Tteokbokki is a popular Korean street food that is also delicious comfort food. With this simple Tteokbokki recipe, you can make it at home. Rice cakes that are spicy, slightly sweet, and chewy are simply addictive!
The literal translation is “stir-fried rice cake.” Tteokbokki is a popular Korean rice cake dish with numerous variations and a long history. It is also known as ddukbokki, ddeokbokki, dukbokki, and topokki. This spicy rice cake dish is popular street food and is also popular at home.
Compared to Gungjung Tteokbokki, which has been around for hundreds of years, red-spiked Tteokbokki is relatively new. It was created in the Sindang-dong neighborhood of Seoul by a woman named Ma Bok-rim in 1953, the year the Korean War ended.
The chewy rice cake in a spicy gochujang sauce quickly gained popularity as an inexpensive comfort snack. Let’s get into more details.
What are Korean spicy rice cakes made of?
- Soy sauce
- Maple syrup
- Sesame oil
- Gochujang hot pepper paste
- Chili powder or flakes
- Sesame seeds
- Fresh garlic
- Rice cakes
- Spring onion
- Fish cake
Instructions
- Add the soy sauce, maple syrup, sesame oil, Gochujang hot pepper paste, chili flakes or powder, and garlic into a bowl and mix them all.
- Soak the rice cakes in hot water for 10 minutes
- Put the sauce into the pot and fry for 5 minutes on medium heat
- Put the onion into the pot
- Add the spring onion
- Add the rice cake
- And then the fish cake, then mix and cook for another 10 minutes
- Garnish with sesame seeds and spring onion.
Also, if you’re looking for vegetarian rice cakes, here is a video that you can follow to make them:
What does a Korean spicy rice cake taste like?
The Korean Spicy Rice Cakes have a chewy, sort of gummy texture, which makes them stand out from those who prefer crunchy snacks. When combined with the sauce, the spicy meets the sweet, resulting in an amazing flavor throughout which soothes your palate with spiciness.
I added ingredients to lift the aroma and fire your taste buds to avoid a bland taste. If you like spicy food, this is a dish that you will have to try once in your life.
Of course, you can decide how much gochujang (Korean red chili paste) to use; this recipe is spicy but still edible.
Is tteokbokki spicy or Sweet?
Korean cuisine is not as spicy as many people believe. The Korean chili pepper used to make gochujang and gochugaru have a favorable rating of less than 2,500 Scoville units.
To ride the trend of burn-your-tongue-off challenges, foods like TTEOKBOKKI and FIRE INSTANT NOODLES have been extra hot.
When you compare Gochujang to the Cayenne Pepper, which has a Scoville unit of 30,000, you can see how mild it is in terms of heat. There are also many Koreans who dislike overly spicy foods; there are plenty of non-spicy options.
Even if mildly spicy foods like JJAMPPONG (seafood noodles) are too hot for you, many restaurants will offer a milder version.
Tteokbokki can be spicy or sweet depending on what you choose to add to it. However, traditionally, this dish is supposed to be spicy.
Is tteokbokki Korean or Japanese?
Tteokbokki is Korean street food and not Japanese.
It is made up of a sweet and spicy pepper paste sauce, chewy rice cakes, boiled eggs, and fish cakes. It is perfect for spicy lovers or someone who’s into chewy kinds of food.
Are Korean rice cakes healthy?
Typically, Korean rice cakes are not considered unhealthy, but they do contain a lot of carbohydrates and fat.
You can eat Korean rice cakes as a snack but in moderation. However, if consumed daily, this snack can quickly add up in terms of the number of carbs consumed in a week.
Here are three key points to remember if you want to eat your favorite Korean dish while remaining healthy:
Make sure your daily carbohydrate intake is under control and concentrate on eating proteins such as eggs and fish cakes, and also resist the temptation of not to consume Tteokbokki daily.
In the table below, I’ll be listing out the nutritional values that you can get from Korean rice cakes:
| Nutrition | Values per serving |
| Total Fat | 1.1 g |
| Sodium | 148 mg |
| Potassium | 30 mg |
| Carbohydrates | 32 g |
| Protein | 2. 4 g |
Why Is Tteokbokki So Good?
Tteokbokki has everything you want in a snack: sugar, spice, a tangy and garlicky sauce, and deliciously chewy rice cake pieces. It’s great comfort food that’s highly customizable, allowing you to add or change ingredients to suit your tastes.
For those who are afraid of a lot of heat, using gochujang without any added gochugaru, or red chili flakes will tame the spice while retaining all of the flavors.
The base of Tteokbokki sauce is a broth made from dried anchovies, kelp, and mushrooms for an intense umami flavor. Vegetable or chicken broth can be easily substituted. The same is true for sweetness; instead of corn syrup, use honey or brown sugar for a sweet-but-different taste.
What do you eat Tteokbokki With?
Korean rice cakes can be used as side dishes with fish cake soup, fried or baked vegetables and seaweed rolls, rice balls, and yellow pickled radish, all depending on your preferences. Tteokbokki is available in a variety of forms in South Korea.
Let’s take a look at some famous ones:
Gungjung Tteokbokki
This fancy Tteokbokki dish, translated as “royal court” Tteokbokki, uses soy sauce as the base instead of the traditional red chili paste sauce. It comes with a variety of colorful toppings, including red and yellow bell peppers, carrots, scallions, onions, mushrooms, omelet strips, and, of course, bulgogi beef.
Historically, Gungjung Tteokbokki was served in royal palaces as a healthy, carefully curated dish.
Rabokki
What do you get when you mix ramen and Tteokbokki? Rabokki! This traditional combination of Tteokbokki and instant ramen noodles has been around for a long time.
This menu option is available in many Korean restaurants, and it’s very simple to prepare; simply mix raw ramen noodles into your Tteokbokki when the rice cake is almost done.
Rosé Tteokbokki
You might be wondering what this variation combines. You guessed it: rosé pasta sauce and Tteokbokki! This variation has been trending in South Korea in 2021, and many existing Tteokbokki restaurants have added it as a new menu item.
The creamy-spicy combination is surprisingly tasty, and restaurants frequently top it with sausage, bacon, and quail eggs. Because it’s so rich and creamy, I find it takes at least a month for me to crave it again.
Jajang Tteokbokki
This version combines Tteokbokki with Jajangmyeon sauce, also known as black bean sauce noodles. I love this combination because it is fun and easy to make with Jajang sauce, which is also one of my favorite foods.
The rich sauce complements the chewy texture of rice cakes.
does Tteokbokki get hard With time?
Yes, Tteokbokki tends to get harder when it starts to cool down. You can store a Tteokbokki in a refrigerator for over 2 to 3 days.
Rather than using the microwave, reheat Tteokbokki in a pan or wok on the stove. Stir in a little more water or stock until warmed through over low heat.
This will keep the rice cakes from becoming too mushy.
Is Tteokbokki supposed to be chewy?
Yes, they are not crunchy diet snacks, but Korean rice cakes are deliciously chewy “cakes” made of compressed rice.
That texture is highly addictive; they are simply fantastically chewy and can be swallowed easily.
FAQS
How Can I Make The Sauce Thick?
The trick is to cook the sauce slowly over low to medium heat. If it’s still not thickening, mix in a cornflour slurry of 1 teaspoon cornflour to 2 teaspoons cold water.
How do I make Tteokbokki less spicy?
You can use less gochujang and leave out the Gochugaru entirely. Because gochujang adds saltiness, you will need more soy sauce if you reduce it. Gungjung Tteokbokki is a completely mild dish, and you can try it if you crave some Tteokbokki but on a less spicy level.
How do I reheat my Tteokbokki?
Unfortunately, these rice cakes do not microwave well. They can become dry and hard over time.
The best option is to cook the leftovers in a covered saucepan with some water or broth over medium-low heat. Once in a while, giving it a good stir will help it reheat more evenly.
What is Tteokbokki sauce made of?
Tteokbokki sauce is made with gochujang (Korean red pepper paste), Gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes), sugar, soy sauce, and garlic. It’s traditionally combined with anchovy stock to make a flavorful base for rice cakes, but it can also be used with water or chicken stock too.
Can I Freeze Rice Cakes?
Yes. You can store any leftover rice cakes in the freezer. The smaller, thinner varieties can be tossed straight from the freezer into the soup pot, making them a quick addition to your late-night kimchi soups.
Summary
- Tteokbokki is a popular Korean street food that is also delicious comfort food. With this simple Tteokbokki recipe, you can make it at home. The rice cakes are spicy, slightly sweet, and chewy.
- Tteokbokki can be spicy or sweet depending on what you choose to add to it. However, traditionally this dish is supposed to be spicy. It is not as spicy as people think.
- Typically, Korean rice cakes are not considered unhealthy, but they do contain a lot of carbohydrates and fat. You can eat Korean rice cakes as a snack but in moderation. However, if consumed daily, this snack can quickly add up in terms of the number of carbs consumed in a week.
- Yes, Tteokbokki tends to get harder when it starts to cool down. You can store a Tteokbokki in the refrigerator for over 2 to 3 days.
- With this, I hope you’ll give my recipe a try and let me know how well that spice served you.
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