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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Hi Maangchi. Thanks for sharing the secret about the dried anchovies. I tried this method tonight to the usual ddukbokki that I make..and I tasted a big difference. It was delicious and more flavorful. But I like it extra spicy, so I added some Jalapenos for that extra kick. And since i didn’t have regular ddukbokki dduk, I used ddukgook dduk. I also did not have any odeng in my fridge (I seriously need to go shopping lol), but I added artificial crab and spam for the protein. http://behgopa.blogspot.com/2013/03/ddukbokki-cravings.html
I saw the photo of your ddeokbokki on your blog. I love your blog title: behgopa. Behgopa means “I’m hungry”
Yes, I can’t make good ddeokbokki without anchovy stock. : )
Thank you, Maangchi. I am always “behgopa” lol. I actually made ddukbokki again tonight. I was sooo hungry after work and my taste buds were begging for something spicy and comforting. I think I am getting addicted to the novel taste of the ddukbokki made with dried anchovies.
A couple of months ago, I made ddukbokki for my coworkers (a diverse group). I noticed that while Asians and the Latinos (more culturally exposed to spicy foods) enjoyed the spicy taste of it, many of my Caucasian coworkers could not handle it. I should try to make your nonspicy version next time. That looks awesome as well!
Best recipe ever!!!!!! I used to use your old recipe, and it was awesome!! This new recipe is still awesome :). Many of my friends have asked me to make this dish for them because it’s so addicting and yummy. We just hover over the gas stove with bamboo sticks and pick out the rice cake. I made your homemade rice cakes and used it in ddeokbokki last week and it was the best yet. So soft and chewy.
aww, thanks a lot! Cheers!
Hi Maangchi! I’ve been subscribing your youtube channel but never visited your blog before.
I have made a lot of Korean food for my husband and your videos really help me. Here’s a request from my hubby. His halmoni used to make moo malengi when he was little but since she passed away a few years ago(btw, she was a super lovely lady and I loved her so much!), he misses it very much. We could buy at a Korean grocery store but I would love to make for him. Could you post a video how to make moo malengi in the near future??
Thank you for your video posts and I hope you keep this blog and youtube channel going for a long time!
“I’ve been subscribing your youtube channel but never visited your blog before.” Welcome to my website! : 0)
Your husband is missing his grandmother’s moomalaengi. Yes, the recipe is included in the list of my upcoming recipes. * moomalaengimuchim (seasoned dried shredded radish)
Thank you Maangchi! My husband and I are both very excited now. We can’t wait to try your recipe!!
Where did the mild recipe for tteokbokki go ?
A video and recipe for the milder version of ddeokbokki will be uploaded soon. If you really want to see the old ddeokbokki recipes, check out the written recipes in the description box on my old ddeokbokki video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUmBqvMv89E Happy cooking!
I’m proud of you that you are korean.. 한국사는 학생인데 가끔유튭 보고있어요.우리나라도 제대로못하는 한식세계화를 하시는것가아서 감사드립니다.새해복 많이받으세요 :)
Thank you so much for your nice encouraging comment! 새해복많이 받으시고 맛있는 음식 많이많이 만드시길!..
I replace chicken eggs with quail eggs! :)
awesome!
i want to make this so badly but every time i try to make the anchovy broth – it’s tasteless… what is the point of the kelp? do i really need both…? :/
You don’t have to add kelp, but it gives it a really deep flavor! And check your anchovies, maybe they’re not good anymore? Or try adding about 9 anchovies and shimmering it for a little longer (10 mins)
How come your dukkbokgee comes out soft and mine is rock hard? lol
Then cook longer over low heat until it gets softer. You can add more water if the water evaporates.
Hi! How do I cook Rabokki? Do i just add the ramen at the end? thanks ! :D
yes, add it almost at the end so that the noodle won’t expand too much.
Maangchi, I would like to try to make ddukbokkie but I have a question about the anchovies…. did you used the live anchovies or the dried one? Also you used fish cakes in it too right?
dried anchovies! yes, you can add fish cakes.
Hi Maangchi, I always wondered what’s missing with my tteokbokki. However, the way I made mine is pretty simple. Boil the rice cake w/o anchovies, then drain when it’s cooked then I put honey and gochujang with the rice cake in a bowl add some garlic powder and chopped scallion then top it with sesame seed. How’s that for a modified recipe??? But I still want to try with anchovies next time!!!!
I’ve made this recipe so many times so birthday parties and potlucks and it’s always a big hit! Some of my tips: Use a wide pan, this will allow the water to evaporate evenly and thicken the dukkbokie. I’ve always used 5 generous tablespoon heaps+ 1 big tb of chili powder+ 5 teaspoons of sugar. Please add Oden (flat fish cake!!) to this, it makes it 100 Times better!! (: and also, people who are wondering if you can skip the anchovy stock…no you can’t!!! It won’t taste authentic if you skip it, trust me. …~
I’m trying to experiment with the recipe and trying new stuff I found in the Korean grocery store nearby. Would it be possible to substitute kelp with the anchovies? (I have anchovy allergy) and can I also add some daikon to make the broth taste refreshing? Thank you for the recipe again.
Yes, you can use dried kelp to make good broth or use chicken broth instead of water. Daikon sounds good to me. Good luck!
Hi! maangchi…. I love this Korean dish….
ps. the backgroun music is just too loud and disturbing :D
I can’t remove the music from the video. I am planning to remake the video. Meanwhile, just make ddeokbokki with the written recipe.
Hi Maangchi, I have a question for you… Is there any way if making korean “odeng”? my sister and I love dukkbokkie, but we like it with odeng. the preoblem is that we have no Korean store here in Mendoza, so we can’t buy it.
thanks for this recipe ^^!~
“*of making”, not “if making” :P
yes, I will post the recipe someday.
hi dear maangchi…im from iran and i didnt find any koreanshop in my city…there is no way to make the rice cake by myself???
Where can I find the rice cakes for the tteokbokkie?
It’s sold at a Korean grocery store. https://www.maangchi.com/shopping/
hi maangchi….im anna and from iran…iwant to bake it but i didnt find any korean shop here…so how can i bake it???
Hi Maangchi,
I was wondering, do you use dried anchovies in the mild ddukbokkie recipe as well?
no, check out my mild version recipe please.
i see you using fish cake on this recipe, is that optional or a must? because i can’t find any market that sell fish cakes in my city. Will the taste change if i didn’t use them?
Thank you^^
It’s optional. I actually like my ddeokbokkie without fish cake but many people seem to love their ddeokbokkie with fish cake.
hi maangchi :D
if it okay if im not used dried anchovy… will it turn bad or not.. please reply, thankz :)
How about using a can of chicken broth? The broth makes ddeokbokki more delicious.
My favourite recipe! Made this a lot of times at home and my family likes it too~ It tastes so yummy, I miss having these on the streets of Korea )’:
haha, your id is tteokpokki! You must be a tteokpokki lover! : )
Hi Maangchi!
Can anchovy stock (Dashida) be used instead of dried anchovies? If so, what is the appropriate amount?
I don’t use anchovy or beef stock (dashida), but if I were you, I would add 2 teaspoons first and add more if it needs it.
hi maangchi,
i have 2 questions and they are urgent
1. how many portions does this recipe make? for how many people?
2. i bough chicken broth, but it is clear chicken broth. so it is orginally liquid. it’s actually a soup. how much clear chicken broth do i use?
this is urgent. reply asap please!
This recipe is for 2-4 servings. There are 2 types of chicken broth: salted and unsalted.
Use it instead of water in the recipe if it’s unsalted. If it’s salted chicken broth, you will need to mix it with water before adding. Check out the taste to see if it’s bland or salty.
hi maangchi
if i dont use anchovies, will it taste BAD? or will it still taste okay?
please reply as soon as possible!!!
Hi Maangchi! I am new to Korean food. I’ve made bulgogi and that’s pretty much it for me. I didn’t have any anchovies or fish cake. I bought one of the hot pepper paste that I saw on your page. I made it with chicken broth instead, but it tastes funny. Almost like a mexican candy, which are usually spicy hot and sweet. I think it’s not suppose to taste like that right? I’m guessing it really needs the anchovies for the broth.
hey i just made ddeokbokki with chicken broth. and i think it tasted great. maybe its because you added too much sugar. you only need to add it if you think its way too salty. i used the chicken broth and it was amazing. so i dont think its the chicken broth thats the problem
maybe the type of hot pepper paste…. it just tasted like chili paste for candy like they use in mexico not for savory food. I have a feeling that’s the problem. What kind of hot pepper paste did you use?
Maanchgi: I have noticed that some people put their rice cakes in water for about 1 hr. Is that needed when they are frozen to defrost or when they are not frozen, do they still need to be soaked in water for 1 hr? I see that you didn’t soak yours. So I am asking. Thank you. ☺
If your rice cake is not hard, you don’t have to soak them in water before cooking.
Hi there. Today I made ddukbokkie using your recipe. It turned out fantastic! I am going to make this for my sister! Thank you for teaching us this amazing recipe! :)
Thank you for your update! Happy cooking!
HELP! I cannot get dried anchovies so I got anchovy paste. I have never cooked with anchovy paste before so I do not know how strong of a flavour it will have. Has anyone tried using anchovy paste in this recipe instead of making the anchovy stock? I was thinking of adding the paste in with the gochujang, the package says half a tsp for every anchovy fillet, so I think I will use 1 or 1 and a half tsp. Can anyone comment on this?
The reason I use dried anchovies is to make delicious stock, so you can replace it with a can of chicken or beef broth instead of anchovy paste.
Thanks Maangchi! I ended up using 1 tsp of anchovy paste and it turned out really well! I will definitely try beef broth sometime, sounds delicious. Thanks for your help!
Do you have a recipe for ramen ddubokkie together?!!
I would just cook the ramen and mix it in with the ddukbokkie.
Hi! I asked for the name of this dish called ”ddukbokkie” or” tteokbokki. In Vietnam tteokbokki with you call it. So the exact name of it? Thank you !
You can use both because there is no way to romanize the exact sound. ddeokbokkie, tteokbokki, or ddukbokkie
I have reading this for months and I finally made it tonight… At first I didn’t have enough hot sauce in it… But it was enough… I added some squid nuggets (made for hot pot) and it was perfect with the sweet spicy sauce… I am so happy to learn this dish :) yay
Hi Maangchi!! I love this recipe. It works, it’s simple, and it’s delicious! I love how a lot of your other readers have made this. It’s really really good. Thank you!
can i use store-bought “ddukbokkie sauce”?
yes, you can. I didn’t know “ddukbokkie sauce” is sold at a Korean grocery store. : )
Hi Maangchi :D,
First of all: I loooove your videos! ^^
Im trying to make ddukbokkie myself, so I bought the Red Hot Pepper Paste (fermented)/GOCHUJANG. I see some youtubers who make ddukbokkie without seasoning the Red Hot Pepper Paste/GOCHUJANG (without soysauce suger garlic etc) so now Im wondering should I season it or not? Does the Red Hot Pepper Paste/GOCHUJANG itself already has the seasoning?
Maangchi Annyeonghaseyo~
I’m a muslim. i really wish to eat korean foods.
I would like to know, if the rice cake and hot pepper paste are without pork content?
Kamsahamida~
Yes, no pork in it. : )