Bouncy rice cakes are simmered in a sweet and spicy sauce with fish cakes, onions, and green onions. This popular Korean street food is one of my favorite childhood dishes and comes together in less than 15 minutes!
what is tteokbokki?
Tteokbokki (떡볶이), or sometimes spelled “toppokki” is a staple Korean street food! This dish is made with chewy, bouncy rice cakes simmered in a sweet and spicy sauce with toppings such as onions, fish cakes, cabbage, and hard-boiled eggs. Tteokbokki is one of my favorite dishes and is so easy to make! Try eating this dish with a side of Kimbap, it is a match made in heaven 🙂
what you’ll need:
- Rice cakes: this can be found in the refrigerated section of Korean markets. They have cylinder-shaped rice cakes, star-shaped ones, and even round ones like the one I am using.
- Fish cakes: also called “eomuk” in Korean, this can be found in the freezer section of Korean markets.
- Onion: thinly sliced onion adds a delicious crunch to this dish.
- Green onion: adds another depth of flavor and pop of color!
- Anchovy Stock: I prefer using this anchovy broth coin mixed with water for convenience, but feel free to substitute it with vegetable or chicken stock.
Other toppings:
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Cabbage
For the sauce:
- Sugar: you can substitute it with the sweetener of your choice!
- Gochujang (Korean chili pepper paste)
- Soy sauce
- Gochugaru (Korean chili pepper powder)
- Garlic
all the details
If using refrigerated rice cakes, you’ll want to soak them in a bowl of warm water to slightly rehydrate them for about 5-10 minutes. If you’re using fresh rice cakes, soaking is not necessary.
Combine the sugar, gochujang, soy sauce, and gochugaru in a bowl. Set it aside.
In a shallow pot, add the vegetable stock and bring it to a boil on medium heat. Add the rice cakes, fish cakes, sliced onions, and the sauce mixture. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the green onions and cook for another 3 minutes.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
more recipes you may like:
- Spicy Beef Chili Oil Noodles
- Jeyuk Bokkeum (Korean Spicy Pork Stir-Fry)
- Spicy Garlic Udon
- Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew)
- Kimchi Udon Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice cakes
- 1 cups fish cakes
- 1/2 medium-sized onion, sliced
- 2 stalks green onion, chopped
- 1 anchovy broth coin
- 2 cups water
Optional additional toppings:
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 cup cabbage, shredded
Sauce base mix:
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon gochujang (Korean chili pepper paste)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon gochugaru (Korean chili pepper powder)
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced
Instructions
- If using refrigerated rice cakes, you'll want to soak them in a bowl of warm water to slightly rehydrate them for about 5-10 minutes. If you're using fresh rice cakes, soaking is not necessary.
- Combine the sugar, gochujang, soy sauce, and gochugaru in a bowl. Set it aside.
- In a shallow pot, add the vegetable stock and bring it to a boil on medium heat. Add the rice cakes, fish cakes, sliced onions, and the sauce mixture. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the green onions and cook for another 3 minutes. Serve immediately and enjoy!
