Tteokbokki are chewy rice cakes stir-fried in a sweet, spicy sauce with umami-flavored fish cakes. It's a popular South Korean street food that is easy to make at home with simple ingredients in 20 minutes! Great as a snack or meal.
My version of this Korean food is slightly less spicy than the original version which is super spicy. But it's still spicy and not for the faint of heart!
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Tteokbokki (aka topokki or dukbokki) means "stir-fried rice cake" in Korean. You will find this served at many Korean restaurants or street vendors and shared between friends. It's a cozy red dish you'll also see featured in many Korean dramas as it's comfort food to South Koreans and I absolutely love it!
There are also different variations of this Korean dish, such as Rose Tteokbokki (creamy milder version), Jajang Tteokbokki (black bean version), Gukmul Tteokbokki (soupy rice cakes), and Gunjung Tteokbokki (a soy sauce version). The variations are endless
Ingredients & Substitutions
Please scroll down to the below Recipe card for full measurements
- Fresh or Refrigerated Korean Rice Cakes: Korean rice cakes are white, cylindrical and 2-3 inches long and made of a combination of wheat flour and rice flour grounded from short-grain rice. They have a bouncy chewy texture and come in various shapes and sizes (like flat discs to extra long). Avoid using the frozen kind for best results - read why below.
- Cold water: or substitute with vegetable broth, chicken broth or anchovy broth for extra flavor!
- Korean fish cakes: these come in sheets that are about 7 x 4 inches in dimension. You can find them in the refrigerated section at the Asian grocery store. Or substitute with fish balls. If you're not a fan of fish cakes, substitute with sliced bacon, or hard-boiled egg.
- Dried kelp: this offers umami flavor to the stock - do not skip!
- Green onions
- Sesame seeds: substitute with sesame oil. If you're allergic, omit altogether.
Tteokbokki Sauce
- Gochujang: a Korean red chili paste that is sweet, spicy and smoky. It's made of red chili flakes, fermented soy beans, glutinous rice and salt and commonly used in Korean cuisine. Gochujang is sold in different spice levels so make sure to get the mild kind if you're new to spice. It usually comes in a smaller or larger red plastic rectangular tub at the Korean grocery store in the sauce aisle.
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
- White granulated sugar
- Garlic
- Gochugaru: Korean chili flakes made of dried red peppers. These offer a lot of red color and spice to our dish. They can come in a large plastic package or in smaller plastic containers. Pro Tip: If you buy the big bag, you can freeze the chili flakes to extend the usage for months! I do this all the time with a new pack.
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients
Fresh or Refrigerated vs. Frozen Rice Cakes?
Pro Tip: I recommend using and buying fresh rice cakes or refrigerated rice cakes at the Korean market. You can usually find the fresh kind at the front of the supermarket.
I don't recommend using frozen rice cakes as they easily splinter from my experience because they are hard, cracked and dry. But if you only have frozen ones, soak them in warm water for at least 20-30 minutes to help them acclimatize and rehydrate. I also don't recommend using re-frozen rice cakes that were thawed already as this is a sure way to have splintered rice cakes.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh or refrigerated rice cakes best results. The fresh or refrigerated kind is more chewy and moist. They also don't splinter as easily in the sauce like frozen ones do.
- Soak rice cakes in warm water. They need to be acclimatized to warmer temperature before adding to the hot bubbling sauce to prevent splintering.
- Use a non-stick pan for easy clean up. Rice cakes are sticky so it's best to use a non-stick pan for this recipe.
- Do not overcook the rice cakes. Once they're chewy and fork tender, remove them off heat or they will become mushy and will eventually splinter.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make tteokbokki:
Prepare Rice Cakes
Soak rice cakes in warm water for 5 minutes to help them rehydrate and adjust them to room temperature. Strain the liquids.
Create Sauce
In a bowl, combine sauce ingredients until well combined and set aside.
Create Broth
In a non-stick pan, add water and dried kelp. Bring to boil.
Add Sauce
Once it reaches a boil, mix in sauce until combined with water. Bring to a boil.
Add Fish Cakes, Rice Cakes & Green Onions
Add fish cakes, rice cakes and green onions. Lower heat to medium heat. Let it simmer for 10 minutes uncovered, until sauce has thickened.
Reduce Sauce & Garnish
Once sauce has thickened, remove off heat. Garnish with sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Storage & Reheating
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
- To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes or reheat on the stovetop in a pan on medium heat until hot.
- Freezer-friendly? No, unfortunately they will turn hard with the cold. They're best consumed immediately.
Pairing Suggestions
There are various ways to enjoy these spicy Korean rice cakes as the sauce is so flavorful and pairs with many delicious ingredients. I love to enjoy my tteokbokki with fried mandu (Korean dumplings), hard-boiled eggs, gimmari (crispy fried seaweed rolls), Korean blood sausages or with instant ramen boiled in the sauce.
FAQ
If they're come frozen or were re-frozen, they can develop cracks in the rice cake causing them to split apart in the sauce. I always recommend to soak the rice cakes in warm water for at least 5 minutes or even longer to prevent splintering.
I recommend reducing the gochugaru and gochujang. You can even leave them out of the sauce mixture and then add them to taste into the broth so you can adjust the levels.
Other Korean recipes you may like!
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Tteokbokki
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups Korean rice cakes
- 2 cups water or vegetable stock for more flavour
- 1 cup Korean fish cake sliced into triangles or strips (or sub with Fish Cake Balls)
- 4 pieces dried kelp
- 2 stalks green onion chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon Sesame seeds (optional garnish)
Sauce:
- ½ tablespoon gochujang mild type
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 3 tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon gochugaru
Instructions
- Soak rice cakes in warm water for 5 minutes. Strain the liquids.
- In a bowl, combine sauce ingredients until well combined and set aside.
- In a non-stick pan, add water and dried kelp. Bring to boil.
- Once it reaches a boil, mix in sauce until combined with water. Bring to a boil.
- Add fish cakes, rice cakes and green onions. Lower heat to medium flame. Let it simmer for 10 minutes uncovered, until sauce has thickened.
- Once sauce has thickened, remove off heat. Garnish with sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Abbie
This looks amazing! I have some frozen rice cakes and have been looking for a recipe that isn't spicy so am definatly going to try this (with a few substitutes for the other Korean sauce ingredients as I don't have an Asian market anywhere near me). I just have a few questions before I make it:
What could I substitute the fish cakes with that I can get easily?
Can I freeze the spare portions?
If I was to add meat to this (such as chicken or pork), when would I add this and should it be fully cooked before adding?
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for your kind words, Abbie! To be clear, this recipe is still spicy but just less spicy than the original kind. If you want it less spicy, reduce the gochujang by half the amount and don't add gochugaru. You can always add more of these ingredients later after the sauce has simmered (do a taste test).
If you plan to use frozen rice cakes, soak them in warm water to acclimatize them for at least 15 mins or they will splinter in the hot bubbling sauce.
Fish cakes can be substituted with halved fish balls, sliced bacon, sausage, spam, chicken or pork for some depth. Just be sure to cook the meat through (no longer pink inside) and you can add it the same time you add the fish cakes.
I don't recommend freezing the leftovers as the rice cakes will turn hard even after reheating. Hope this helps!
Maryam
I don't have green onion can i leave that out?
Christie Lai
Yes!
Maryam
Can i leave the fish cake out?
Christie Lai
Yes but just note that the sauce will lack a depth of flavor to it. I would suggest flavoring the sauce with some chicken bouillon powder or oyster sauce.
Emma Cribb
My husband does not like fish. Do you recommend subbing something else for the fish cakes, or is it okay to just leave them out?
christieathome
You can substitute with fried tofu pockets. Most Asian grocers will carry these. Hope this helps!
Anna
For the sauce, "2 tablespoon regular soy sauce or sub with 3 tablespoon light soy sauce", is the light soy sauce here the same as low-sodium soy sauce?
My family is not into spicy things so this recipe it exactly what I'm looking for! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
christieathome
You're welcome! This recipe still has a kick but less spicier than the original Tteokbokki so if you're family really isn't into spicy things, I would add the gochujang to taste as you mix the taste. Light soy sauce is actually saltier than low-sodium soy sauce here in Canada. You may use light but I would add to taste as you combine the sauce.
Ruby
Delicious! My hubby and I tried tteokbokki and it was so good but also a little too spicy for us. This recipe is perfect, still has amazing flavor but a more manageable amount of spice. Everyone should try making this, it’s so so good!
christieathome
Hi Ruby! Thanks so much for making my tteokbokki! I'm so happy that you and your husband enjoyed this milder version of Korea's iconic dish. I appreciate your kind review. Have a lovely day!
MAHFOODHA
Hi.. lovely recipe.. I just wanted to enquire about the nutrition value .. is it per serving or is it for the full quantity?
christieathome
Hi there! Thank you so much! Yes it would be per serving. Hope this helps!
Julie
That was delicious, okay so I didn’t have fish cakes and the asian grocery store is super far, but I had some sausage and it was a great add, tasted fabulous with your sauce, thanks for sharing ☺️
christieathome
So happy to read this kind comment! I’m glad it worked out with some sausage instead! Thanks for making my recipe!
Toinetté
I'm vegetarian (ish), so I just omit the fishcakes and added some extra spinach instead.It had enough spice to be tasty, but not so much that I was left panting and I'm search of milk.
I added a splash of extra soya sauce and a dash of sesame oil at the end.
Very yummy!! I saved this recipe to use again.
Thank you!!!
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Toinetté! So happy you enjoyed it with the omissions and substitutions 🙂
Liz
Ah yes, I tone down the heat for my husband too! lol
I have to make my rice cake softer because of my jaw and we don’t put fish cake. But, I’ll add cheese to my husband’s when he has a beer 🙂
I’ll definitely have to try it with the vegetable broth instead of just water—I’m on a high sodium diet so that will by help! I love spicy rice cakes.
christieathome
I hope you enjoy them! Always good with some beer and some cheese over top! YUM!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
Your tasty blend of spicy, sweet, and chewy in this dish serves up some real tastebud happiness. YUM!!
Sachiko Hagiya
This tteokbokki recipe was delicious!! As, someone who cannot handle spicy, it was a perfect mix of sweet and spicy:) The recipe was very easy to follow and quick to make! Thank you Christie for sharing this recipe with us!
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe Sachiko! I am so glad you liked this mild version of my tteokbokki! Happy Holidays!
Never Ending Journeys
These rice cakes look so incredibly delicious! I love all of the different flavors and textures combined to make these - such a treat. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Kim Lange
Wow! This looks incredible Christie and I love it's vegetarian! Win-Win! Pinning! xo
Iris
Perfect amount of heat, saltiness and sweetness. This recipe is foolproof!
christieathome
Thank you Iris! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for making my recipe!
Nyasha
Lovely recipe! I always love to read other people make ddukbokki because there is always something different to others especially yours. I hope you can have a look and comment mine too here: http://nyamwithny.com/nyam-recipes-ddukbokki/ I always find it good to add sesame oil and sesame seeds.
The combination with bulgogi is so nice but I always find it better to be seperate however but love the post!
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
Thanks for sharing all the process shots! It looks so delicious, I'll have to give this one a try!