Tteokbokki is a Korean dish made primarily from rice cakes (thin, cylindrical rice cakes). It’s a popular street food in Korea, typically made by stir-frying rice cakes, fish cakes, vegetables, and gochujang (chili paste) seasoning. Gochujang and soy sauce are the basic seasonings, with gochujang being the most representative. As a symbol of modern Korean cuisine, tteokbokki is one of the new national dishes of South Korea.
It’s commonly sold in snack shops and by street vendors, often accompanied by other foods. It’s common to eat tteokbokki with other foods; it’s sometimes served with fried foods, or alongside kimbap (seaweed rice rolls) and sundae (Korean blood sausage).
History
The spicy rice cake dish, now enjoyed widely in modern Korea, was developed shortly after the Korean War. The earlier version of tteokbokki, eaten in royal palaces, was made by stir-frying rice cakes and thinly sliced beef in soy sauce seasoning. According to “Suijeonseo,” it was prepared by slicing rice cakes thinly like noodles and briefly stir-frying them. Although it contained similar ingredients to other steamed dishes, it didn’t include flour paste. Another recipe in “Jusiksiui” instructed to cut rice cakes, grease them well with oil, and stir-fry them with thinly sliced beef. The “Joseon Musangsinshikyojebub” also mentioned royal palace tteokbokki.
The modern spicy rice cake dish we know today began in 1953, when Ma Bok-lim (1921~2011) opened a street food stall outside Gwanghee Gate in Seoul’s Sindang-dong area. Initially, it was made with a seasoning mix of gochujang (red chili paste) and chunjang (black bean paste) over a charcoal fire. In the 1970s, when the Sindang-dong tteokbokki alley was introduced on MBC’s Standard FM program “Im Kook-hee’s Women’s Salon,” it spread nationwide.
While tteokbokki is widely known as Korea’s representative street food, it has become more sophisticated and diversified in recent years due to the globalization of Korean cuisine. It has been branded based on cooking techniques and know-how. Stores selling tteokbokki have increased worldwide, including the NFL’s Houston Texans’ stadium, where Korean-style spicy rice cakes are sold, making it the first Korean food to be sold at an American football stadium.
Types
Tteokbokki can be divided into two main types: Gochujang Tteokbokki, which uses spicy chili paste for its heat, and Ganjang Tteokbokki, which uses soy sauce for seasoning. Originally developed in the royal court, the traditional version of tteokbokki, called “Gungjung Tteokbokki,” was not spicy and was made by stir-frying rice cakes and beef in soy sauce seasoning.
When you think of tteokbokki, you usually think of Gochujang Tteokbokki, which is commonly made by mixing gochujang (red chili paste) and sugar to create a spicy and sweet flavor. Typically, rice cakes are mixed with a seasoning sauce made with spicy ingredients like gochujang and sweet ingredients like sugar or corn syrup, then simmered until thickened. Depending on the region, unique flavors can be achieved by adding ingredients like ketchup, black pepper, or mustard. Sometimes, to enhance the flavor of Gochujang Tteokbokki, it is mixed with jjajang (black bean sauce) or curry.
The rice cakes used can be made from wheat flour or rice flour, creating two subtypes known as “Mil Tteokbokki” and “Ssal Tteokbokki,” respectively. Mil Tteokbokki uses wheat flour, which results in a thicker broth, while Ssal Tteokbokki, made from rice flour, maintains its elasticity even after boiling for a long time. Therefore, many places sell a mix of both types. Additionally, there are tteokbokki made with a mixture of wheat flour and starch, resulting in a chewier texture that holds together better. The color is yellow when raw but turns close to white when cooked.
There are various types of tteokbokki depending on the additional seasonings used, such as Cheese Tteokbokki, Carbonara Tteokbokki, Jjajang Tteokbokki, Curry Tteokbokki, Rose Tteokbokki, and Cream Tteokbokki, among others. The options for additional seasonings are endless. Even the most common Gochujang Tteokbokki can vary greatly in taste depending on the mix and seasoning used.
- Soup Tteokbokki(국물떡볶이): Soup tteokbokki is a type of tteokbokki with more broth compared to regular tteokbokki.
- Oil Tteokbokki(기름떡볶이): Oil tteokbokki minimizes the broth and focuses on oil and rice cakes.
- Soy Sauce Tteokbokki(간장떡볶이): Soy sauce tteokbokki is made mainly with soy sauce, making it popular among children who don’t enjoy spicy food.
- Royal Court Tteokbokki(궁중떡볶이): Unlike regular tteokbokki, royal court tteokbokki is made with soy sauce instead of red chili paste, and includes beef. It is not very spicy but has a rich flavor. It is somewhat similar to soy sauce tteokbokki.
- Cheese Tteokbokki(치즈떡볶이): Cheese tteokbokki refers to tteokbokki with cheese on top or cheese-filled tteokbokki. It is commonly sold in snack shops and can be easily made at home. Depending on personal taste, it can be sprinkled with green tea powder, herb powder, sesame seeds, or parsley.
- Curry Tteokbokki(커리떡볶이): Curry tteokbokki uses curry sauce instead of the typical spicy sauce, giving it a unique curry flavor. It can include fish cakes, and sometimes carrots, onions, cabbage, beef, or pork. The curry sauce can be mixed with gochujang according to personal taste.
- Jjajang Tteokbokki(짜장떡볶이): Jjajang tteokbokki is made with black bean paste instead of red chili paste, giving it the distinctive taste of black bean sauce. It can include fish cakes, and sometimes carrots, onions, cabbage, beef, or pork. The black bean sauce can be mixed with gochujang according to personal taste.
- Cream Tteokbokki(크림떡볶이): Also known as Carbonara Tteokbokki, it is a variation inspired by cream pasta. Instead of red chili powder and gochujang, it uses cream sauce like that in pasta dishes. Bacon is used instead of fish cakes.
- Rose Tteokbokki(로제떡볶이): Rose tteokbokki is made with a rose sauce consisting of milk, cream, and tomato sauce. Besides rice cakes, it can include flat noodles, bacon, sausages, and various other toppings. Recently, dishes using rose sauce have become popular through YouTube and social media, leading many tteokbokki franchises to introduce rose tteokbokki as a new menu item.
- Instant Tteokbokki(즉석떡볶이): Instant tteokbokki allows customers to cook their own tteokbokki at the table. Customers can choose and mix ingredients like seasoning, rice cakes, fish cakes, vegetables, eggs, and fried food as they like. There are also places called “tteokbokki buffets,” where customers can select and cook their own ingredients.
- Rabokki(라볶이): Rabokki is made by adding pre-cooked ramen noodles to tteokbokki broth. The broth can be made from leftover tteokbokki sauce or freshly prepared. Sometimes, udon or glass noodles are used instead of ramen noodles. Rabokki is believed to have originated when a high school student added ramen noodles to tteokbokki, and the owner of the eatery found it surprisingly delicious, leading to the creation of rabokki.
- Tteokkochi(떡꼬치): Tteokkochi is made by skewering tteok (rice cakes) and frying them in oil before adding sauce.