Dish

Tteokbokki

Tteokbokki is a popular street food in Korea that is made with cylindrical rice cakes called tteok. The tteok are cooked in a spicy sauce made with gochujang (a Korean chili paste), soy sauce, and sugar. Other ingredients such as fish cakes, boiled eggs, and scallions are often added to the dish for extra flavor and texture. Tteokbokki is a spicy and satisfying dish that is perfect for cold weather or as a snack.

Asian cuisine› East Asian cuisine› Korean cuisine

Rice Dish

Origins and history

Tteokbokki has its roots in the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled over Korea from the 14th to the 19th century. The dish was originally made with tteok and soy sauce, but over time, other ingredients such as gochujang and fish cakes were added to the dish. Tteokbokki became a popular street food in Korea in the 1950s and has since become a staple of Korean cuisine.

Dietary considerations

Tteokbokki is a high-carbohydrate dish that is relatively low in fat and calories. However, it can be high in sodium due to the soy sauce and gochujang used in the sauce. To reduce the sodium content, you can use low-sodium soy sauce and gochujang, or make your own sauce from scratch using fresh ingredients. Tteokbokki is also gluten-free if you use gluten-free soy sauce and tteok.

Variations

There are many variations of tteokbokki, including gungjung tteokbokki (made with a soy sauce-based sauce), rabokki (made with ramen noodles), and cheese tteokbokki (made with melted cheese). Some versions also include vegetables such as cabbage or carrots.

Presentation and garnishing

To make the perfect tteokbokki, be sure to use high-quality ingredients, including fresh tteok and gochujang. It's also important to cook the tteok until they are tender but still chewy. Finally, be sure to adjust the spiciness of the sauce to your liking by adding more or less gochujang.

Tips & Tricks

If you want to make your tteokbokki even spicier, you can add some sliced jalapenos or other hot peppers to the sauce. You can also experiment with different types of tteok, such as sweet potato tteok or green tea tteok, to give your dish a unique twist.