Tteokbokki
Chewy rice cakes in a glossy sweet-and-spicy sauce, sold on every street corner in Seoul. Dangerously easy to make at home once you have gochujang in the cupboard.
- Time
- 25 mins
- Serves
- 3
- Steps
- 7
- Ingredients
- 10
Method
- 01
If your rice cakes are hard or frozen, soak them in cold water for 20 minutes so they soften.
- 02
Bring the water or stock to a boil in a wide shallow pan.
- 03
Whisk in the gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, sugar and garlic until the sauce is smooth.
- 04
Add the drained rice cakes and simmer for 8 minutes, stirring now and then so they do not stick to the bottom.
- 05
Add the fish cakes and cook another 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken and turn glossy as the rice cakes release starch.
- 06
When the sauce coats a spoon, add the halved boiled eggs and spring onion.
- 07
Serve straight from the pan while everything is still molten hot.
Cooking Tips
- Soak hard or frozen rice cakes for 20 minutes first, or the centres stay chalky.
- The sauce thickens on its own as the rice cakes release starch - resist adding cornstarch.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Fish cake can be left out entirely, or replaced with boiled egg and cabbage.
- Gochujang is essential; chilli paste without it tastes nothing like tteokbokki.
What to Serve With It
- Eat straight from the pan while molten, with extra boiled eggs.
Storage and Reheating
- Best fresh. Rice cakes harden in the fridge; reheat with a good splash of water to soften them again.
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