Tteokbokki - BEST Spicy Korean Rice Cake! (Updated 2023) (2024)

Korean tteokbokki recipe that’s both simple and delicious! This most popular Korean Street Food is made with Korean rice cakes, kelp/anchovy broth, gochujang and Korean fish cakes which gives it an authentic taste JUST like how they sell it on the streets!

These totally addictive, chewy, spicy & sweet Korean spicy rice cakes are soo delicious that I bet you can’t just eat one! I used to make this as a late-night snack in high school and it was a total pick me up!!

About Tteokbokki (Spicy Korean Rice Cakes)

Tteokbokki 떡뽁이 means ‘Sauteed or stir-fried Korean rice cake‘ and is a very popular Korean street food that you will see more often in the winter. You will see chewy cylindrical rice cakes simmering in spicy thick sweet gochujang sauce. Btw, Tteokbokki is sometimes also spelled ddukbokki, topokki, dukbokki and ddeokbokki.

In colder months, you will see street carts in Korea that have a big metal pan that’s full of rice cakes swimming in bubbling spicy red sauce and usually right next to it, you will see Odeng Soup (fish cake soup) with sticks of fish cakes swimming in the steaming broth.

Tteokbokki actually has quite a few different variations depending on whether it’s spicy vs non-spicy, whether it’s cooked at the table, whether it’s soupy, and what kind of additional ingredients it has.

• Non-spicy Gungjung Tteokbokki 궁중 떡뽁이 (Royal Tteokbokki) is the original version and was served at the palace for many years before the spicy gochujang version appeared in the Shindangdong area of Seoul. There are still famous Tteokbokki restaurants in Shindangdong. If you want to try it, you can make my recipe HERE.
• Jeukseok Tteokbokki 즉석 떡뽁이 refers to the versions where the rice cakes come in a shallow pan with broth, fish cake, green cabbage, green onions, gochujang sauce and then it’s cooked at the table. Btw, jeukseok means ‘instant’ or ‘right away’. You can also add extra noodles like chewy Jjolmyeon noodles or Ramyeon noodles. And Ramyeon (ramen) is added, it’s called Lappokki 라뽁이.
• 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.
• Besides these, there’s Cheese Tteokbokki, which is topped with tons of stretchy mozzarella cheese and the kids go crazy for it! Rosé Tteokbokki is another new version where cream is added and the color is more like a Rose pasta sauce.

What does Tteokbokki taste like?

The Tteokbokki tteok (rice cake) itself is pretty bland since it’s just rice. The texture is quite chewy and soft. The tteokbokki sauce is what basically makes the taste with a thick sauce that’s a mix of spicy, sweet, salty and garlicky flavors with a great umami taste in the background. The umami flavor can come from Kelp/Anchovy broth or by simply using MSG.

What is Tteokbokki made of?

Tteokbokki is chewy soft rice cakes that are made from short grain (sushi) rice, salt and water. Steamed and pounded/kneaded so it becomes nice and chewy.

Where TO buy rice cakes for tteokbokki?

You can buy tteokbokki rice cakes fromKorean grocery stores in therefrigerated section or in the freezer. Pear Garden (top left) and Jongga (middle) are 2 brands that are good.If you live near a significant Korean population, you may be lucky enough to see freshly made Tteokbokki rice cake cylinders from a local Tteok bakery and that would be the BEST one to buy if you can.

BTW GOOD NEWS!!

As of July 2023, Trader Joe’s actually started selling Sliced Korean Rice Cakes in the freezer section and you can certainly use these (see pic above right) instead.

Can I make Tteokbokki with Sliced Rice Cakes (like the one at Trader Joe’s)?

YES! The sliced rice cakes are actually made for tteokguk tteok (oval rice cake slices for rice cake soup) but the rice cake sticks you use for Tteokbokki and the sliced ones are the same thing – just different shapes. So you can totally substitute the sliced oval rice cakes for the cylindrical stick rice cakes if you want.

Should I Soak Tteokbokki before cooking?

If you have a FRESH tteok then you definitely don’t need to soak. If you are using frozen ones, it may help to soak them a bit to defrost them but don’t soak them too long because then they can become mushy when cooked.

Why does my Tteok (rice cake) split when cooked?

Below LEFT is a pic of FRESH (never frozen) moist rice cakes and then on the RIGHT are dry, old, cracked rice cakes that have been frozen. If rice cakes are frozen or defrosted too many times, they can have cracks in them and they will all split open and become mushy when cooked.

Where to buy fish cakes?

First, fish cakes are totally OPTIONAL. But it is yummy to add it. Most Korean grocery stores will have thin sheets of Korean fish cakes in the freezer section. See video below for my fav. brand. You can substitute Chinese or Japanese fish cakes if you can’t find the exact Korean one. They are quite similar in taste and texture. Shapes will be different though.

Ingredients

• Tteokbokki Tteok – these are Korean rice cakes that come shaped cylindrically. They are available at Korean grocery stores and now even at places like Trader Joe’s (but comes sliced). Note, not all rice cakes are made from 100% rice and are gluten-free. Some have flour mixed in so check the ingredients list.
• Anchovy Broth vs Kelp vs Water – If you really want to make it simple, you can use just water instead of Kelp or Anchovy broth and maybe add some MSG. But if you want to add more umami flavor to this dish, make a Kelp broth by simmering a piece of kelp in water or even just letting it soak in hot water for a good 10 min. See video.
• Gochujang – Gochujang (Korean Chili Paste) is an important ingredient and most US grocery stores sell them now.
• Gochugaru (Korean chili pepper powder) is OPTIONAL. It’s a great addition to Tteokbokki that adds extra spice but is not a must. so if you can’t find them, just skip or just add some regular red pepper flakes.
• Fish Cakes (Odeng 오뎅) is an optional ingredient but adds great texture and flavor. Fish cakes come in various shapes – in balls, tubes, patties and thin sheets. Thin fish cake sheets are usually added to Tteokbokki, cut into smaller strips or squares. If you can’t get the thin sheets, you can substitute other types of fish cake.
• Garlic – you can use garlic powder or fresh chopped garlic. I used garlic powder in this recipe because it’s just easier. If you want a stronger garlic flavor, feel free to add freshly chopped garlic – just know you will want to double or triple the amount of the powder.
• Sesame seeds, Sesame Oil add a great finish of nuttiness to the dish so try a sprinkling and a swirl at the end as a finish!
• Green onions will add some freshness to your Tteokbokki. If you’d like, you can also add some Perilla leaves (Kkaennip) as a garnish!

How to Make Tteokbokki

Servings: 2 Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 15 min Difficulty: Medium

Step by Step Directions

1. Make Kelp broth – soak dried kelp (Dasima) or Kombu in hot water for at least 10 min. Substituting with plain water is OK but won’t be as flavorful.
2. Prepare Rice Cakes – If you have fresh or refrigerated rice cakes then just pull them apart so they are all separated. If your tteok/dduk is frozen, defrost by soaking it in cold water for a few minutes and then drain.
3. Pour kelp broth (or water) into a pan. Add tteok (rice cakes) from 2 and turn heat on medium high and bring to boil.
4. Add Tteokbokki Sauce – you can premix the sauce or you can just add Gochujang, sugar, soy sauce, garlic powder or chopped garlic to the pan and mix in the pan. Optionally, add fish cakes cut into strips.
5. Once it starts to boil, lower heat to simmer and let it reduce for 10-13 min depending on how thick you want the sauce to be. The picture below shows after I simmered for 12 min with some gochugaru (red chili powder) sprinkled for extra spicy kick!
6. Sprinkle some chopped green onions, sesame seeds and a swirl of sesame oil (which I forgot in the video..oops!). ENJOY!!

What to serve with Tteokbokki

Fish cake (oden) soup, yache twigim and Kimbap are perfect compliments to serve with Tteokbokki if you want to make this into a complete dinner – good enough to have friends over. BTW, try dipping Kimbap and Yachae Twigim in the spicy sauce – that’s how we used to eat as kids!

VIDEO