Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) – Asian Recipes At Home (2024)

Make our easy Korean spicy rice cakes (tteokbeoki) recipe. Korean spicy rice cakes (tteokbeoki) is a very popular street food in Korea. This is the perfect spicy appetizer or snack.

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Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) – Asian Recipes At Home (1)

Our family just loves this recipe. It is so easy to make. This recipe also has a lot of great elements, such as spiciness, chewy texture, and umami-rich sauce. Our recipe is made of rice cakes, fish cakes, gochujang, Dasida beef flavor soup stock, and a few other common ingredients that are probably in your pantry already.

How Korean rice cakes (tteok) were made a long time ago

Before rice cakes were made automatically in machines and readily packaged at grocery stores, my mom remembers taking soaked rice to the rice cake (tteok) processing house where they had machines to specifically make fresh rice cakes (tteok). Tteokbeoki was traditionally made with leftover pieces from the rice cakes used to make Korean Rice Cake Soup (tteokguk).

My mom remembers her dad preparing their rice to take to the rice cake-making shop. He would soak the rice overnight and rinse the rice well. Then the next day, mom remembers them taking the rice to a rice cake (tteok) processing house. The owners of the rice cake (tteok) house would usually help their customers with the rice cake-making process. Mom remembers seeing her freshly made rice cake come out of the machine, they would then cut the fresh rice cake (tteok) from the machine, let it drop in a bucket of cold water, and then finally package it up and take it home to cook in their recipes. How cool?! After making Korean Rice Cake Soup (tteokguk) from nicely sliced and fresh rice cake, they would cut up the leftover rice cake into pieces to make Korean Spicy Rice Cake (tteokbeoki).

Rice cakes made for tteokbeoki today are easily found in Asian markets in the frozen aisle ready for you to thaw and use. There are also many different sizes and shapes of rice cakes available today.

Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) – Asian Recipes At Home (2)Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) – Asian Recipes At Home (3)

Rice cakes are used in many different Korean recipes

There are many different Korean recipes that utilize rice cakes. Here are some other dishes that use rice cakes:

  1. Non-spicy rice cakes (tteokbeoki) made with soy sauce (check out our recipe here)
  2. Korean rice cake soup (tteokguk) (check out one of our recipes here)
  3. A lot of Koreans also like to put rice cakes into their ramen (we added it to our instant ramen hack recipe)

We hope you enjoy our Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) recipe!

Need more spicy recipes to try?

  • Spicy Korean Cucumber Salad
  • Korean Spicy Poke Salad (Sallet) Side Dish (Muchim)
  • Spicy Korean Pork Belly and Squid Stir Fry
  • Korean Cold Noodles with Spicy Sweet and Sour Gochujang Sauce

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Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) – Asian Recipes At Home (4)

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Make our easy Korean spicy rice cakes (tteokbeoki) recipe. Korean spicy rice cakes (tteokbeoki) is a very popular street food in Korea. This is the perfect spicy appetizer or snack.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Rinse the rice cakes and drain well.
  2. Put a medium-sized pan onto medium-high heat. Add in olive oil and the rice cakes, stir well and cook until the rice cakes get soft (about 6-8 minutes). Add about a tablespoon of water at a time, so the rice cakes don’t burn to the bottom of the pan.
  3. Next, add the fish cake pieces and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
  4. Add the remaining ingredients to the frying pan and cook for another 2 minutes. Continue adding a tablespoon of water at a time to ensure nothing burns to the bottom of the pan.
  5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional). Enjoy!

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Asiandeliciouseasyfish cakesKoreanKorean reciperice cakesspicy

Korean Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbeoki) – Asian Recipes At Home (2024)

FAQs

Why is my homemade tteokbokki not chewy? ›

Though all rice cakes taste like pounded rice (even the ones made with brown rice vary little in their taste), the specific shape dramatically affects the texture. Thin slices are significantly less chewy than large, cylindrical rice cakes that are genuinely toothsome in the degree of their chewiness.

Is Korean spicy rice cake healthy? ›

While it may not be the most exciting food, rice tteokbokki is actually quite healthy. One serving of rice cake contains 5 grams of fiber, which helps to keep your digestive tract running smoothly. It's also low in calories (about 100 calories per serving) so you don't feel bloated after eating it!

What makes tteokbokki so spicy? ›

Gochujang: This red chili paste gives tteokbokki its signature fiery kick and imparts a deep, complex flavor. Gochugaru: Red chili flakes add extra heat and contribute to the dish's vibrant red color.

Do Korean rice cakes need to be soaked? ›

When it comes time to cook tteok, the biggest point of consideration is whether they need to be soaked and for how long. Both Maangchi and Kim agree that fresh rice cakes do not need to be soaked before using in recipes.

Do Korean rice cakes need to be refrigerated? ›

A: Avoid direct sunlight and store in a cool place. You do not need to keep it in the refrigerator. However, after opening the inner package (individual wrapping paper), it should be stored in the refrigerator.

How to tell if tteokbokki is cooked? ›

Stir gently with a wooden spoon when it starts to boil. Let it simmer and keep stirring until the rice cake turns soft and the tteokbokki sauce thickens and looks shiny, which should take about 10 to 15 minutes. If the rice cake is not soft enough, add more water and continue stirring until it softens.

Can diabetics eat Korean rice cakes? ›

Should people with diabetes eat rice cakes? Rice cakes are mostly quickly digesting carbs that will increase blood sugar levels, so on their own, they're not the best choice for people with diabetes.

Can you eat rice cakes everyday? ›

Eating rice cakes every day may not be healthy if you only consume ones made of refined grains, like white rice, that are high in added sugar. You may be able to add plain brown rice cakes, paired with healthy fats and lean proteins, to a balanced diet and increase your fiber intake.

What is the healthiest rice cake flavor? ›

Most of the flavored one have artificial flavoring and not the best quality ingredients. The best rice cakes are:*lightly salted quakers*lundberg brown rice *organics rice cake Safeway Buy the plain ones that way you can add your own toppings and make it a balanced snack!

What to mix with tteokbokki? ›

What other things can I add to tteokbokki ?
  1. Ramen noodles – you can add ramen noodles directly into the tteokbokki while it is cooking. ...
  2. Jjol Myun (쫄면) – this noodle is very stringy, chewy and adds great texture to the dish. ...
  3. Boiled eggs – make some hard boiled eggs and add it to the tteokbokki.
Jan 9, 2024

Why do Koreans love tteokbokki? ›

Street vendors that sell the snack with eomuk (fish cake) on a stick are ubiquitous on Korea's streets, attracting passersby especially in the cold winter. This is because the sweet and savory taste with a bit of a spicy kick remains irresistible to many Koreans, along with a chewy texture.

What to eat with Korean rice cakes? ›

4 Dishes That Go Well With Spicy Korean Rice Cake
  1. Stir-fried Noodles. Stir-fried noodles and spicy Korean rice cake might be a match made in heaven. ...
  2. Korean Soybean Paste Stew. ...
  3. Fried Chicken. ...
  4. Deep-fried Calamares. ...
  5. Adjust to your preference.

Can you eat tteokbokki raw? ›

“In Korea, there are fresh tteok stores, almost like bakeries. Whenever I go to visit my parents, I pick up fresh tteok; you don't even need to apply any heat, it's just like a piece of bread you eat fresh. But it's a perishable product in the sense that you should really enjoy it that day.”

Do I soak tteokbokki in warm or cold water? ›

Soak the rice cakes in a bit of warm tap water to loosen and soften them up. Make the sauce. While the rice cakes are soaking, mix together the tteokbokki sauce in a small bowl: gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, sugar, and garlic.

Is tteokbokki supposed to be very chewy? ›

Tteokbokki is chewy rice cakes cooked in a red, spicy broth. It's a popular Korean street food.

Why is tteokbokki hard to chew? ›

Overcooking: If you overcook the rice cakes, they can become hard and chewy. Make sure to monitor the cooking time and remove them from the heat as soon as they are tender and slightly chewy. High heat: Cooking the rice cakes at too high of a heat can also cause them to become hard.

How do you make rice cakes chewy again? ›

If the rice cakes are truly freshly made, you can just toss them to cook immediately. However, you need to soak them in warm water for 20-30 minutes if you use the refrigerated rice cakes. The soaking will make them soft and chewy again.

What texture should Korean rice cakes be? ›

Depending on the technique, the texture can range widely from soft and powdery, to thick and chewy, to light and crispy. Though industrial machines assist much of tteok production today, many people still make it by hand. Either way, it is a labor of love.

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