Photo: Kimseoeun2023079825 · CC0
Tteokbokki (Spicy Rice Cakes)
Chewy rice cakes simmered in a sweet-and-spicy gochujang sauce — Korea's most beloved street snack, served with fish cakes and boiled eggs.
Ingredients
- Rice cakes (tteokbokki tteok)400 g
- Fish cakes (eomuk) · 2–32 sheets
- Cabbage · optional100 g
- Green onion1 stalk
- Boiled eggs · optional2
- Water or anchovy stock500 ml
- Sauce
- Gochujang2 tbsp
- Gochugaru (chili powder) · 0.5–1.5, to taste1 tbsp
- Sugar · 1–2, to taste1.5 tbsp
- Soy sauce1 tbsp
- Minced garlic0.5 tbsp
- Toasted sesame · a little
Steps
If the rice cakes are hard, soak them in warm water 10 minutes. Cut the fish cakes and cabbage bite-size; slice the green onion on the diagonal.
In a pot, stir the water (or anchovy stock) together with the sauce (gochujang, gochugaru, sugar, soy sauce, garlic).
- ⏲ 10 min
Once it boils, add the rice cakes, fish cakes, and cabbage; simmer over medium heat.
- ⏲ 2 min
When the rice cakes soften and the sauce reduces to a glaze, add the green onion and boiled eggs and simmer 1–2 minutes more.
Sprinkle with sesame and serve hot.
Tips & Variations
Variations
- Rosé tteokbokki: Add milk or cream to mellow the heat into a rich, savory sauce.
- Soupy tteokbokki: Use plenty of stock and add ramen noodles and dumplings, hot-pot style.
- Jjajang tteokbokki: Swap gochujang for black-bean paste for a savory, nutty version.
- Cheese tteokbokki: Pile mozzarella on at the end and let it melt.
Tips
- If the rice cakes are hard, soak them first so they soften all the way through.
- Anchovy-kelp stock gives a much deeper flavor than plain water.
- Use corn syrup or oligosaccharide instead of sugar for a glossy finish.
- If the sauce reduces too far the rice cakes turn gummy — stop while it’s still saucy.
The basics behind this dish
- Deep Frying: Temperature, Batter, and the Second FryFrying is not cooking in oil so much as trading the food's water for it. Two temperatures, three kinds of coating, and why the second fry exists.
- Heat Control: Preheating, Oil, and Reading the PanThe same ingredients become a different dish depending on pan temperature. When to add the oil, how to read heat by sound, and which dishes want low heat instead.
- Knife Skills: Grip, Cuts, and Why Size MattersHow you hold the knife matters more than how fast you cut. The pinch grip, the claw hand, and why uniform size is a cooking decision rather than a cosmetic one.
More of the same kind
More from this country
Sign in to edit.
edits: 0 ·Edit history
https://cookiki.com/en/r/tteokbokki · cookiki · User contributions are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.