Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) – Asian Recipes At Home (2024)

Make our easy Korean spicy rice cakes (tteokbeoki) recipe. Korean spicy rice cakes (tteokbeoki) is a very popular street food in Korea. This is the perfect spicy appetizer or snack.

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Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) – Asian Recipes At Home (1)

Our family just loves this recipe. It is so easy to make. This recipe also has a lot of great elements, such as spiciness, chewy texture, and umami-rich sauce. Our recipe is made of rice cakes, fish cakes, gochujang, Dasida beef flavor soup stock, and a few other common ingredients that are probably in your pantry already.

How Korean rice cakes (tteok) were made a long time ago

Before rice cakes were made automatically in machines and readily packaged at grocery stores, my mom remembers taking soaked rice to the rice cake (tteok) processing house where they had machines to specifically make fresh rice cakes (tteok). Tteokbeoki was traditionally made with leftover pieces from the rice cakes used to make Korean Rice Cake Soup (tteokguk).

My mom remembers her dad preparing their rice to take to the rice cake-making shop. He would soak the rice overnight and rinse the rice well. Then the next day, mom remembers them taking the rice to a rice cake (tteok) processing house. The owners of the rice cake (tteok) house would usually help their customers with the rice cake-making process. Mom remembers seeing her freshly made rice cake come out of the machine, they would then cut the fresh rice cake (tteok) from the machine, let it drop in a bucket of cold water, and then finally package it up and take it home to cook in their recipes. How cool?! After making Korean Rice Cake Soup (tteokguk) from nicely sliced and fresh rice cake, they would cut up the leftover rice cake into pieces to make Korean Spicy Rice Cake (tteokbeoki).

Rice cakes made for tteokbeoki today are easily found in Asian markets in the frozen aisle ready for you to thaw and use. There are also many different sizes and shapes of rice cakes available today.

Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) – Asian Recipes At Home (2)Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) – Asian Recipes At Home (3)

Rice cakes are used in many different Korean recipes

There are many different Korean recipes that utilize rice cakes. Here are some other dishes that use rice cakes:

  1. Non-spicy rice cakes (tteokbeoki) made with soy sauce (check out our recipe here)
  2. Korean rice cake soup (tteokguk) (check out one of our recipes here)
  3. A lot of Koreans also like to put rice cakes into their ramen (we added it to our instant ramen hack recipe)

We hope you enjoy our Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) recipe!

Need more spicy recipes to try?

  • Spicy Korean Cucumber Salad
  • Korean Spicy Poke Salad (Sallet) Side Dish (Muchim)
  • Spicy Korean Pork Belly and Squid Stir Fry
  • Korean Cold Noodles with Spicy Sweet and Sour Gochujang Sauce

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Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) – Asian Recipes At Home (4)

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Make our easy Korean spicy rice cakes (tteokbeoki) recipe. Korean spicy rice cakes (tteokbeoki) is a very popular street food in Korea. This is the perfect spicy appetizer or snack.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Rinse the rice cakes and drain well.
  2. Put a medium-sized pan onto medium-high heat. Add in olive oil and the rice cakes, stir well and cook until the rice cakes get soft (about 6-8 minutes). Add about a tablespoon of water at a time, so the rice cakes don’t burn to the bottom of the pan.
  3. Next, add the fish cake pieces and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
  4. Add the remaining ingredients to the frying pan and cook for another 2 minutes. Continue adding a tablespoon of water at a time to ensure nothing burns to the bottom of the pan.
  5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional). Enjoy!

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Asiandeliciouseasyfish cakesKoreanKorean reciperice cakesspicy

Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) – Asian Recipes At Home (2024)

FAQs

Is rice cake and tteokbokki the same? ›

Korean spicy rice cakes and tteokbokki are essentially the same dish, with "tteokbokki" being the more commonly used name in Korea. Both dishes consist of cylindrical-shaped rice cakes that are cooked in a spicy sauce made from gochujang (Korean chili paste), soy sauce, and other seasonings.

What is tteokbokki sauce made of? ›

Tteokbokki sauce is made of Korean red pepper paste (gochujang), Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru), sugar, soy sauce, and garlic. It's traditionally combined with anchovy stock to create a flavorful base for rice cakes, but water or other stock can be used.

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.

Is Korean tteokbokki healthy? ›

While it may not be the most exciting food, rice tteokbokki is actually quite healthy. One serving of rice cake contains 5 grams of fiber, which helps to keep your digestive tract running smoothly. It's also low in calories (about 100 calories per serving) so you don't feel bloated after eating it!

What is the Chinese version of tteokbokki? ›

Shanghai stir-fried rice cakes are on the sweeter side compared to other types of stir fried rice cakes. You may have tried the korean stir fried rice cakes called tteokbokki. However, this version is not spicy and it has less sauce!

What is the English name for tteokbokki? ›

Tteok means rice cake and bokki stir-fried food. Combining these two words forms the term tteokbokki, or “stir-fried rice cake.” Ask Koreans what food makes them most nostalgic about their childhood and tteokbokki is the first thing they'll say.

Why does tteokbokki taste like alcohol? ›

Make various dishes with Tteokbokki Tteok. As this product is a sterilized product by edible alcohol, you can detect an alcoholic odor . However, this is not connected with the rice cake itself, which is used as substitute for food preservative and it will evaporate during the cooking.

Why do Koreans eat tteokbokki? ›

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. For only a few dollars you can fulfill your need to snack, which makes it all the more tempting.

Why is there alcohol in tteokbokki? ›

The use of alcohol for any reason is strictly prohibited in halal foods; however, ethanol is widely used as a preservative for commercial rice cakes (tteok).

How do you make Trader Joe's tteokbokki taste better? ›

Adding cheese helped balance out the flavors. To mellow out the spice, add milk or cream while cooking to make Rose Tteokbokki.

Why are my Korean rice cakes falling apart? ›

“The not-so-well-made rice cakes, they disintegrate really fast after they soften. The really good ones keep their shape and stay soft.” So once you find rice cakes that you like, it's a good idea to stick with them if you can.

Is tteokbokki considered junk food? ›

Is tteokbokki considered junk food? Spicy tteokbokki is a popular street food and snack that is not necessarily considered “junk food.” While it can be enjoyed as an indulgent treat, it is also a common part of regular Korean cuisine and can be a nutritious dish when prepared with balanced ingredients.

What are the side effects of tteokbokki? ›

While tteokbokki is generally considered a safe and healthy dish, there are some potential health risks associated with its consumption. For instance, the spicy gochujang sauce used in tteokbokki may trigger heartburn or acid reflux symptoms in people who are prone to these conditions.

Is tteokbokki supposed to be refrigerated? ›

But what happens once you've cooked your Tteokbokki? This is where the fridge becomes your best friend. Leftover cooked Tteokbokki should be refrigerated to maintain its quality.

Why is tteokbokki called rice cake? ›

Tteokbokki (Korean: 떡볶이), or simmered rice cake, is a popular Korean food made from small-sized garae-tteok (long, white, cylinder-shaped rice cakes) called tteokmyeon (떡면; "rice cake noodles") or commonly tteokbokki-tteok (떡볶이 떡; "tteokbokki rice cakes").

What is a substitute for rice cakes in tteokbokki? ›

Photo: Penne-bokki - substitute of tteokbokki, a traditional korean dish, instead of using rice cakes we use penne pasta mixed with fishcakes and a hard boiled egg.

What is a Korean rice cake called? ›

Tteok (Korean: 떡) is a general term for Korean rice cakes. They are made with steamed flour of various grains, especially glutinous and non-glutinous rice. Steamed flour can also be pounded, shaped, or pan-fried to make tteok. In some cases, tteok is pounded from cooked grains.

Is topokki the same as tteokbokki? ›

What is tteokbokki? Literally translated as “stir-fried rice cake,” tteokbokki (떡볶이) is a beloved Korean rice cake dish with many variations and a rich history. It's also spelled ddukbokki, ddeokbokki, dukbokki or topokki. This spicy rice cake dish is enormously popular as a street food and also often enjoyed at home.

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