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Hot and spicy rice cake

Tteokbokki 떡볶이

Tteokbokki is chewy rice cakes cooked in a red, spicy broth. It’s a popular Korean street food. When I was a student coming home from school it was hard to resist the spicy rice cakes sold by vendors on the street! They would have big vats of tteokbokkie and just keep stirring and stirring. We would stop by and they would give us a small paper cup of spicy rice cakes and the spicy sauce for a very reasonable price that any student could afford.

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 made an anchovy stock from dried anchovies. 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!

There are many variations of tteokbokki: some people add dumplings (mandu), some add cabbage, cheese, or ramen noodles, but this version below of the spicy Korean rice cakes is a classic and my favorite. Everyone loves it!

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 gochujang (hot pepper paste), gochugaru (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. Let it simmer and keep stirring until the rice cake turns soft and the tteokbokki sauce thickens and looks shiny, which should take about 10 to 15 minutes. If the rice cake is not soft enough, add more water and continue stirring until it softens. 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. If you have any leftovers, just keep them in the fridge and reheat them when you want to eat. You should finished it in a few days.

ddeokbokki

Posted on Monday, September 10th, 2007 at 8:56 pm. Last updated on September 17, 2022.
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904 Comments:

  1. Lai_Xo USA joined 2/22 & has 1 comment
    Posted February 9th, 2022 at 10:24 pm | or create a profile.

    I used tofu instead of fish cakes due to my seafood allergy. Preferred a thicker sauce and paired it with kimchi, it was delicious. Luv your recipes and videos, you’re awesome.


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  2. IHeartTteokbokki Hawaii joined 12/21 & has 1 comment
    Posted December 24th, 2021 at 7:59 pm | or create a profile.

    This recipe is amazing! I didn’t have anchovies, so I added a little MSG to the broth, then used rice syrup in place of the sugar, but 10/10. I will absolutely make this again!! Thank you!!

  3. Blue.Cheese Canada joined 11/21 & has 1 comment
    Posted November 28th, 2021 at 12:41 pm | or create a profile.

    Yummy! First time having tteokbokki and first time making it! I added kimchi as well that I bought at a Korean market while visiting my family in Southern Ontario, Canada. The only Korean food I’ve experienced is bbq. Always wanted to try this and very pleased with the results. Super easy recipe. Thanks!

  4. heyitstenna Philippines joined 10/21 & has 1 comment
    Posted October 31st, 2021 at 8:39 am | or create a profile.

    Needed a bit more sugar to balance the spice, but nonetheless it tasted like the tteokbokki I get in a Korean resto near my university. Thank you Maangchi!


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  5. Laura314 Michigan joined 10/21 & has 1 comment
    Posted October 24th, 2021 at 10:30 pm | or create a profile.

    Would it work to just start out with 2 1/2 cups of your recipe of Anchovy-Kelp Stock?

  6. Sazuka Los Angeles, California joined 9/21 & has 1 comment
    Posted September 3rd, 2021 at 8:31 pm | or create a profile.

    I had some leftover beef so I decided to add that into it. It came out good but I wasn’t sure how it would cook. I added more water to cook the beef and it looked like it had too much broth, so I took some out. It came out good overall~Ahh I added some tofu too-just decoded to make an account but it’s my nth time making tteokbokki- love the recipe!!!


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  7. Reine Philippines joined 8/21 & has 1 comment
    Posted August 30th, 2021 at 8:15 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi! I made them again yesterday. For all Korean dishes that I’d like to try, you are my go to guide. You’re such a great cook. All your recipes don’t fail. ♥️


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  8. MaangchiLove Montreal, Toronto joined 8/19 & has 43 comments
    Posted May 1st, 2021 at 5:40 pm | or create a profile.

    Omg i made it again! Haha But it’s my last portion before going on a diet throughout the year! ;) No tteokbokki until Christmas LOL Bye from Maangchi’s ttoekbokki mania xoxo


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  9. MaangchiLove Montreal, Toronto joined 8/19 & has 43 comments
    Posted April 10th, 2021 at 11:58 am | or create a profile.

    Added a cup of chickpeas!! Thank you, Maangchi-*


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  10. MaangchiLove Montreal, Toronto joined 8/19 & has 43 comments
    Posted March 28th, 2021 at 6:31 pm | or create a profile.

    Made it again!! Yummmm :) thank you


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  11. MaangchiLove Montreal, Toronto joined 8/19 & has 43 comments
    Posted March 22nd, 2021 at 12:37 pm | or create a profile.

    Made it again!! ❤️


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  12. freshmints PH joined 2/21 & has 1 comment
    Posted February 8th, 2021 at 4:48 am | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made it last night for my family and they loved it.


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  13. LiliSangEoTurututuru London joined 1/21 & has 1 comment
    Posted January 7th, 2021 at 11:42 am | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi! I cooked tteokbokki for lunch following the recipe from your book and adding some noodles; it was delicious!!!! As it was a little bit too spicy for me (I am Spanish and our food is not spicy at all), I have reduced the amount of gochujang a little bit, and it has worked very well for me. Thank you for sharing this nice recipe with us <3<3<3


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  14. Elbent Cleveland, OH joined 12/20 & has 1 comment
    Posted December 31st, 2020 at 5:46 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi! I was not able to find dried kelp at my Asian market, but I did get some fresh kelp. Will this work for the stock? Thank you!

  15. Jang-geum Charlotte, NC joined 9/20 & has 10 comments
    Posted December 5th, 2020 at 3:56 pm | or create a profile.

    Made Tteokbokki ! Ate as morning breakfast. Yummy!


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