Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cakes) Recipe (2024)

  • Korean

Tteokbokki are irresistibly chewy rice cakes, glazed with a sweet-spicy sauce.

By

Chichi Wang

Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cakes) Recipe (1)

Chichi Wang

Chichi Wang wrote a variety of columns for Serious Eats including The Butcher's Cuts, in addition to other stories. Born in Shanghai and raised in New Mexico, Chichi took her degree in philosophy but decided that writing about food would be more fun than writing about Plato.

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Updated February 21, 2024

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Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cakes) Recipe (2)

Why It Works

  • Glutinous rice cakes are chewy and slightly bouncy. Glazed with a combination of chile paste, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar, they take on a ton of flavor.
  • The rice cakes can be pan-fried or broiled for a crispy exterior and soft, gooey interior.

If you go into any Korean supermarket, you'll find several staples sold in an overwhelming array: kimchi, anchovies, pickled garlic, and a variety of rice cakes that are not available at Chinese or Japanese stores. At a Chinese store, on the other hand, you might find a few packages of pre-sliced rice cakes (nian gao, in Chinese) for use in stir-fry dishes, but even a small Korean supermarket will carry an impressive range of rice cakes (tteok, in Korean).

What is a rice cake?Glutinous rice is pounded to a gluey, sticky mass, which is then formed into a variety of different shapes and sizes. Shape-wise, there are chubby and skinny, tall and short, round and oblong. Color-wise, they can be pale (made with white glutinous flour) or tan (made with brown rice). You'll find freshly cooked rice cakes, most frequently in cylindrical form, sold at some stores, though all Korean markets will carry refrigerated, pre-packaged rice cakes that must be boiled before use.

Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cakes) Recipe (3)

Though all rice cakes taste like pounded rice (even the ones made with brown rice vary little in their taste),the specific shape dramatically affects the texture.Thin slices are significantly less chewy than large, cylindrical rice cakes that are genuinely toothsome in the degree of their chewiness.

Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cakes) Recipe (4)

Here is one instance where there's truly no "better" shape—each is well-suited to its purpose. A thin rice cake quickly soaks in flavor and is good for a stir-fried dish with slices of meat or vegetables. A thicker, rounder rice cake can be toasted in a cast iron pan or even charred over a grill, and still stays pleasantly chewy and soft in the center.

In Korean cooking, rice cakes are a mainstay of kimchi stews, for which almost any shape and size of rice cake will flourish.Sliced rice cakes need significantly less time to cook than the more thickly shaped sticks,but those chubby cylinders of pounded rice, you should know, char wonderfully when lined at the bottom of a clay pot.

Asking the question,what should I cook along with the rice cake?may half-miss the point—it's like asking an Italian what garnishes should accompany a freshly made plate of pasta. The pasta, valued for its specific textural qualities, is the primary draw of the dish, just like the rice cake is the main attraction. (This is not to say, of course, that a rice cake wouldn't make a superb filler for just about any stew you're contemplating.)

Koreans relish the chewy texture of the rice cake with very little garnish and side ingredients.The classic preparation oftteokbokkiis to boil the cylindrically shaped cakes andeat them coated in a red sauce of chile paste, fermented bean paste, soy sauce, and sugar, topped liberally with sesame seeds.You can follow the traditional route and boil your rice cakes in water or you can pan-fry them with a little bit of oil in a skillet. Or, char the cakes under the broiler until the surface is crackly and the inside is gooey and warm. The bibim sauce—a tasty balance of sweet, savory, and spicy—is a wonderful dressing for the chewy cakes.

Of course, once you're hooked on the texture, you'll find all kinds of ways to incorporate the cakes into your diet. In the mornings I've been known to dip broiled rice cakes in a mixture of peanut and honey with my coffee; in the evenings, I might fry one or two in bacon fat or olive oil to accompany my meat and vegetables.

November 2010

Recipe Details

Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cakes)

Prep5 mins

Cook25 mins

Active10 to 20 mins

Total30 mins

Serves4 servings

Ingredients

  • 6 to 8 fresh long rice cake sticks, or 20 smaller rice cake sticks

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the Sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons Korean chile pepper paste (gochujang)

  • 3 to 4 tablespoons light soy sauce

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

  • Roasted sesame seeds, to garnish

Directions

  1. If using fresh rice cake sticks, proceed with step 2. If using refrigerated rice cake sticks, boil according to instructions on package, about 5 to 10 minutes, until soft.

  2. Heat cast iron skillet over high heat. Add vegetable oil and pan-fry rice cake sticks for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until lightly brown. Alternatively, toss rice cake sticks with oil in a medium bowl and broil for 3 minutes.

  3. Mix ingredients for sauce together. In a mixing bowl, coat browned rice cake sticks in sauce and top with sesame seeds. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Special Equipment

Cast iron skillet

Notes

If you have extra rice cakes, you can freeze them. The smaller, thinner varieties can be tossed directly into the soup pot from the freezer, making them a quick addition to your late night kimchi soups.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
262Calories
8g Fat
43g Carbs
5g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories262
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g11%
Saturated Fat 1g4%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 1610mg70%
Total Carbohydrate 43g15%
Dietary Fiber 2g7%
Total Sugars 9g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 2mg11%
Calcium 18mg1%
Iron 1mg5%
Potassium 176mg4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cakes) Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is tteokbokki rice cake made of? ›

  1. Recipe type: rice cake, snack, spicy, street food.
  2. Made with: dried anchovies, dried kelp, eggs, fish cakes, garaetteok, gochugaru, gochujang, green onion, sugar, and water.

What is the difference between tteokbokki and rice cakes? ›

Gukmul Tteokbokki 국물 떡뽁이 is a soupy version of spicy Korean rice cakes where the rice cakes usually are served in a bowl with a lot of Gukmul (broth) but other than that it's really nothing different. It's usually served with just the soupy sauce and tteok but usually no vegetables or fish cake.

Is tteokbokki healthy? ›

Rice cakes are healthy.

Rice cakes are a good source of iron and protein. While it may not be the most exciting food, rice tteokbokki is actually quite healthy. One serving of rice cake contains 5 grams of fiber, which helps to keep your digestive tract running smoothly.

Why is my homemade tteokbokki not chewy? ›

Though all rice cakes taste like pounded rice (even the ones made with brown rice vary little in their taste), the specific shape dramatically affects the texture. Thin slices are significantly less chewy than large, cylindrical rice cakes that are genuinely toothsome in the degree of their chewiness.

Why do Koreans eat tteokbokki? ›

This is because the sweet and savory taste with a bit of a spicy kick remains irresistible to many Koreans, along with a chewy texture. For only a few dollars you can fulfill your need to snack, which makes it all the more tempting.

Do I have to refrigerate tteokbokki? ›

Thank you for your inquiry. Our tteokbokki is a product that can be stored at room temperature. We recommend consuming it as soon as possible once it has been opened. While each product is labeled with an expiration date, consuming it beyond this date may lead to spoilage.

Is tteokbokki the same as Mochi? ›

Tteok is just as diverse as mochi, and like the latter, it has some primary ingredients. Korean rice cake or tteok, is made from steamed flour. The flour can come from any type of grain, including glutinous rice. Unlike mochi, which can't be made with regular rice, tteok can be created with non-glutinous rice.

What is the most delicious food in Korea? ›

10 Great Korean Dishes
  • Kimchi. Good for: Food. ...
  • Bibimbap. Good for: Food. ...
  • See also. 9 Best Things to Do in Pyeongchang. South Korea. ...
  • Red rice cakes (tteokbokki) Good for: Food. ...
  • Bulgogi. Good for: Food. ...
  • Korean stew (jjigae) Good for: Food. ...
  • Jajangmyeon. Good for: Food. ...
  • Samgyeopsal. Good for: Food.

Why is tteokbokki hard to chew? ›

Overcooking: If you overcook the rice cakes, they can become hard and chewy. Make sure to monitor the cooking time and remove them from the heat as soon as they are tender and slightly chewy. High heat: Cooking the rice cakes at too high of a heat can also cause them to become hard.

Can tteokbokki be eaten raw? ›

“In Korea, there are fresh tteok stores, almost like bakeries. Whenever I go to visit my parents, I pick up fresh tteok; you don't even need to apply any heat, it's just like a piece of bread you eat fresh. But it's a perishable product in the sense that you should really enjoy it that day.”

Does tteokbokki have a lot of sodium? ›

The average amounts of sodium per serving of seasoned dried filefish, tteokbokki and fish paste were 1150, 1248 and 1097 mg, respectively. The values were above 50% of the daily intake of sodium recommended by the Korean dietary reference intake.

How to tell if Korean rice cakes are bad? ›

If you notice a sudden change in color or visible mold growth, or if the cakes have a strong, unpleasant odor, they have likely gone bad. Another sign of declining quality, while not necessarily a sign of expiration, is tteok that is hard or crumbly rather than moist and springy.

How to tell if tteokbokki is cooked? ›

Stir gently with a wooden spoon when it starts to boil. Let it simmer and keep stirring until the rice cake turns soft and the tteokbokki sauce thickens and looks shiny, which should take about 10 to 15 minutes. If the rice cake is not soft enough, add more water and continue stirring until it softens.

Why is my tteokbokki falling apart? ›

If your tteokbokki keep splitting and cracking, it's because your rice cakes are too dry and freezer burnt. They may have been frozen and defrosted more than once. If you have problems with them splitting, try soaking them in cold water and letting them defrost slowly overnight in the fridge.

What does tteokbokki rice cake taste like? ›

If you love carbs, you'll love tteokbokki. It's chewy and filling, sweet and spicy and savory. If you haven't had it before, think of it like a savory mochi or maybe like a gnocchi in a spicy sauce. Korean rice cakes are chewy and bouncy.

What are rice cakes made of? ›

Made from puffed rice pressed together into a cake, rice cakes are often eaten as a low calorie substitute for bread and crackers. While flavored varieties are available, the most basic kind is made from only rice and sometimes salt. As you might expect, they don't have much flavor on their own.

Is tteokbokki made of pork? ›

Tteokbokki (tuk-bow-kee) is a popular Korean dish made of rice cakes in a spicy sauce. Our version amps it up by adding pan-roasted Brussels sprouts, ground pork, and melted mozzarella.

What is a substitute for rice cakes in tteokbokki? ›

If you can't find rice cakes, then you can always try making them with rice paper sheets. Sesame Oil. Toasted sesame oil (not the cold pressed kind) will help to tenderize and flavorize (is that a word?)

References

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