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Tteokbokki

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tteok-bokki

Chewy rice cakes in a sweet-spicy gochujang sauce — Korea's iconic street snack.

Medium25 min3 servings🌶️🌶️🌶️★ 91Contains soyContains fishContains gluten
🍲

History & culture

Spicy stir-fried rice cakes are often linked to Seoul’s Sindang-dong in the 1950s, where vendors reportedly simmered garaetteok in gochujang-based sauce. Tradition holds that a sweet-heat profile and chewy texture suited postwar snack bars and school zones. From that neighborhood, tteokbokki spread through bunsik franchises, home recipes, and global Korean street food. It is widely cited as shaping modern pojangmacha and youth food culture.

Servings
3

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Ingredients & steps

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Ingredients

  • Green cabbageOptional
    1 cup, chopped
  • Cylinder rice cakes (tteok)

    Substitutefresh tteok from Korean market

    300 g
  • Korean fish cake (eomuk)Optional

    Substituteoptional in tteokbokki

    150 g
  • Water
    2 cups
  • Green onion

    Substitutescallion or spring onion

    2 stalks

Seasonings

  • Gochujang (Korean chili paste)

    Substitutemiso + chili paste (approximate)

    3 tbsp
  • Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)

    Substitutecoarse red pepper flakes (adjust heat)

    1 tsp
  • Soy sauce

    SubstituteTsuyu (diluted) 2 tsp (2 tsp per 1 tbsp) or Tamari 1 tbsp

    1 tbsp
  • Sugar
    1 tbsp

Steps

  1. 110 min

    If rice cakes are firm, soak in warm water 10 minutes and drain.

    • Cylinder rice cakes (tteok)
    • Water
  2. 2Medium heat2 min

    Combine gochujang, gochugaru, sugar, soy sauce and water in a wide pan. Bring to a boil.

    • Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
    • Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
    • Sugar
    • Soy sauce
    • Water
  3. 3Medium heat9 min

    Add rice cakes and fish cake. Simmer 8–10 minutes, stirring, until sauce thickens and tteok is chewy-soft.

    • Cylinder rice cakes (tteok)
    • Korean fish cake (eomuk)
  4. 4Medium heat2 min

    Add cabbage if using. Cook 2 more minutes and top with green onion.

    • Green cabbage
    • Green onion

Storage & reheating

Best fresh. Refrigerate 1 day; add water when reheating.

Troubleshooting

  • ⚠️ Rice cakes stay hard

    → Soak tteok in warm water before cooking; simmer gently.

  • ⚠️ Sauce is too thick

    → Add 2–4 tbsp water and stir until loosened.