Easy Tteokbokki Recipe – Korean Spicy Rice Cakes

Tteokbokki (떡볶이) is one of Korea’s most popular comfort foods. These soft and chewy Korean rice cakes are simmered in a deliciously spicy, sweet and savoury gochujang sauce.

This easy tteokbokki recipe uses simple ingredients and takes about 20 minutes to make at home. It is perfect for a quick Korean snack, lunch or comforting dinner.

What is Tteokbokki?

Tteokbokki is a classic Korean dish made with Korean rice cakes (tteok) cooked in a spicy sauce made with gochujang, soy sauce and sugar.

You will find tteokbokki everywhere in Korea, from traditional street food stalls to restaurants and markets. Every family has their own version, and you can easily adjust the sauce to make it sweeter, spicier or more savoury.

The most important ingredient is gochujang, a fermented Korean chilli paste that gives tteokbokki its distinctive flavour.

Easy Tteokbokki Recipe

Serves

2–3 people

Preparation time

10 minutes

Cooking time

10–12 minutes

Ingredients

• 400g Korean rice cakes (tteok)

• 500ml water or light stock

• 2 tablespoons Ginger’s Pantry Gochujang

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 1 tablespoon Korean chilli flakes (gochugaru), optional

• 1 small onion, sliced

• 2 spring onions, sliced

• 2–3 Korean fish cakes, sliced, optional

• 2–3 boiled eggs, optional

How to Make Tteokbokki

1. Soak the rice cakes

If your rice cakes are refrigerated or firm, soak them in warm water for about 10 minutes. Drain before cooking.

2. Make the tteokbokki sauce

Add 500ml of water or light stock to a wide pan.

Add the gochujang, soy sauce, sugar, minced garlic and gochugaru. Stir well until the gochujang has dissolved.

3. Add the rice cakes

Add the rice cakes, sliced onion and fish cakes to the pan.

Bring everything to a gentle boil.

4. Simmer until thick

Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 8–12 minutes.

Stir occasionally to prevent the rice cakes from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

As the sauce cooks, it will become thicker and beautifully coat the rice cakes.

5. Add spring onions

Add the spring onions during the last 1–2 minutes of cooking.

Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. Add a little more sugar if you like your tteokbokki sweeter, or more gochujang or gochugaru if you like it spicy.

6. Serve

Serve your tteokbokki hot with boiled eggs.

Enjoy while the rice cakes are soft, chewy and covered in the spicy gochujang sauce.

 

The Easy Ginger's Pantry Tteokbokki Shortcut

Want to make delicious tteokbokki without buying lots of different ingredients for the sauce?

Try our Ginger's Pantry Gochujang + Kimchi Paste.

Simply mix 2 parts Gochujang with 1 part Kimchi Paste to create a rich, flavourful tteokbokki sauce. Our Kimchi Paste adds extra depth, umami and a delicious fermented flavour, so you don't need to add sugar, garlic, soy sauce or other seasonings.

All you need is:

• Korean rice cakes (tteok) : 200g

• Water: 1cup

• Spring onion: 1 piece

• Fish cake: 2 sheets

Mix 2 parts Ginger's Pantry Gochujang + 1 part Kimchi Paste, add it to water( 1tbsp of sauce, and 1 cup of water) , then simmer with your rice cakes and fish cake until the sauce becomes thick and glossy. Finish with spring onion.

Making it vegan?

No problem! Simply leave out the fish cake and use tofu puffs instead. They soak up the spicy, savoury sauce beautifully.

It's an easy way to make delicious Korean tteokbokki at home with just a few ingredients.

Buy Ginger's Pantry Gochujang and Kimchi Paste and make your next bowl of tteokbokki the easy way.