Easy Korean Tteokbokki Recipe (Spicy Rice Cakes)


Easy Korean Tteokbokki Recipe (Spicy Rice Cakes)

Tteokbokki is one of those dishes that instantly takes me back to being a kid, standing at a street cart after school with a paper cup and a wooden skewer. It's spicy, chewy, a little sweet, and honestly kind of addictive. Good news — it's also one of the easiest Korean dishes to make at home.

Tteokbokki


So, What Is Tteokbokki?

Tteokbokki is chewy rice cakes simmered in a spicy-sweet sauce made from gochujang and gochugaru. It's Korea's most iconic street food, sold everywhere from tiny carts to sit-down restaurants, and every vendor's sauce tastes just a little different. 

Some versions add fish cakes, boiled eggs, or even cheese on top.

What You'll Need (Serves 2–3)

  • 400g tteok (Korean rice cakes), the cylinder-shaped kind
  • 2 sheets eomuk (Korean fish cake), sliced
  • 2 cups anchovy broth or water
  • 3 tbsp gochujang
  • 1 tbsp gochugaru (adjust for spice level)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1–2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 green onion, sliced
  • 2 boiled eggs (optional, but classic)

Vegetarian? Swap the anchovy broth for vegetable broth or plain water, and skip the fish cake or use a veggie version if you can find one.

Let's Cook

Soak the rice cakes. If they're a bit hard or refrigerated, soak them in warm water for 10–15 minutes so they cook evenly and don't stick together.

Make the broth. Bring the water or anchovy broth to a boil in a wide pan.

Add the sauce. Stir in the gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, sugar, and garlic. Let it simmer for a couple minutes so the flavors come together.

Add the rice cakes and fish cake. Drop them in and let everything simmer for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks. The sauce will thicken as it cooks — that's exactly what you want.

Finish it off. Once the rice cakes are soft and chewy and the sauce has thickened into that glossy red coating, toss in the green onion and boiled eggs. Serve hot.

A Few Tips

  • Don't walk away while it simmers — the sauce thickens fast and can stick to the pan.
  • If it gets too thick, just splash in a bit more water or broth.
  • Taste as you go and adjust the sweet-spicy balance to what you like.
  • Leftover sauce is basically liquid gold for dipping fried food (twigim) into, if you're making a bigger street-food spread.

Quick FAQ

Is tteokbokki very spicy? It can be adjusted — less gochugaru for a milder version, more for real heat. Start conservative and add more.

Where do I find tteok? Korean grocery stores sell it fresh or frozen, usually in the refrigerated or frozen noodle section.

Leftovers

Keeps in the fridge for about 2 days, though the rice cakes firm up as they cool. Reheat gently with a splash of water to loosen the sauce back up. It's honestly best fresh, though — tteokbokki doesn't love sitting around.

Label: Korean Recipes


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