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Tteokbokki
Serves 4 Prep 40 min Cook 20 min Total 1 hr Type Meal Origin Korean

Tteokbokki

Korean spicy rice cakes: cylindrical Korean rice cakes (tteok) simmered in a sweet-spicy gochujang-based sauce with fish cakes, boiled egg and spring onion. Sold from every Seoul street cart in deep red sauce with steam rising. Chewy, sticky, sweet-hot. The classic Korean street snack, also a dinner-time comfort.

Serves 4 Prep 10 minutes (plus 30 minutes soaking the rice cakes if dry) Cook 20 minutes Units Rate

Overview

Cylindrical rice cakes (refrigerated or frozen) soak for 10-30 minutes if dry/firm. Stock (anchovy-kelp dashi or water) simmers with gochujang, gochugaru, sugar, soy sauce to make the spicy red sauce. Rice cakes go in; cook for 8-10 minutes until softened and the sauce thickens to a glaze. Fish cakes and boiled egg join in the last 5 minutes. Topped with sesame oil, sesame seeds and spring onion.

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 800 ml water (or anchovy-kelp dashi)
  • 4 tablespoons gochujang
  • 2 tablespoons gochugaru
  • 3 tablespoons soft brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon mirin
  • 4 garlic cloves (crushed)

Main

  • 600 g Korean rice cake cylinders (tteok - refrigerated or frozen, thawed if needed)
  • 200 g fish cakes (eomuk - flat sheets cut into strips, or tube-shape sliced)
  • 4 hard-boiled eggs (peeled, whole)
  • 1 onion (small, sliced)

To finish

  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • 4 spring onions (sliced on the diagonal)

Method

Stage 1 - Soak the rice cakes

  1. If the tteok are firm or dry, soak in warm water 20-30 minutes to soften.
  2. Drain.

Stage 2 - Sauce

  1. In a wide pan, combine water (or dashi), gochujang, gochugaru, sugar, soy, mirin and garlic.
  2. Bring to a simmer; cook 3 minutes to let the gochujang dissolve.

Stage 3 - Cook rice cakes

  1. Add the drained rice cakes and sliced onion.
  2. Simmer 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently to keep them from sticking, until the cakes are tender and the sauce has thickened to a glaze that coats them.

Stage 4 - Fish cakes and egg

  1. Add the fish cakes and boiled eggs.
  2. Simmer 5 more minutes - fish cakes soften and absorb the sauce.

Stage 5 - Finish

  1. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil.
  2. Off heat.

Stage 6 - Serve

  1. Tip into a wide bowl or serve in the pan.
  2. Scatter sesame seeds and spring onions.
  3. Halve the eggs at the table.

Notes

  • Sauce should thicken: As the rice cakes simmer they release starch that thickens the sauce. If too thin at the end, simmer uncovered another 2-3 minutes.
  • Stir often: Rice cakes stick to the pan if you walk away. Keep them moving.
  • Variations: Add ramen noodles in the last 4 minutes (rabokki); add cheese on top and broil (cheese tteokbokki); add stir-fried beef (gungjung tteokbokki).

Storage

  • Best fresh. Refrigerate 2 days; the rice cakes harden in the fridge - reheat with a splash of water and they soften again.

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