Tteokbokki (pronounced as tuhk-BOH-kee) are a typical Korean one-pot dish, belonging to the tteok category. They are glutinous rice dumplings, pan-fried with gochujang chili paste and topped with boiled eggs, scallions, and eomuk, a fish cake similar to Japanese naruto. This sweet and sour, spicy dish is very affordable and traditionally sold as street food or in diners. Easy to make at home, it's perfect for an Asian evening with friends or a special lunch.
To serve them, mix glutinous rice flour with water until a smooth dough forms, then steam-cook, covered, for 10-12 minutes. While still hot, transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough forms small loaves, which are then cut into slightly chewy cylinders.
Separately, prepare the sauce by combining the seed oil, a minced garlic clove, an anchovy, water, and kombu seaweed in a pan, then add the chili paste, soy sauce, and sugar. All that's left to do is cook the dumplings with the sauce until it thickens: the result is a hearty dish with an intense aroma, rich in umami.
What Do Tteokbokki Taste Like?
Tteokbokki has a bold, comforting flavor that’s both sweet and spicy. The chewy rice cakes themselves are mild and slightly savory, but they soak up the sauce, which brings heat, sweetness, and a deep umami richness. The overall taste is warming, a little fiery, and deeply satisfying, with a texture that’s soft yet pleasantly bouncy.
How to Cook Tteokbokki?
We used a bamboo basket, but you can opt for any steamer you have available: the important thing is to place a sheet of baking paper on the bottom, to prevent the dough from sticking to the sides of the pan you choose.
How to Serve Tteokbokki?
We finished it off with a soft-boiled egg, a sliced spring onion stalk, and some sesame seeds, but if you prefer, you can omit the egg or replace it with a few fried tofu sticks and use chopped chives instead of the spring onions.
Ingredients
How to Make Tteokbokki
Collect the glutinous rice flour and water in a bowl. For a flawless result, it is essential to use the right type of flour: normal rice flour is not suitable for this preparation.
Collect the glutinous rice flour and water in a bowl. For a flawless result, it is essential to use the right type of flour: normal rice flour is not suitable for this preparation.
Work the ingredients until you obtain a uniform mixture.
Work the ingredients until you obtain a uniform mixture.
Place it inside a bamboo steamer basket, lined with baking paper.
Place it inside a bamboo steamer basket, lined with baking paper.
Close with a lid and cook for 10-12 minutes on low heat.
Close with a lid and cook for 10-12 minutes on low heat.
Once the necessary time has passed, transfer the dough onto a work surface dusted with cornstarch and work it quickly while it is still very hot.
Once the necessary time has passed, transfer the dough onto a work surface dusted with cornstarch and work it quickly while it is still very hot.
Make some small loaves and divide them into cylinders 3-4 cm long and about 1.5 cm thick.
Make some small loaves and divide them into cylinders 3-4 cm long and about 1.5 cm thick.
Finely chop the garlic and brown it with a drizzle of oil and the anchovy until the latter has dissolved, then pour in the water and bring everything to the boil; finally, add the kombu seaweed and let it cook for 10 minutes.
Finely chop the garlic and brown it with a drizzle of oil and the anchovy until the latter has dissolved, then pour in the water and bring everything to the boil; finally, add the kombu seaweed and let it cook for 10 minutes.
Remove the seaweed, add the soy sauce, sugar and gochujang chili paste, then mix well until completely dissolved.
Remove the seaweed, add the soy sauce, sugar and gochujang chili paste, then mix well until completely dissolved.
Add the dumplings, bring back to the boil and cook until the sauce has thickened well: it will take about 5 minutes.
Add the dumplings, bring back to the boil and cook until the sauce has thickened well: it will take about 5 minutes.
Transfer the tteokbokki to a bowl and top the dish with a halved hard-boiled egg, sesame seeds and a stalk of spring onion, sliced into rounds. Enjoy!
Transfer the tteokbokki to a bowl and top the dish with a halved hard-boiled egg, sesame seeds and a stalk of spring onion, sliced into rounds. Enjoy!
Tteokbokki History and Origins
The first mention of tteokbokki appears in a 19th-century cookbook, the "Siuijeonseo"; it also describes the typical preparation of the royal court, called "gungjung-tteokbokki" and made with rice dumplings, sirloin, sesame oil, shallots, pine nuts and toasted sesame seeds, together with soy sauce and umbilicaria esculenta, a lichen that grows naturally in several areas of East Asia.
Over time, different varieties of tteokbokki have emerged, changing names depending on the ingredients used: for example, haemul-tteokbokki if with seafood, galbi-tteokbokki with beef ribs, but also rabokki and jjolbokki when served with instant noodles and Korean spaghetti.
The modern version of tteokbokki with gochujang sauce likely dates back to the 1950s, first made in Seoul's Sindang district, and then spread throughout South Korea in the 1970s. Today, rice dumplings made in this way are featured on Korean restaurant menus around the world, being one of the most iconic dishes. In the West, they have become particularly famous thanks to the Netflix series "Squid Game," in which some of the protagonists are seen eating them as street food.
Can I Make Them Less Spicy?
For a milder version of tteokbokki, try the soy sauce version: simply mix 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of mirin, 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of honey in a small bowl. Heat a drizzle of sesame oil in a wok, cook the dumplings in boiling water, drain, and sauté them in hot oil for 1-2 minutes to form a delicious crust. Add the prepared sauce, let it thicken for a few moments, then transfer to individual bowls and garnish with sesame seeds and chopped spring onion.
Can I Freeze Tteokbokki?
Uncooked, they can be frozen for up to 1-2 months: to do so, arrange them on a tray dusted with cornstarch, place them in the freezer for a few hours, and once they're completely cold, place them in a freezer bag and keep them in the freezer until needed.
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