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 tteokbokki and just kept stirring and stirring it, making it more and more delicious over time. We would stop by and they would give us a small paper cup of spicy rice cakes dripping the spicy, slightly sweet sauce for a very reasonable price that any student could afford. We just couldn’t resist it! The sauce is fiery hot and a little sweet, and the rice cakes don’t have much taste but they are a little soft and a little gooey.
For a lot of my readers who’ve never had it before, it looks like pasta in tomato sauce, but it doesn’t taste like that at all.
When I lived in Korea I learned the secret to making good tteokbokki from a famous place in the 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 prepared it right in front of us, so I saw she first made an anchovy stock from dried anchovies. I made tteokbokki at home and found it made a huge difference in flavor. 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 the Romanized English spellings of tteokbokki (떡볶이): ddeokbokki, dukbokki, tteok-bokki and on and on. A few years ago the Korean government tried to standardize the name as “topokki” and even asked me to change it everywhere on my website! It just sounded weird to me so I never did it. How do you pronounce it? The first two t’s are a hard t, and the eo sounds more like a u.
There are also many variations of the tteokbokki recipe too: some people add dumplings (mandu), some add cabbage, cheese (mozzarella cheese seems popular), or ramen noodles. Creamy, saucy rosé tteokbokki was popular for a while, and a few hundred years ago the Korean royal court enjoyed nonspicy, soy sauce based gungjung tteokbokki. This version below of the spicy Korean rice cakes is an authentic classic and my favorite. Everyone loves it, so let’s make tteokbokki!
Ingredients
- 1 pound of cylinder shaped rice cake (tteok), fresh or frozen, bought or homemade. (Use a little more if you’re not adding hard boiled eggs and fish cakes)
- 4 cups of water
- 7 large size dried anchovies, with heads and intestines removed
- 6 x 8 inch dried kelp
- ⅓ cup hot pepper paste (gochujang)
- 1 tablespoon Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru) aka “Korean chili flakes”
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 green onions (scallions), cut into 3 inch long pieces
- 2 hard boiled eggs, shelled (optional)
- ½ pound fish cakes (optional)
Directions
Cook time: 15mins for the anchovy broth and 10-15mins for tteokbokki
- Add the water, dried anchovies, and dried kelp to a shallow pot or pan.
- Boil for 15 minutes over medium high heat without the lid.
- 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 spicy mixture in the bowl, the green onion, and the optional fish cakes and hard boiled eggs. The stock will be about 2½ cups.
- When it starts to boil, stir gently with a wooden spoon. Let it simmer and keep stirring it until the rice cake turns soft and the sauce thickens and looks shiny. It should take about 10 to 15 minutes. If the rice cake is not soft enough in that time, add more water and continue stirring until it softens. Freshly made rice cakes will soften faster so if you use frozen rice cakes, thaw them out and soak them in cold water first, to soften them up before cooking with them.
- Remove from the heat and serve hot. If you have any leftovers, keep them in the fridge and reheat them when you want to eat. They won’t be as good as when you first made them, but not bad. You should finished them in a few days, but it’s best to eat them all at once right after you make them.
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what is this music, I love it and I want to download some.
DJ doc’s 신당동 떡볶이
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_CTzR64Qbk
Hi maangchi :) I came across your site because I was on a hunt for a dukbokki recipe (always made me curious as to what was that I keep seeing on kdramas ) I am so thankful I discovered you! Your site has so many good finds (recipes and store locators and ingredients ) I am now a fan! :))
yay! Welcome!
is ddukbokkie supposed to taste really sweet and really thick> i never tasted it before and i made once using another recipe and it did not taste as delicious as i expected it to be. i used the oval ones because in indonesia i can’t find the tube one.
lol true maangchi, i’m bboy lumut anyway.. u should save money and open korean restaurant or sth in indonesia, not much kor food there, yet so many ppl in Indo interested in kor food n culture.. i’m lucky so mny kor around my living place currently.. ^^
I read most of the comments and maybe I just missed the answer to my question so here it is. How can I reheat ddukbokkie. I know it will taste better when freshly made but its just me so when I cook some of the recipes its too much for one meal. Thanks love the site and all of the food I’ve made so far!!!
I never like to eat leftover ddukbokkie. I try to make the right amount each time. If someone wants to torture me, he or she will make me eat leftover ddukbokkie. : )
But if you want, put the leftover ddukbokkie into a pan and reheat it over the stove top. Stir it with a wooden spoon. You may want to add a little water because the cold ddukbokkie might be too thick to stir.
Thanks! I can’t stop making ddukbokkie!!
oh no, maangchi! help! i put way too much gochujang and it’s almost too spicy to enjoy. is there anything i can do to fix it? i was thinking maybe i can try to get rid of some of the sauce and add water and then add a thickener like arrowroot powder if it’s too watery. what do you think?
“i can try to get rid of some of the sauce and add water” that’s it!
: ) You can add more dried anchovies and take them out after it’s done You don’t need to use anything else to make it thicken.
Hi I really love Korean food and I often crave for it.. I want to try cooking ddok buk ki because that is very tasty. can i cook that without dried anchovies? Are there any replacement for that?
there’s lots of ideas if you read the comments below.
I make dukbukki all the time without any meat, I think it tastes better with though. But I never make it with anchovies, I just don’t think they go well in this dish. I usually use whatever I have available, from fish cake to strips of beef, even spam is alright. Just be sure to cut it into strips and nothing too fatty.
this is my absolute favorite korean street food! now i can make it at home! yay!
maangchi!!
I like this recipe~
I live in korea!
im korea middle school student.
my english teacher gave us a homework to your recipe(investigation)
It so difficult because Im not good at english ㅠㅠ
This was one of the first recipes I tried, though I used the ovallettes instead of the big cylindrical cakes. Does the change make a huge difference in the overall texture? It was yummy but I’m curious to know if I should try making it again with the different shaped cakes for a better texture. Also, are there any other good uses for the little oval rice cakes that you could recommend? I would appreciate it :} thanks for sharing this recipe Maangchi!
One of my favorites and it’s so easy to make. BTW, I like to pan fry left over Kimbap from the day before and dip in ddukbokkie sauce. It’s delicious.
how am i able to keep the rice cake longer.. every time i buy it theirs like mold or w.e the next day? am i suppose to freeze it or sumtine
It does go bad fast, freezing is the best option. But it still doesn’t last as long as you’d expect, I get a couple of weeks once the seal has been broken. That’s if you buy the kind that is vacuum sealed at the factory. I don’t know about the fresh stuff you can buy wrapped on styrofoam, that stuff never lasts more than a couple days in my house. But I imagine if you bag and freeze it you can get a couple weeks as well.
“freezing is the best option” yes, freeze it.
hie maangchi! i tried out the recipe and i love it =D .. though sauce didn’t turn as sticky as your video..it did turn thick but just not as thick as yours .. wonder if it’s cos i used too few rice cakes? oh and also i’d like to ask if it will be any difference if i use rice cakes from china and rice cakes from korea? i added hard boiled eggs with my ddeokbokki ..cos i love eggs XD
thanks loads for the recipe maangchi =)
“sauce didn’t turn as sticky as your video..it did turn thick but just not as thick as yours” no problem. Cook longer, then your ddukbokkie will get more sticky.
LOL Kelly LOL. i think i saw the china rice cakes that you’re talking about.
haha XD i’ll be going to the asian supermarket again tomorro to get materials for samgak kimbap..i’m contemplating on getting a pack of the korean frozen cut rice cakes to try again XD ..unless there are rod ones which i overlooked ..
hie maangchi!!
i love your recipes! they are just so easy to follow! i’ve looked up recipes frm others sources but they just don’t “follow through” as comfortably as yours ^^ ..
i’ll be trying this recipe out this weekend..and i love eggs so i might take a tip from one of your comment replies and add acouple =D
thank you for all your wonderful recipes =)
HI MAANGCHI !!! You are soo great! I used to eat Korean food at my friends house alot but we both moved away from our home town :(
I’m very glade to have found your website! Thankyou so much!
I’m going to make my Dad a big Korean dinner when he comes to visit me in a few days. I’m going to make him ddukbokkie, korean seafood pancake, and bulgoki, and i might make a few more dishes if you have any suggestions. I don’t mind having left overs ^^
THANKYOU MAANGCHI!!!
Yes, I will suggest soup! Make baechu doenjangguk or kongnamul guk. He will love it. : )
Let me know how your Korean cooking turns out.
baechu doenjangguk (cabbage and soybean paste soup):
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/baechu-doenjang-guk
kongnamulguk (soybean sprout soup):
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kongnamulguk
Maangchi, Can I use the rice ovelettes instead of the rice rods? The ovelettes look like flat slanted discs.
Do you mean this rice cake? https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/sliced-rice-cake
If so, yes, you can make ddukbokkie with it. Why not?
hi Maangchi,
i love ya site! i get to learn so much about korean food from here! thank you so much for posting all the videos and detailed recipes! i’m gonna try all of them!! :D
i have a question for you though, are the anchovies you used in ya recipes the ones we find on top of certain pizza and salads? are they very salty? or are they just dried small fish?? thanks!
no, they are different. You have to get dried anchovies sold at an Asian grocery store.
https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/dried-anchovies-myulchi
Ahnyoung Haseyo~
I have a question about the stock…I bought a dashi pack with dried bonito. Can I still use that for this recipe, or would it affect the taste? Would I have to change the amount of stock used?
Kamsahabnida~
Do some experiment to get better taste of ddukbokkie by using either dashi pack or dried anchovies. Or use the both. : ) Let me know the result.
Ohh I tried it with the dashi pack and it came out great, thank you~
oh, yeah? I’m glad to hear that.
I omitted anchovies,boy..it was a mistake. The food doesn’t taste the same at all. It tasted like spicy watery soup. Is there a particular brand of rice cake you like?
yeah, dried anchovies are important in ddukbokkie. The stock made with dried anchovies makes your ddukbokkie delicious.
If you don’t use dried anchovy stock, use chicken broth instead.
I just made this for dinner!! Yummy!!! Though think I made it super super hot lol. I’m drinking so much milk with this!
You made your ddukbokkie super super hot! : )
Hi Maangchi unnie:)
I only find dry rice cake.So I don’t know how to cook with dry rice cake.May I know how to cook with dry rice cake?^^I really want to try ddukbokkie cos it looks so yummy.Please reply.
Thank you for reading.^^Bye….
Soak it in cold water until it gets soft and cook. Good luck with making 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:
https://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:
https://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:
https://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!