Korean recipe

Tteokbokki

Name: Tteokbokki
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Korean cuisine
Ingredients: 500 g cylinder-shaped Korean rice cakes; 200 g Korean fish-cake sheets, cut into 4 cm pieces; 750 ml unsalted anchovy-kelp stock; 80 g gochujang; 20 g gochugaru; 30 g granulated sugar; 15 ml Korean soy sauce; 120 g green cabbage, 4 cm pieces; 80 g scallions, cut into 5 cm pieces; 8 g toasted sesame seeds

Chewy rice cakes and fish cake simmer in a glossy gochujang sauce balanced with anchovy stock, gochugaru, and sugar.

South Korea

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 35 min
Servings: 4

Glossy red tteokbokki with cylindrical rice cakes, fish cake, and scallions — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by 我乃野云鹤Source page · Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

500 g
cylinder-shaped Korean rice cakes
200 g
Korean fish-cake sheets, cut into 4 cm pieces
750 ml
unsalted anchovy-kelp stock
80 g
gochujang
20 g
gochugaru
30 g
granulated sugar
15 ml
Korean soy sauce
120 g
green cabbage, 4 cm pieces
80 g
scallions, cut into 5 cm pieces
8 g
toasted sesame seeds

Method

01
Soften only hard rice cakes
Separate the rice cakes. If refrigerated and hard, soak in cold water for 10 minutes and drain; if fresh and flexible, skip soaking so they do not become soft too early.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Dissolve the sauce
Whisk gochujang, gochugaru, sugar, and soy sauce into 750 ml cold stock until no paste lumps remain, then pour into a wide 28 cm pan.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Begin the simmer
Bring the sauce to a full boil over medium-high heat. Add rice cakes and cabbage, return to a boil, then lower to medium and simmer uncovered for 8 minutes, stirring from the base every minute.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Add fish cake and scallions
Add fish cake and 60 g scallions. Simmer 5 minutes, folding gently so the fish cake warms through and the rice cakes stay intact.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Reduce to a glossy coating
Continue simmering 2–4 minutes until a spatula drawn across the pan leaves a path for 2 seconds. A rice cake should be soft through but spring back when pressed; add 30 ml hot water if the sauce tightens first.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Finish and serve immediately
Turn off the heat, fold in the remaining 20 g scallions, and scatter sesame seeds. Rest only 2 minutes, then divide with enough sauce to coat; longer standing makes the rice cakes harden.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Prepare every sauce and garnish before cooking the rice, noodles, or cakes; starch waits badly once it reaches the target texture.
Use the texture test in the method rather than the packet time alone; thickness, brand, and storage age all matter.

Common mistakes

Leaving cooked starch undrained or uncovered too long makes it sticky or dry; move directly to the next stated step.
Adding all liquid at once can make the dish soupy; use the measured amount and reduce to the exact coating described.

Substitutions

For a fish-free version, use 750 ml kelp-shiitake stock and omit fish cake; add 150 g extra cabbage and verify the gochujang is fish-free.
Use flat rice-cake slices at the same weight, but begin checking at 6 minutes because thin slices soften faster.

Storage

Cool within 2 hours and refrigerate airtight for up to 2 days. Reheat with only enough water to loosen, until steaming and 74°C; cold noodle dishes follow their separate storage note.

Cultural context

Tteokbokki is a Korean street-food staple. The modern red version depends on a sauce thick enough to cling while the rice cakes remain distinctly chewy.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Tteokbokki in Handan 1 — Photograph by 我乃野云鹤; CC BY-SA 4.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Korean recipes

Tteokbokki

Ingredients

Method

Soften only hard rice cakes

Dissolve the sauce

Begin the simmer

Add fish cake and scallions

Reduce to a glossy coating

Finish and serve immediately

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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