Rose Tteokbokki is a popular street food that has taken over the whole internet and Korea. The young bouls love it because this is the creamier and meatier spin-off of the Spicy Tteokbokki we know and love.
Rose Tteokbokki’s concept comes from the Italian Creamy Rose Pasta where the tomato-based sauce is combined with cream to create an umami-filled, creamy pink “rose” sauce.
In the same way, Rose Tteokbokki uses gochujang, milk, and cream to produce a pinkish-orange “rose” sauce. It’s sweet, creamy, and mildly spicy. And although it was just “okay” when I first tried it, it surprisingly gets a bit addicting.
This dish has recently risen in popularity and is quickly selling out much more than the classic Spicy Tteokbokki. I tested several recipes because I wanted to see what the hype was about knowing Koreans are lactose intolerant but they still eat this, lol! As you eat more and have a little drink on the side, it really grows on you. Here’s the recipe that I liked and if you love the Tteokbokki, but don’t like spicy food, then this is for you!
Rose Tteokbbokki Ingredients
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- Rice Cake or Tteok – The main ingredient of the dish. This is white, cylindrical, soft, chewy, and takes on the sauce you put it in.
- Thick Bacon and Korean Sausage – For rose tteokbokki toppings, in my opinion, the addition of meat cuts through all the creaminess from the dish.
Rose Tteokbbokki Sauce
- Minced Garlic and Onion – The aromatics that will also help cut through the fat and creaminess in the dish.
- Korean Red Pepper Paste or Gochujang – The base of the sauce that will add both savor and spice.
- Korean Red Pepper Flakes or Gochugaru – Optional, but for additional spice. Add only according to your spice tolerance.
- Soy Sauce – For additional savor and umami to balance the creaminess.
- Sugar – This helps enhance the taste of the seasonings used in the dish.
- Water – We will use less water compared to the classic tteokbokki for the base of the sauce.
- Milk – This is both for creaminess and a water substitute to thoroughly cook the ingredients.
- Heavy Cream – This is the key to a creamy and thick finish to the rose tteokbokki. Using milk alone may taste “diluted” as compared to combining it with heavy cream.
- Mozzarella Cheese – For a cheesy and slightly salty finish.
- Shin Ramen Soup Packet – This is my secret. Just sprinkle a little bit for more flavor, but not too much that it will taste like ramen soup base. Alternatively, you can also use chicken or beef bullion.
Note that this recipe is lactose-heavy and there are no substitutes for the milk, cream, and cheese as it may change the overall taste and texture of the whole dish.
How to Make Rose Tteokbokki?
1. Prepare the ingredients by soaking the rice cakes in water for 5-10 minutes to thaw them properly, mincing the garlic and onion, and preparing the sauce ingredients.
2. Cook the bacon until the fat has rendered. Remove yielded oil from the pan, chop the bacon to bitesize pieces, and place the bacon back into the pan. This is an important step so that the dish will not be too oily.
3. In high heat, saute the bacon and the onion until the onion has caramelized. Drain the water from the rice cakes and add it to the pan.
4. Add water, gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, and sugar to the rice cakes and mix it until the pepper paste has diluted and everything is coated well. Mix well for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the sausage and give it another mix.
6. Now turn the heat to medium, add the milk, heavy cream, and mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle a dash of the instant ramen powder.
7. Mix the rose tteokbokki well until the cheese has melted, the sauce has slightly thickened, and the rice cakes and sausage are cooked. You don’t need the sauce to thicken all the way because as it sits off the fire, it will still thicken up on its own.
8. Serve hot, consume immediately, and enjoy!
Tips to Successfully Make Rose Tteokbokki
- In handling rice cakes, use the fresh ones as much as possible. If you can only find frozen ones, make sure to check if there are cracks already—this means it is either old stock or has been thawed and then refrozen. In light of that, do not thaw and refreeze rice cakes because this can lead to cracks in the remaining rice cakes. Thaw only what you will use.
- Ensure to only use medium heat when you add the milk and cream as it can easily burn in high heat. Boiling too much can also lead the cream to curdle.
- Use Korean sausage! It tastes more savory and meaty compared to other sausages and it’s perfect for this dish!
Serving Rose Tteokbokki
Rose Tteokbokki is a great snack or meal on its own, however, you can also add ramen noodles, thick potato starch noodles, or udon to make it more filling.
For additional toppings, you can add boiled eggs or fish cake. Fried items like twigim, fried dumplings, or kimbap are also great to be dipped in the sauce.
This is a heavily indulgent dish, but it’s great to be shared with family and friends. It’s also good with some alcohol on the side.
I recommend that you finish this because the sauce will continue to thicken up as it gets cold and the rice cakes will become hard. But if you have any leftovers you need to reheat, you just need to boil it again with a little bit of water.
Other famous Korean dishes you might like:
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Rose Tteokbokki
Ingredients
- 2 pc Thick Bacon
- 1/2 of Whole Onion Chopped
- 1 lb Rice Cake
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/2 tbsp Garlic
- 2 tbsp Korean Red Pepper Paste (Gochujang)
- 1 tbsp Korean Red Pepper Flakes (Gochugaru)
- 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 6-8 pcs Korean Sausage
- 1 cup Milk
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
- Dash of Shin Ramen Soup Packet
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients: Soak the rice cakes for 5-10 minutes, mince the garlic and onion, and prepare the seasonings.
- In high heat, fry the bacon and render all the fat. Afterward, remove the oil from the pan, slice the bacon into bitesize pieces, and place it back in the pan.
- Add the onion to the bacon and saute them together until the onion is caramelized.
- Drain the rice cakes and add it to the pan.
- Add water, then season with garlic, gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, and sugar, then mix it thoroughly until the pepper paste is diluted and everything is coated with the sauce.
- Add the sausage and mix it together.
- Turn the heat to medium then add milk, heavy cream, and mozzarella cheese. Cook until the cheese has melted, and the tteok and sausage have softened up.
- Once the ingredients are cooked and the sauce has slightly thickened, serve this hot, consume immediately, and enjoy!
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