Korean Rice Cake Recipe (Tteokbokki Recipe)

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Korean Rice Cakes (Tteokbokki) are an incredibly popular street food in Korea. Made with a sweet and spicy sauce, the rice cakes are chewy and addictively delicious……plus 100% super quick & easy to make in under 30 minutes!

This recipe was originally published in May 2018. It has been updated for content and photos. 

This Korean Rice Cake recipe is one of those must-make recipes. I don’t care if you’ve never heard of them before, it’s time to get learning.

The sauce is deliciously sweet and spicy, made with spicy Korean chili paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar and other seasoning. The rice cakes are soft but chewy, and sooooo addictive nice you try them. 

I dare you to not fall in love with this Tteokbokki. This is seriously the ultimate late night snack food too. If you’re into that kind of thing. 

If you’re excited about learning how to cook other Korean street foods, check out these 8 Korean Street Food Recipes from My Korean Kitchen. 

What is Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cake)?

Tteokbokki, or spicy Korean rice cakes, is a popular Korean street food of rice cakes stir fried with a gochujang sauce (spicy fermented chili sauce). They are chewy spicy and just addictively delicious. 

The Ingredients

The rice cakes are made with pounded rice that is shaped into cylinders (or other shapes as you will find at the market). You can find them at your local Asian grocery store, or buy rice cakes online. (affiliate link)

**Note I have used both the cylindrical and flat rice cakes for this recipe. Both work great and the instructions are the same. 

Fish cake is typically ground up fish pressed together with sugar, potato starch and vegetables. You should be able to find it at your local Asian market, usually in the refrigerated or frozen food section. If not, you can leave the fish cake out. 

Dashi powder is a stock base made from dried kelp and is used often in Korean and Japanese cooking. Buy Dashi powder. (affiliate link)

Gochujang is a fermented Korean chili paste. Ranges from mild to very hot spice level. It adds heat a smokiness to a dish. Learn a little more about gochujang and how to cook with it in this article from The Kitchn. Buy Gochujang.

Gochugaru is Korean chili flakes. These have some spice, but are mostly just sweet and smoky. Buy Gochugaru. (affiliate link)

The remaining ingredients are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

If you want to learn a little bit more about read about the basic Korean ingredients you need to start cooking Korean cuisine.

 Why This Recipe Works

1. The rice cakes have the perfect amount of chewiness to make them totally addictive;
2. The sauce is sweet, spicy and tangy –  like the sauce on these Pork Bulgogi Tacos or these Korean Cauliflower Wings.
3. The spice level can be adjusted depending on the spiciness of the gochujang you purchase. 

Watch How To Make It!!

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1: Soak the rice cakes in warm water for 10-15 minutes. This help get some of the starch out. Drain them.

Step 2: Bring the water and dashi powder to a boil in a wok or a dutch oven. 

Step 3: While your broth comes to a simmer, combine the gochujang, gochugaru, coconut sugar, soy sauce, onion and garlic in a bowl and mix.

Step 4: When the broth starts to simmer, add the sauce mixture to the wok (or pot) and bring back to a simmer.

Step 5: Add the rice cakes and fish cakes and bring back to a simmer.

Step 6: Simmer, stirring often, until sauce is thickened, about 5-10 minutes. If you don’t stir often, the rice cakes tend to stick.

Remove from heat, drizzle with sesame oil and garnish with green onion.

Expert Tips

1. Soaking the rice cakes first helps to take out some of the starch and soften the rice cake before cooking;
2. Make sure to stir the rice cakes regularly to prevent them from sticking while cooking;
3. If you can’t find the fish cake, you can leave it out. However, it does add a wonderful flavor to the recipe, so if you can find it I highly recommend using it;
4. Gochujang can be purchased in mild all the way to very hot. Buy according to your spice preference. 

How to Make Vegan Tteokbokki

To make this Korean Rice Cake recipe vegan, omit the the fish cake and substitute the dashi powder and water with either just the water or a vegetable broth.

How to Store Korean Rice Cakes

1. How do I store Korean rice cakes? Leftover Korean rice cakes can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, note they are not very good left over. The rice cakes become mushy. They are edible, but the nice chewy bite of the rice cake starts to disintegrate.
2. Can I freeze Korean rice cakes? I do not recommend freezing Korean rice cakes.
3. How do you reheat Korean rice cakes? You can reheat them in the microwave or on the stove top over medium heat, however, note that the rice cakes will become mushier when reheating. 

More Favorite Korean Recipes

Create a Korean feast with these other favorite Korean recipes:

• Kimchi Fried Rice;
• Marinated Korean Beef;
• Korean Beef Nachos with Wonton Chips;
• Korean Baby Back Ribs;
• Sweet Korean Pancakes;
• Browse ALL the Korean Recipes!

Did you make this Korean Rice Cake recipe? Leave a comment below and let me know how they turned out!

Korean Rice Cake Recipe (Tteokbokki Recipe)

Korean Rice Cakes (Tteokbokki) are an incredibly popular street food in Korea. Made with a sweet and spicy sauce, the rice cakes are chewy and addictively delicious......plus 100% super quick & easy to make in under 30 minutes!

5 from 20 votes

Print Rate

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Korean

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 367kcal

Author: Danielle Wolter

Ingredients

• 16 ounces Korean Rice Cakes (flat or cylindrical)
• 8 ounces fish cake
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons dashi powder
• 2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste)
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• green onion (garnish)
• sesame seeds (garnish)

Instructions

• Soak the rice cakes in warm water for 10-15 minutes. Drain.
• Bring water and dashi powder to a boil in a wok or a large saucepan.
• While the water is coming to a boil, combine the gochujang, gochugaru, coconut sugar, soy sauce, onion and garlic in a bowl.
• When the broth comes to a boil, add the sauce and mix to combine.
• Bring back to a simmer.
• Add the rice cakes and fish cakes. Bring to a simmer. Simmer until sauce has thickened and coats the rice cakes, stirring often. This should take about 5-10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and drizzle with sesame oil.
• Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve.

Video

Expert Tips:

1. Soaking the rice cakes first helps to take out some of the starch and soften the rice cake before cooking;
2. Make sure to stir the rice cakes regularly to prevent them from sticking while cooking;
3. If you can't find the fish cake, you can leave it out. However, it does add a wonderful flavor to the recipe, so if you can find it I highly recommend using it;
4. Gochujang can be purchased in mild all the way to very hot. Buy according to your spice preference. 

Nutrition

Serving: 6oz. | Calories: 367kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 211mg | Potassium: 387mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 255IU | Vitamin C: 1.9mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1.6mg

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