be the main contrast to all the spice and savor from the pepper paste, pepper flakes, and soy sauce. With the correct ratio, tteokbokki will be a perfect sweet and spicy dish that’s very addicting. The corn syrup, while also sweet, will help make it glossy. Feel free to substitute this with other sweeteners like syrup, honey, or erythritol depending on your preference.
- Garlic and Black Pepper – These will bring a contrasting aroma to the dish.
- Ketchup or Curry Powder – These are optional ingredients but they are my secret just to add a boost to the dish. It’s just a small amount and people will barely know they are there!
How to make Tteokbokki?
Believe it or not, this is literally a dish you can just dump and leave to simmer in the pan. First, combine water and all the sauce ingredients. Make sure each is mixed in well then bring it to a boil.
Afterward, place the rice cakes, fishcakes, cabbage, and scallions in the pan. Now, all you have to do is let it simmer while stirring occasionally until it reaches the right consistency where the sauce has thickened and has coated all the ingredients really well.
TIP: Be mindful of the sauce consistency. If it’s too thin, continue to simmer. If it turns too thick real quick, add a little bit more stock.
From here on, you are free to customize the dish by:
- More stock to make it soupy
- Pepper paste or pepper flakes to make it spicier
- Ramen to make rabokki
- Cream or cheese to make it cheesy
Essentially, this is the base on how to make tteokbokki and afterward, you can own the dish!
What to eat with Tteokbokki?
When I visited Namdaemun Market in Korea, I stumbled upon a delicious tteokbokki stall and I paired it with kimbap. The sauce was so good, that I just had to dip my kimbap in there. My wife and I really enjoyed it!
Aside from this, you can also enjoy tteokbokki with any fried dishes like fried dumplings!
How to reheat leftover Tteokbokki?
Over time, the rice cakes will continue to absorb the sauce, so it will get thicker and a bit dry. To reheat, do it stovetop and add a bit more water or stock to loosen the sauce. Let it simmer until the rice cakes are soft again and the sauce is in the right consistency. Nevertheless, I still recommend finishing everything when it is freshly cooked!
Other delicious Korean snacks you might like:
- Candied Sweet Potatoes
- Korean Potato Pancake
- Loaded Kimchi Fries
- Spicy Dried Squid
- Broke Boyz Raw Ramen Snack
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Tteokbokki (Spicy Rice Cakes Recipe)
Ingredients
- 2 cups Water
- 300 grams Rice Cake
- 100 grams Fish Cake
- 2 stalks Scallions Sliced to 3-inch pieces
- 100 grams Cabbage Chopped to bitesize
- 2 tbsp Korean Red Pepper Paste
- 2 tbsp Korean Red Pepper Powder
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 1.5 tbsp Corn Syrup
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1/4 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 1/3 tbsp Ketchup
- 1/2 tbsp Minced Garlic
- Black Pepper To taste
- 1/3 tbsp MSG or Beef Dashida
Instructions
- Boil water and add pepper paste, pepper powder, sugar, corn syrup, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, minced garlic, black pepper, and MSG or dashida. Mix thoroughly and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the rice cakes, fish cakes, cabbage, and scallions.
- Let your tteokbokki simmer and mix occasionally to prevent it from sticking.
- Remove from heat once the rice cakes are soft and the sauce has thickened and coated the ingredients well.
- Customize according to your preference, serve immediately, and enjoy!
I make this at home without the msg and cabbage and also a soup to eat with ramen. But curious why do u add cabbage? Great recipe!!!
Do u have a recipe for summer kimchi?
Thank you!!!
Most street food-style tteokbokki wouldn’t have cabbage, but restaurant-style sometimes do have them. It’s a great addition to tteokbokki but it really depends on preference so you can skip it if you don’t like. 🙂
Sorry, I don’t have a recipe for summer kimchi yet.