Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cakes) Recipe (2024)

  • Recipes by World Cuisine
  • Asian
  • East Asian
  • 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.

  • Korean
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

Do I need to soak Korean rice cakes? ›

“Otherwise the rice cakes are dried very hard and you have to cook them a long time to make them smooth,” she said. In addition, soaking removes any excess starch on the surface of the cakes, which Maangchi likes to do so that it doesn't thicken her dish too much.

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.

What is Korean tteokbokki made of? ›

It is made with rice cakes (garaetteok, cylinder-shaped rice cake), fish cakes, boiled egg, and seasoned with chile paste. The rice cakes are chewy and tender. It looks super spicy and, originally, it is! But you can control the amount of chile paste.

Why are my Korean rice cakes 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.

Should you refrigerate Korean rice cakes? ›

The most convenient way to store Korean rice cakes in the short term is by putting them in the refrigerator. When doing so, it's best to either keep them in their original packaging or place them in an airtight container.

How to tell if tteokbokki is cooked? ›

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.

How to tell if Korean rice cakes are bad? ›

Examine your tteok with your senses of sight and smell. 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.

Are Korean rice cakes healthy? ›

It's not only super-nutritious, it's also super-delicious! The rice cake is sweet and chewy, the chestnuts fluffy, the little pine nuts so cute, and the jujube is sweet and soft and a little tangy when cooked.

How to stop rice cakes from going soggy? ›

Place the rice cakes into an airtight container.

If you don't have a container, you can also wrap your rice cakes in plastic wrap. Leaving the rice cakes exposed to air will make them crunchy and hard.

Why do Koreans like tteokbokki so much? ›

Street vendors that sell the snack with eomuk (fish cake) on a stick are ubiquitous on Korea's streets, attracting passersby especially in the cold winter. 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.

Can Muslims eat tteokbokki in Korea? ›

Tteokbokki (Rice cake)

This simple combination of chewy rice cakes in spicy sauce is sure to tingle your taste buds and leave you craving for more. Foodie Tip: The sauce may sometimes contain some vegetables and fish cakes, but generally no kind of meat is added, making it a perfect Halal snack to try!

What is a substitute for fish cake in tteokbokki? ›

Fried Tofu Skins.

Fish cakes or “odeng” are usually added to traditional tteokbokki. For this vegan tteokbokki, you can use fried tofu skins! They do a remarkable job of mimicking the texture of fish cake and also soak up that delicious sauce.

What holds rice cakes together? ›

As a hot cylinder presses down onto the pan, sizzling pressure is released. The heat is so intense that after only a few seconds, the grain makes a loud popping noise as it bursts. This process causes the grains to “pop” and interweave. There are no oils, additives or binding ingredients used during this process.

Do you need to soak Korean rice? ›

Yes it does! For short-grain white rice, a 1:1 ratio of water-to-rice is perfect. If you want to cook brown rice or multi-grain rice, you'll need to pre-soak the rice for longer and add more water to the pot before cooking. Same applies to medium-grain or long-grain rices.

How to soften Korean rice cakes? ›

Soak the rice cakes: If your rice cakes are frozen, thaw in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes. If they are thawed, add to a bowl, add enough water to cover (about 1 cup), and microwave for 5 minutes. This will help them soften without getting soggy—and without needing to boil a separate pot of water!

Can you eat Korean rice cakes plain? ›

Growing up with a wheat allergy, rice cakes were a great alternative to wheat-based crackers and even bread. I'd eat mine with peanut butter and jelly or sometimes just plain and I honestly grew to love them.

How to eat Korean sweet rice cakes? ›

Korean rice cakes can be enjoyed in a variety of dishes. Some popular ways to eat them include in tteokbokki (spicy rice cake dish), in soups, in stir-fries, or even coated in sweetened soybean flour for a sweet treat.

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