There are 2 kinds of recipes for ddukbokkie. One is mild taste ddukbokkie without using hot pepper paste and the other is the dish I am making in this video.
Ingredients for hot spicy ddukbokkie:
Tube shaped rice cake for ddukbokkie (about 300 grams), hot pepper paste, sugar, water, dried anchovies, and green onions.
- Separate the tubes of rice cake into individual pieces.
- In a pan, pour 4 cups of water and add 7 large dried anchovies after removing their heads and intestines. Boil the water for 10 minutes over medium heat.
- Remove the anchovies and add the rice cakes, 4-6 tbs of hotpepper paste, 1 tbs of sugar, and 1 tbs of hotpepper flakes (optional). Stir it constantly.
- Cut 7 green onions into 5 cm long pieces, and add them to the pot.
- Keep stirring until the sauce is thick and the rice cake is shiny.
- Transfer it to a plate and serve!
How to make mild taste ddukbokkie:
1 package of rice cake
- Saute 200 grams of beef strips with 2 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs sugar, 2 cloves minced garlic, and 3 tbs of sliced onion.
- Add 3-4 sliced white mushrooms and 2 chopped green onions to “1″ and stir it.
- Add 1cup of water and put rice cake in it and keep folding until rice cake is soft
- Serve it on a plate and eat it when it is warm
When I lived in Korea, I went to a very popular “ddukbokkie” place located in a big market. The owner was an old lady and she kept stirring her ddukbokkie. People were lining up to buy her ddukbokkie. She was a kind of a famous ddukbokkie seller. I learned from her to make tasty ddukbokkie, dried anchovies are needed. One day I ran out of dried anchovies, but I made ddukbokkie. It didn’t taste like I expected. So don’t forget to make good stock using dried anchovies to make delicious ddukbokkie.
Hey Maangchi!
My friend and I made 떡볶이 for our korean class and we used your recipe. It was my first time eating 떡볶이 so I don’t know if it came out tasting right, but it tasted good to us, and our class loved it! Thanks for the recipe!
Here’s the video of us making it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpYWl7cESXk
yes, it looks perfect! I enjoyed watching the video! : ) Delicious!
Hi Maangchi!
I think the store ran out of tube-shaped rice cakes, so I bought the round ones instead! Should I still stick to the recipe, or tweak it a little?
Hope you reply soon! :))
yes, stick to the recipe and let me know the result. My fingers are crossed! ; )
I made ddokbokkie using the round shapes before. It turns out the same. (Actually I think I like it better because those are bite-size). As long as you use Maangchi’s delicious recipe!
Hi maangchi, can you tell me what i’m doing wrong? I made this dish but the rice cake sauce doesn’t seem to turn thick or starchy even after a long time of cooking. instead, it remained watery :/
I’m not sure what kind of rice cake i used, but the brand is: 꼬마.
It’s not exactly frozen but the rice cake is hard.
I boiled the rice cake first then threw away the water. Could it be because the starch in the rice cake is in the water I discarded?
I’m not too familiar with this way of making 떡볶이 because I usually add only a little bit of water, and i don’t add anchovy stock. I did, though, this time.
Please do reply, thanks!
“the rice cake sauce doesn’t seem to turn thick or starchy even after a long time of cooking. instead, it remained watery”
Strange! I hope it is not made with rubber! : )
I think you got wrong rice cake. I don’t know the answer though.
“I boiled the rice cake first then threw away the water. Could it be because the starch in the rice cake is in the water I discarded?”
Maybe it could be the reason.
Don’t give up making delicious ddukbokkie. Try it out again later and let me know the result!
Yes, I believe the reason was the pre-boiling. Like you said, you threw away the starch. Instead of pre-boiling, just soak the rice cake pieces in cold water for 10 minutes or so. They don’t have to be soft, just pliable (not stiff).
Hi, I made bibimbap and it was so nice! I am going to make this soon, just need to get anchovies. Here in Singapore, we have smaller anchovies-look-alike fish called ikan billis. Can we use that instead? And I think you are really great! i would like to get your book. Is it available in Singapore? Buying from amazon costs me alot for shipping. Is there another way to get your book?
hi, thank you for your interest in purchasing my cook book, but you can get it only through amazon.com. Or you can download it for free!
Yes, small dried anchovies will be ok to use. What else can you do? : )
I made it yesterday! used lots of small little anchovies, also known as Ikan Billis in Singapore. Tastes nice too! Wonder if it will be better with the real anchovies, am going to get it once i go to the korean supermarket. I forgot to take a photo of my rice cake.
The next dish im going to try is the tofu soup, will remember to take it then! =)
Good luck with making delicious tofu soup! Let me know how it turns out. Large dried anchovies make more delicious stock, so next time try them out. Thank you!
Maangchi unnie~ here’s mine! i forgot to show it to you last time :D
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=987848&l=49e46ec741&id=1336795557
without anchovy, though.. it was late at night, i didn’t wanna go outside anymore ^^;;
next time i’ll use it~ then maybe mine will taste as good as yours! haha C:
Thank you for sharing your ddukbokki photo with us! It looks good!
Email me the photo if you want, then I will post it on my website.
Thank you!
really? thank you!~~ i sent them just now.. (＾□＾*)
i bought this ddukbokkie on korean mart which sell some korean dish. they add Cabbage and it’s not spicy at all just warm at my throat. anyway i saw another ddukbokkie version but the rice cake was Fried. what is that??
You can modify the recipe to your taste or invent your own recipe with the rice cake. Why not?
Hey Maangchi, I was eating ddukbokkie in the Iteawon area and there was some really chewy things with pores on in it. I later ate it by itself and I was told it was fish, what was it? Also can you make your own rice cakes with your recipe and roll them into the right shape? Thank you.
That was fish cakes – see Maangchi’s ingredient page for Odeng:
http://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/fish-cakes
You just add some of these to the ddokbokkie recipe. If you liked that, Maangchi also has a spicy fish cake recipe here:
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/uhmook-bokkeum
Hey Maangchi,
I live in New York City too and I was wondering where you get the rice cake because I get them from Hmart in koreatown but its expensive! Are there any other places in Manhattan or Queens where I can get it cheaper? Thanks!
Hi, Maangchi
I just found your blog today. Happy that i did cause your recipes are brilliant. I really like ddukbokkie and have always wish to know the way to cook it. Thank you. I wonder whether we can use can anchovies instead of dried anchovies just in case i can not find it.
Hope to hear from you.
Thank you
oh, no no no canned anchovies. Dried anchovies that’s what you need. The reason I use dried anchovies is to make delicious stock, so you can replace it with a can of chicken broth, or vegetable stock. Good luck with making delicious ddukbokkie!
I followed your instructions to make the mild ddukboki. But I was wondering if there is a sauce or something that goes with it. Even though I used soy sauce, it’s still bland. I don’t want to use the hot pepper paste. Can you recommend something?
How about adding more either soy sauce or oyster sauce?
Hi Maangchi,
Thank you so much for posting these wonderful recipes! My husband and I recently visited Korea for the first time last winter and we loved it. So I’ve been very thankful to find such an unique recipe site as yours! Ddukbokkie was one of my favorite street food while we were in Korea and your recipe is very authentic to what we tasted in Korea!
One of the other street foods we had was hodduk–the sweet Korean pancakes. Will you plan on posting a recipe on that in the near future?
Thank you again for sharing all the wonderful delicacies of Korean cuisine!
yes, I will post hoddeok recipe in the future. thank you!
do you really need to remove those anchovies after it’s boiling? kinda of waste…..
you can eat it, why not! : )
this is my favorite food!떡볶이♥
i’ve eaten it for 5days. lolol anyway i wanna visit you if i go there . omg XD can i? hehehe^0^
take care!!
lol, you lo~ve ddukbokkie! I don’t think I can eat it for 5 days in a row. I easily get tired of eating 1 dish over and over. : )
hi maangchi!
thx for the recipe!!
but anybody know where to buy the rice cake in SURABAYA, INDONESIA???
i don’t think there’s any asian market in here, only javanese traditional market here.
i also looked at supermarket which sells the hot pepper paste, but it looks like they don’t have it.
what should i do?
is there anything else to replace it??
Please leave your question here:
http://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/where-do-you-buy-your-korean-ingredients
I hope you find what you are looking for.
I hope you can find rice cake in MU GUNG HWA korean market, I found the address ‘ Ruko Taman Gapura L no 3, Surabaya ‘ by internet searching
I don’t know it’s true or not about the address. but in Jakarta I allways bought rice cake in MU GUNG HWA market at ruko pinangsia Karawaci.
Hot pepper paste you can find there too or in hypermart and carrefour
mu gung hwa surabaya is a korean resto, if i wasn;t wrong.
you can try find go chu jang paste in papaya supermarket, at margorejo or simpang darmo permai. my friend also told me that there’s a samll korean mart at darmo park, but i haven’t know the address yet.
Hi Maangchi!
I am a vegetarian so is there any way I can substitute the fried anchovies?
yes, how about using dried shiitake mushroom and dried kelp?
just tried the recipe. modesty aside, it turned out great. i added some ramen noodles too. delicious. can’t wait to share it with family. thanks maangchi!
adding ramen noodle sounds great!
hey,
does anyone here know where i can buy a cheap rice cake tubed shape in La also hot pepper paste because i really want to make hot spicy rice cake ^_^ (pls reply!!!) thanks
You can purchase all the ingredients in H-mart in many different location. There are four locations in NJ alone.
OMG….i’m drooling…
i wanna make ddukbokkie tomorrow….
love it much….
thx for the recipe Maangchi…
you are very welcome!
dear Maangchi;
Thanks for all these receipies.
I would like to prepare DOGBOUGI.However in my country there is no opportunity to find ready made rice cakes.So how can I prepare rice cake for dougbogi?
Thanks in advance.
Berfin/ Turkey
aigo, I’m sorry, I don’t know how to make it.
I live in london and was wondering where I can get rice cakes from. Relly in to korean food but just do not have the ingredients to make them. Also im muslim so I would prefer it if it is halal. Please can you let me know. I have seen this dish many times on dramas and shows and have always wanted to make it. Thankyou
There’s a little korean supermarket just off Tottenham Court Road, on Store Street. They sell rice cakes there.
Kamhsahamnida! (- -) (_ _) <— 90 degrees bow
I made it and it taste great!
: ) Thank you!
Hi Maangchi..
i’m so lucky to found this website, i love u Maangchi.. !! you’ve teached me how to cook Korean Food well, and it works..
I’m lucky to be found by you, too! Happy cooking!
I’m typing this while eating my ddukbokkie and all i can say is….OMG where has ddukbokkie been all my life?!?!?!?!
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe Maangchi!!
lol, “where have you been!”
hai maangchi? i love all of ur recipes… i couldn’t eat bcoz i have no ingredients..my mouth feel wants to eat.. hahaha
Hi maangchi, i wonder if i can use spring onion??
yes, you can.
hi maangchi,
i was wondering what else i could make with the rice cakes besides ddukbokkie… i think i bought too much of it and right now, its in my freezer sitting, taking up too much space…thanks in advance…
You can keep the leftover rice cake in the freezer and use it later. Or bake it in the oven and dip it in honey which will be delicious snack.Or when you make any stew, add the rice cake.
Hi Maangchi! thanks for the info. if i want to bake, how long and what temp? Do i need to do anything to them first if they are frozen? thanks so much!!!!
hi maangchi,
i was so happy i finally found the frozen rice cakes.. i was searching for it high and low and i found them in a local grocery under the asian section… it was really good, everyone in the family enjoyed them… thanks again…
Good news! : )
Hi I would like to try your recipe and was wondering how big is the serving?
This amount is for 2-3 servings.
First, let me say thank you for providing us with this recipe, it is amazingly delicious, spicy and flavourful, warming and heartwarming. I have been looking all over for it, and the recipe you’ve provided is excellent. I hope to impress my girlfriend with it. Thank you again, on behalf of all of us who love to cook authentic food.
-Sven
I’m so glad to hear that you are planning to make this for your gf! I hope she likes it.
hi maangchi ,i don’t have dried anchovies but i have dried fish so can i use it? please tell me soon
If you don’t have dried anchovies, just skip them. Don’t use any other dried fish.
hai..i’d love to try to make dok bogi,but the prob is that at Malaysia,there is no frozen rice cake available,the question is,how can i make my own rice cake???please answer,i’ll b waiting 4 ur reply
I don’t know how to make the rice cake for ddukbokkie. I think you can get it at a Korean grocery store there. Check “where do you buy Korean ingredients” category on the forum, please.
http://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/where-to-buy-korean-cooking-ingredients
if you live in JB near Singapore, you can get them at Korean grocery stores here. S$6.60 for 600 grams.
is using mulyot okay? instead of sugar? thanks
Hey maangchi,
I used the frozen tubes of rice cake. I soaked it in cold water for an hour, then some lukewarm water for ten minutes.
Then, I went to cook it, and the rice cakes got all soggy and nasty! What did I do wrong?
Mary, you played with the rice cake too long! : )
30 minutes soaking in cold water is enough before cooking.
Hi Chef Maangchi,
I love your website – thank you very much for sharing your recipes! I am Filipino-Chinese but live in Canada and currently hosting a Korean exchange student. I made ddukbokkie tonight and my student said it was delicious and even had seconds. She said though that in Korea her Mom makes it with ketchup so I was quite surprised… it’s funny too that she found the recipe very spicy – I only used 4 tablespoons of gochujang and not 6 as your recipe suggests. I have to say spicy Korean food is a great way to encourage milk intake for teens.
I’ve also made Bibimbap twice and even her friend (Korean too) seemed to like it. Is it traditionally served on a stone bowl like in the restaurants? Would you recommend getting one?
I’ve asked my student to mark down some recipes she likes in a Korean cookbook that I have. I’m interested in learning to make Yak Shik. What do the seedless red dates look like? Hope that you would consider posting this recipe on your website.
More power to you!
Thanks again
oh, you must be such a warm-hearted host mom! Your students are lucky to stay at your house!
ok, yak shik recipe will be posted someday in the future.
Thank you!
hi im from canada too and was just wondering where do u buy the rice cakes???
Toronto Canada:
Here is the address of the Korean grocery store where I used to go in Toronto. The store is called P.A.T. and it is located at 675 Bloor Street near Christie Subway. Check this out.
http://toronto.cityguide.ca/pat-korean-supermarket-on-bloor-015910.php
http://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/where-do-you-buy-your-korean-ingredients
I added some cabage, onion and fish cake to your recipe and this came out great! Didn’t know anchovie stock would make that much difference in taste. Stirring constantly does make it so much better. I used to add ramen AND it’s soup base to ddukbokki and I don’t think I will do that any more. Your recipe has to be much healthier. Next time, I will just add the noodle. Thank you!
It sounds like you are already ddukboki expert! I totally agree!
hi maangchi i have the ingredients for ddukbokkie but i don’t the dried anchovy, do you now anything that i can use.thank you
How about using chicken stock or beef stock?
Im living in singapore and only small anchovies are available here. So i don’t really know how much anchovies to put in? Do you know how much i should use if im making stock with small anchovies?
I think 1/4 cup (4 tbs) of small dried anchovies will be good for this amount of ddukbokkie. Good luck with making delicious ddukbokkie!
안녕하세요 ^ ^
Greeting from England. I just wonder how long can I keep the 떡볶이 떡 in the pack (like yours in the video) for? Normally I use the frozen one, so I can keep it for longer but since I watched your video I think the fresh one looks a lot better. 고맙습니다 ^ ^
Could you add tofu to this dish?
i used the tofu in the end. fold it in to the ddukbokkie right at the end(as the sauce was thick and placed the heat on really low and let it cook for extra 5 minutes.
it was amazing the tofu went well with it. i also added shiake mushrooms in with the dried anchovies will makin the broth.
thanks maangchi for the reciepe.
Also maangchi i was wondering can do a video for this korean side dish it was like a coleslaw. all i know it was really creamy and yummy
thanks
Sam (for Australia)
We must be sitting at the computer at the same time! I just replied to you and found you left your another comment. Good!
Tofu worked with ddukbokkie! : )
oh, it will be strange, don’t do that! : ) But I can’t give you hard time if you add it secretly while cooking in your house. lol,
Who knows it turns out delicious.
Hi Maangchi!
Thanks so much for the recipe! I made it last night and it was SO delicious! I made it with some fried squid for dinner and it was great!! I live in NYC, so the ingredients are really easy to find. I can’t wait to try more! I’ve also made the kimchi chigae! :)
I’ve tried some of your recipe n I love it. But I have a problem here, as i can’t find the hot pepper paste here. Is there a way tat i can make it my own??? ;p
can i use Toppokki?
Mash-eet-gaet-da.
I’m going to try your recipe next time I come back from the Korean supermarket.
I always wanted to taste ddukbokkie but didn’t know how to make it. Then i found your video. I made it just now. The taste? My goodness, it’s so deliciouuuuuuuuuuuuus. Never thought that it would be very easy to make.
yeah, dried anchovy is a very important ingredient. You can add your other favorite ingredients such as noodles, fish cake, or hard boiled eggs to your ddukbokkie. I prefer simple ddukbokkie though.
hello maangchi.. instead of using dried anchovy i used the anchovies that has been flakes.. can i??
How was the result? I don’t know much about anchovy flakes.
Greetings from America
I really like how u made it and it looks really really delicious i think u should be a cook and i like spicy food!
Thank you so much!
Hi Maangchi
I finally tried making ddukbokkie last night. It was good!!! Despite reducing the amount of hot pepper paste (1 1/2 tbsp), it was still too spicy for me. Hence, I added in more sugar. Because I love vegetable, I added cabbage (in season) during the cooking too. Yummy. It tasted very similar to those ddukbokkie I bought from the Korean takeaway. Sadly, my family does not like spicy food especially my girls (like the Kiwis). I finished almost the whole portion alone.
Maangchi, I was told by the guy from the Korean shop that the remaining uncooked rice cake can be kept in the freezer. The one thing to remember is to break the rice cake into pieces. So, my question to you is when I defrost the rice cake, should I remove them from the freezer and leave them overnight in room temperature (it is now Spring in New Zealand so the average temperature is around 12 degree during night time) then put them into hot water the next day if they are still very hard.
Anyway, I am going to try making two more of your dishes for dinner tonight. Sweet and crispy children (without hot pepper and peanuts) and vegetable pancake. Wish me luck.
Thank you once again for sharing your awesome recipes.
A full time working mum from New Zealand
I always throw the leftover ddukbokkie away because I don’t like to eat it later. : ) “remove them from the freezer and leave them overnight in room temperature (it is now Spring in New Zealand so the average temperature is around 12 degree during night time) then put them into hot water the next day if they are still very hard” Yes, that’s a good idea.
Good luck with making delicious vegetable pancake! Take some photos and email me!
i love to try this dish but i dont know of we have this kind of rice cake here in Manila.
I think you can find this rice cake at a Korean grocery store there. Check the forum “where do you get Korean ingredients” section. Thank you!
you can find rice cakes in Korean stores at Kalayaan (UP Diliman) they sell for P 150 per pack. You can also get ttokbokki at the restaurants nearby.
Greetings from Singapore !
Sorry for my late reply. Well, the ingredient label only mentioned rice and water. The rice packaging is very hard. I tried soaking them overnight like 13 hrs and still hard. So i decided to soak them in hot water, walla, only 10-15 mins they became soft. However, it does not have the gluey texture. I tried making them just a while ago, it turned out so-so but not like the korean type of rice cake where you mentioned the sauce become thick. This one don’t still watery.
Next round, will try to look for the korean type of rice cake.
Maangchi, thanks. Keep up the good work.
You might have bought the rice cake that they sell on the aisles. It came in a plastic package right? Well, the difference between what you bought and what mangchi uses is like the difference in a fresh homemade spagettii noodle to the dried ones. It just required more cooking (boiling). What I do is let the rice cake soak in cold water while I bring the stock to a boil. Then add the rice cake into the pot and let boil until al dente. Then I go ahead and put in the pepper paste and etc. You might need a tad bit more water than what mangchi uses here. This dish tastes great with some minced garlic, beef, sliced carrots, chopped cabbage, sliced onions, and tempura (fish cake) too. Some even enjoy it with ramen noodles added in at the last moment and garnished with a hard boiled egg. There’s also those who like cheese on it (mozzerella).
Hello Rosalynn,
I am from Singapore. You can easily get imported Korean rice cake from the Korean supermarket here, they cost around SGD$ 12-15 for 500gm. They are like what maangchi use in her video. I tried the dried chinese rice cake before, they have less chew than the Korean ones as they are thin but I think Korean do use these types for soups.
Jo is right, the dried rice cake need to pre-boiling prior to cooking and this takes time.If your ddukbokkie is watery, you may need to cook a little longer for the starch to be released to thicken your gravy.
i saw a lady make this with ketchup and some cabbage and onions in there. i forgot what all she added, but is that normal?
I think she used ketchup for those who can’t eat spicy food.
Hi Maangchi,
I didn’t realise this website provide so much of help in improvising my Korean cooking. Thank u so much. I do make this recipe (spicy rice cake) some time ago, but it won’t turn out quite well, since I’m using home-made rice cake. Anyway, I have couple questions here, first, can I use fish cake in my cooking for this recipe and second, can you suggest any additional ingredients that could be added to give extraordinary flavour for my spicy rice cake???
Hope for reply.
Thanks Maangchi. Keep up the excellent & marvellous work.
아자! 아자!
yes, you can add fish cake, starch noodles, or shelled hard boiled eggs to ddukbokkie. I like just simple ddukbokkie though.
Hmmm, do you mean 라면??? I never try it before, well, I’ll try my best to make it according to your recipe and tips… thanks so much Maangchi… All the best
Best wishes,
one of ur fan from malaysia… ^_^
oh, you can add ramen, too, but I meant starch noodles (dangmyun):
http://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/starch-noodles
Oh, I got the idea.
Thanks so much Maangchi. ^_^