Sweet and Spicy Korean Rice Cakes (Tteokbokki)

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These Sweet and Spicy 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! I’m talking under 30 minutes guys.

If you have never had Korean rice cakes before, you MUST try them.

You should be able to find them at your local Asian grocery store, or you can buy them on Amazon (see below for an Amazon ingredients list).

Once you try these, you’re going to want to eat them all the time.

Seriously.

I’m trying to be good during the week as I’ve put on a few extra pounds.

So when I made these, I was only going to taste test.

Taste testing turned into wolfing down half a batch.

I’m a sad excuse for self control.

But it’s not really my fault. It’s these super delicious sweet and spicy Korean rice cakes. They got me.

What do we Need to Make These Sweet and Spicy Korean Rice Cakes?

If you’ve been following Korean food month (meaning you get my email updates), you’ve already stocked your pantry with the necessary ingredients.

However, if you’ve chosen not to join my list (it’s awesome guys, you should totally do it so you don’t miss any recipes), you can pop on over to this post and read about the basic Korean ingredients you need to start cooking Korean cuisine.

OR, just buy these ingredients (Amazon affiliate links – I earn a small commission if you buy through these links that help me keep on making delicious food, and all the expenses that go along with this whole blogging thing):

• Korean rice cakes
• Dashi powder
• Gochujang
• Coconut sugar
• Soy sauce
• Gochugaru
• Sesame oil
• Sesame seeds

Let’s talk fish cake. You should be able to find this at your local Asian market, usually in the refrigerated or frozen food section. If not, you can leave the fish cake out. Your spicy rice cakes will still be delicious.

OPTION: Replace the fish cake with imitation crab sticks.

How to Make Tteokbokki (Korean Spicy Rice Cake)

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

Bring the water and dashi powder to a boil in a wok or a large saucepan. I prefer the wok as it heats up really well.

Quick note – I got this super awesome wok for Christmas. I’m totally in love with it. It’s from Craft Wok and you can buy it on Amazon (affiliate link – I earn a commission if you buy through this link – it helps me keep the site running). This isn’t a sponsored post, I just really, really love the wok.

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

When the broth start to simmer, add the sauce mixture to the wok (or pot) and bring back to a simmer.

Add the rice cakes and fish cakes and bring back to a simmer. Simmer, stirring often, until sauce is thickened, about 5-10 minutes.

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

Try not to eat the whole batch.

Seriously. I challenge you.

If you are loving this dish, you will love these other recipes:

Spicy Korean Seafood Noodle Soup
Caramelized Pork Ramen
Spicy Sichuan Green Beans
Vietnamese Beef Pho
Spicy Braised Oxtails
Duck Fat Truffle Fries
Spicy Crawfish Pie
White Wine Braised Short Ribs (my most popular recipe!)

Did you make these sweet and spicy Korean rice cakes? 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 5 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: 367

Author: Danielle Wolter

Ingredients

• 16 oz. Korean Rice Cakes (flat or cylindrical)
• 8 oz. fish cake
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp. dashi powder
• 2 tbsp. gochujang (Korean chili paste)
• 2 tbsp. coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
• 1 tsp. 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.

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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