Tteokbokki
Tteokbokki is one of South Korea's most popular street foods — cylindrical rice cakes cooked in a thick, spicy sauce made from gochujang, the fermented red chili paste that defines Korean heat. The dish is sold from pojangmacha street stalls across Korea and eaten at all hours, from schoolchildren in the afternoon to late-night diners. The sauce depends on gochujang — its fermented depth is different from raw chili heat, and there is no substitute. The rice cakes must be soft outside but still resist the bite: overcooking makes them mushy, undercooking leaves the centre hard. Eomuk — Korean fish cake — is standard and absorbs the sauce as it cooks. The anchovy stock adds a background savouriness that plain water cannot replicate.
Rich in protein
Filling and nutritious
Can be frozen
Great for meal prep
Fermented
Contains fermented ingredients
Traditional recipe
Authentic taste
Ingredients 4 servings
- 500g cylindrical rice cakes (garae-tteok), fresh or thawed
- 150g eomuk (Korean fish cake), cut into triangles
- 3 tbsp gochujang (fermented red chili paste)
- 1 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 500ml anchovy stock (or water with a dashi packet)
- 2 spring onions, cut into 5 cm pieces
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
How to make it
- 1If the rice cakes are hard or refrigerated, soak them in warm water for 20–30 minutes until pliable; drain.
- 2In a wide shallow pan, bring 500ml of anchovy stock to a boil over medium-high heat.
- 3Stir in 3 tbsp gochujang, 1 tbsp gochugaru, 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp soy sauce; whisk until the paste fully dissolves and the sauce turns glossy red.
- 4Add the drained rice cakes; stir gently to coat every piece, then simmer over medium heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring often, until the rice cakes are tender and the sauce has thickened to a syrupy consistency that coats the back of a spoon.
- 5Add the eomuk pieces and cook for another 3–4 minutes, until they have absorbed the sauce and turned bright red.
- 6Slip in the 2 hard-boiled eggs to warm through; taste and adjust with a pinch of sugar or a splash of soy if needed.
- 7Drizzle with sesame oil, sprinkle with the spring onions and sesame seeds; serve immediately, very hot, straight from the pan.
Nutritional info
per serving (~400 ml)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
