Hot and spicy rice cake

Tteokbokki 떡볶이

When I lived in Korea I learned the secret to making good tteokbokki from a famous place in a local market. It was run by an old lady who could always be found stirring her pot of tteokbokki, and there were always people lined up to buy it.

She was cooking right in front of us to I saw she used dried anchovies in her stock. That ingredient made a huge difference in the flavor, so I started using it when I made my tteokbokki at home. I once ran out of dried anchovies and made tteokbokki without it, and it didn’t taste at all like what I was expecting. So don’t forget to always make a good stock with dried anchovies when you make this! It totally makes this dish!

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Add the water, dried anchovies, and dried kelp to a shallow pot or pan.
  2. Boil for 15 minutes over medium high heat without the lid.anchovy stockanchovy stock
  3. Combine hot pepper paste, hot pepper flakes, and sugar in a small bowl. Remove the anchovies and kelp from the pot and add the rice cake, the mixture in the bowl, the green onion, and the optional fish cakes and hard boiled eggs. The stock will be about 2½ cups. ddeokbokkiddeokbokkiddeokbokkie
  4. Stir gently with a wooden spoon when it starts to boil. Keep stirring until the rice cake turns soft and the sauce thickens and looks shiny, which should take about 10 -15 minutes. If the rice cake is not soft enough, add more water and continue stirring until soften. When you use freshly made rice cake, it takes shorter time. If you use frozen rice cake, thaw it out and soak in cold water to soften it before cooking.ddeokbokki
  5. Remove from the heat and serve hot.

ddeokbokki

Posted on Monday, September 10th, 2007 at 8:56 pm. Last updated on October 1, 2021.
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899 Comments:

  1. LiuJiaXi Spain joined 4/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 17th, 2016 at 10:33 am | or create a profile.

    I did this recipe today, and it was awesome!! Thanks Maangchi for sharing these deliciousness.

  2. EmShay Oakland, California joined 3/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted March 6th, 2016 at 8:14 pm | or create a profile.

    Maangchi,

    It’s difficult for me to express in words how grateful I am that I found your website and your recipes. I am just now finishing a very difficult period of my life where it was hard for me to find a reason to be happy about much. Lucky for me, I found your website and decided to try making some of the recipes. This tteokbokki recipe was the first I tried. The surprise and satisfaction of cooking something so tasty gave me a positive glow that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

    These days, I am constantly cooking something and always telling friends and family to come over so we can share a meal together. The times where I’ve shared delicious food with family and friends has revitalized me and brought light back into my life. This is all possible because of the hard work you’ve put into your recipes, the website, and the book. I can now look back at those times and smile knowing that I ended up gaining something priceless — I’ve gained the confidence that I could make something delicious that brings smiles to the faces of the people I love.

    Thank you!

  3. Estar Singapore joined 7/14 & has 7 comments
    Posted February 26th, 2016 at 11:04 pm | or create a profile.

    Just sharing a tip for people who can’t get access to dried anchovies. In some Asian supermarkets, you may be able to find Ikan Bilis (anchovy) stock powders and stock cubes – usually Knorr or Maggi brands. Sometimes I use the no MSG versions to replace dried anchovies and they work well!

  4. RosalinaS Indonesia joined 2/16 & has 8 comments
    Posted February 25th, 2016 at 11:28 am | or create a profile.

    This was mine, I added quick-melt cheese! It’s so addictive till I ate it 3 days in a row (once a day surely). Thanks Maangchi.


    See full size image

  5. aegisshi USA joined 2/16 & has 2 comments
    Posted February 21st, 2016 at 8:49 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi, I had a quick question. Is there another ingredient I can use instead of dried anchovies? They are just so expensive where I live and I have to drive so far to get them. Can I use something like fish sauce?

  6. katperng Davis joined 2/16 & has 2 comments
    Posted February 7th, 2016 at 6:55 pm | or create a profile.

    Just tried this recipe out and it was sooo good! I didn’t have any dried anchovies but I substituted it with some chicken bullion and fish sauce and personally I think it turned out wonderful!
    I paired it with two types of kimchi: Radish kimchi that I made myself and some store bought kimchi!


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  7. Dsydgh Indonesia joined 2/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted February 6th, 2016 at 8:55 am | or create a profile.

    Hi maangchi! I just want to ask what kind of your dried anchovies that you use to making this? In my place, i have two kind of dried anchovies, first is salted dried anchovies and second is unsalted dried anchovies. What should i use? Thank you so much!

  8. rian.nguyen joined 1/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted January 14th, 2016 at 9:59 pm | or create a profile.

    How long does it take to cook spicy rice cakes?

  9. Vicencio21 United States joined 11/13 & has 1 comment
    Posted January 12th, 2016 at 11:49 am | or create a profile.

    Hi! I really want to make this, but I am having troubles finding the dried anchovies. I saw that you said in a previous comment to use chicken broth, but I cannot eat chicken. Is it okay if I use anchovy sauce? If so, how would I use it?

  10. Jeyvoi Germany joined 1/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted January 7th, 2016 at 6:23 am | or create a profile.

    Hello Maangchi!
    I cant find a Shop with dried kelp, can i use something like roasted Seaweed?

    Thank you for your great work!
    I Made many delicious food with your help.
    You have a lot of Fans from Germany. Greetings !! :) ㅋㅋㅋ

  11. Sam413 joined 12/15 & has 1 comment
    Posted December 16th, 2015 at 12:22 am | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi, I made this tteokbokki using store-bought rice cakes. I soak them in water to thaw, then add it to the pan once the broth was done. After the sauce thickened, I put them on a plate to eat and was shocked! Some of the tteokbokki is chewy, and some were mushy and soggy. Do you think it is because I boiled it too long, or is it the rice cakes?

    • Shotoshi canada joined 1/16 & has 1 comment
      Posted January 29th, 2016 at 9:59 am | or create a profile.

      Sam413 Store bought rice cakes can be hard, most especially if you leave them in the fridge or on the counter too long. But dont bother soaking them, this actually prevents you from achieving greater flavor. The rice cakes should absorb some of the broth and seasoning when in the pan, when you soak them you create a moisture barrier. Having soaked them this may add to the effect of them being mushy or soggy. You might have also overcooked it as well. After the rice cakes are put in dont take more than 15-20 minutes with it on the stove. Next time even if they are hard just put them in. theyll soften in the pan.

  12. Jen0520 joined 11/15 & has 1 comment
    Posted November 28th, 2015 at 7:53 pm | or create a profile.

    I was living with a Korea girl that she taught me how to make rice cake sauce. It was delicious besides the ingredients you need is a lot more than what Maangchi asked for. But I have to say, Maangchi’s recipe is much more delicious and authentic and effortless to follow!! It is amazing. I will certainly using this recipe forever!!!

  13. ashleyn joined 11/15 & has 1 comment
    Posted November 17th, 2015 at 11:28 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi,

    Thanks for putting this up! My fiancé is Korean and he insists on putting myeolchi dashida, lots of garlic, and mozzarella. He skips the anchovies (because of the dashida) and green onions. What is your opinion on this variation on the recipe? How can I tell him to improve it?

    Thanks!!!! Love you!

  14. Jordan O joined 8/15 & has 1 comment
    Posted August 28th, 2015 at 4:39 am | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi! I’m going to try making this dish and I was wondering if it would be a problem if I used a deeper pot to make this? I don’t have any flat pans like the one you used in the video.

  15. itzmizzy joined 7/15 & has 2 comments
    Posted August 17th, 2015 at 12:25 pm | or create a profile.

    Hello! i love watching your videos and cooking them. I have a slight problem though. Where i live, there is absolutely no dried anchovy sold. What should i substitute the stock with? – besides vegetable stock.

    Thank you! much love.

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