Tteokbokki
Korea's most iconic street snack: chewy cylindrical rice cakes simmered in a thick, sweet-and-spicy gochujang sauce.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Serves
- 2
- Level
- Easy
Ingredients
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Method
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The story of this dish
The oldest form of tteokbokki is gungjung tteokbokki, a royal court dish of the Joseon era seasoned with soy sauce, with no chili heat at all.
The red, spicy tteokbokki known today appeared in the 1950s in Seoul's Sindang-dong neighborhood. According to the often-told story, a woman named Ma Bok-rim began cooking rice cakes with gochujang and selling them, and the area eventually became famous for its tteokbokki street. Today it is a staple of Korean street stalls and after-school snacking.
Korean Cuisine
Bibimbap
A Korean classic of warm rice topped with individually cooked vegetables, marinated beef and a fried egg, all mixed together with a sweet-spicy gochujang sauce.
Easy Kimchi (Mak Kimchi)
Korea's essential pickle: salted napa cabbage tossed in a garlicky, gingery chili paste and left to ferment for a few days.