Forget everything you know about tteokbokki. Gireum Tteokbokki is the crispy, golden, oil-fried upgrade you never knew you needed!
Giruem Tteokbokki is not the usual spicy rice cakes swimming in a gochujang sauce. These are crispy and chewy rice cakes stir-fried in a spicy, savory oil-based glaze. The recipe is courtesy to the one and only Sung Si-kyung—award-winning “King of the Ballads”, phenomenal TV host, and amazing homecook!
This collaboration is so special because he shared two recipes with me, this and his mom’s Hobak Jeon. Go check it out too!! Two quick and easy recipes, done with basic pantry staples, and both are perfect with a nice cold drink with friends—I don’t think I need to say more. You need to try them right away!
Ingredients for Oil Tteokbokki
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- Rice Cakes – These are soft and chewy cylinder-shaped sticks made from rice. It’s slightly sweet but also bland in flavor, perfectly absorbing whatever you cook it with. It comes in sticks or coin shapes and can be used in different dishes, stir-fries, or soup! These are available fresh or frozen Korean groceries. If using frozen, note to only thaw what you will use, as the rice cakes may dry out with the constant temperature change. Store them in an air-tight bag or container and use as soon as possible to keep from drying out and breaking.
- Ground Beef – Gireum tteokbokki is usually just rice cakes in chili oil, but Si-kyung hyung-nim used a small amount of meat to make it fuller and even more flavorful. The beef was a nice complement to the rice cakes.
- Generous Amount of Oil – Since this is an oil based dish, it will naturally use more oil than usual.
- Soy Sauce – This will be used to season the dish for that savory umami flavor.
- Sugar – This will add sweetness to help balance the saltiness from the soy sauce and spice from the gochugaru.
- Scallions and Minced Garlic – Aromatics for freshness
- Salt and Pepper – To taste
- Gochugaru – For the spice! You can use more or less according to your tolerance.
- Sesame Oil and Sesame Seeds – For earthiness and nuttiness that will tie up the sauce.
How to Make Gireum Tteokbokki?
Prepare the ingredients: Thaw out the ground beef, chop the scallions, and soak the rice cakes in water to thaw and keep them from breaking.
Saute the beef: On medium heat, add a generous amount of oil, saute together scallions and beef to make “pagirum” or scallion oil. Season this with a little bit of soy sauce, salt, and pepper, and mix well until browned and fragrant. Remove beef from the pan and set aside.
Pan-fry the rice cakes: Place the same pan on low heat, add oil, and fry the rice cakes until blistered and slightly browned.
Season the rice cakes: Once they are crisped up, season them with soy sauce, sugar, and garlic, and mix well until every rice cake is coated with the sauce.
Combine the ingredients: Add back the beef and saute until everything is combined and the sauce has caramelized. Turn off the heat and finish with gochugaru, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.
Recipe Notes
- This recipe is best with fresh tteok, but if you cannot find any, frozen ones are amenable too! Simply follow the thawing instructions mentioned above.
- Do not fry the rice cakes for too long/too crispy, as they may pop. Be careful!
- Keep the heat at medium/low throughout to keep the sauce from burning.
- If you cannot tolerate spicy food, you can skip adding the gochugaru; it should still be just as good! In the same way, if you don’t eat meat, you can also skip the beef and enjoy the stir-fried rice cake on its own!
- Adding the gochugaru and sesame oil is done last because they easily burn, which can make the dish bitter.
Serving and Storage
Gireum Tteokbokki must be served and consumed immediately for the best texture. Rice cakes may turn hard as they get cold, but you simply need to reheat them to make them chewy again.
This can be enjoyed as a snack or a drinking munchie, like Korean pancakes, tofu kimchi, or spicy dried squid. This is so addicting, my mom finished it right away!
For any leftovers, store them in the fridge for a couple of days and reheat them in the stove to make rice cakes soft again.
Other rice cake recipes you might like:
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Giruem Tteokbokki (Chili Oil Tteokbokki)
Ingredients
Ground Beef Mixture
- Generous Amount of Oil
- 1 stalk Scallions Chopped
- 100 grams Ground Beef
- Dash of Soy Sauce
- Salt and Pepper To taste
Seasoned Rice Cakes
- 300 grams Rice Cakes
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Garlic
- Black Pepper To taste
Garnish
- Gochugaru
- Sesame Oil
- Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- Chop the scallions, thaw out the ground beef, and soak the rice cakes in water.
- In medium heat, saute the scallions and ground beef together, and season with a bit of soy sauce, salt, and pepper.
- Saute until the beef is slightly browned and fragrant, then remove from the pan, leaving the oil.
- Using the same pan, place it on low heat, add more oil, then fry the rice cakes until they’re crispy on the outside.
- Once rice cakes are blistered and slightly browned, season with soy sauce, sugar, and garlic, then mix well until they are coated with the sauce.
- Add back the ground beef mixture and mix to combine. Saute until the sauce has caramelized.
- Turn off the heat, then add gochugaru, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.
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