Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Korean

Tteokbokki

Non-vegetarian

떡볶이 · tteokbokki

Chewy cylinder rice cakes simmered in a sweet, spicy red chilli sauce with spring onion — Korea's best-loved street snack.

Tteokbokki is a Korean street food from South Korea, ready in about 25 minutes and made with korean rice cakes (tteok) and red chilli flakes. It serves 3 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Enjoy a vibrant plate of spicy Korean tteokbokki paired with a fresh vegetable salad.
Photo: Chan Walrus / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Total
25 min
Serves
3
Level
Easy
Calories
473

Ingredients

3 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Rinse the rice cakes and separate any that are stuck together.

    • 2 min

  2. Step 2

    Bring the stock to the boil in a wide pan and stir in the chilli flakes (opens in a new tab), soy sauce (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab) and gochujang (opens in a new tab) (if using).

  3. Step 3

    Add the rice cakes, fish cakes (opens in a new tab) and cabbage (opens in a new tab) and simmer, stirring often so nothing sticks, until the rice cakes are soft and the sauce is thick and glossy.

    • 10 min
    • medium heat

    Food safety: Fish cakes are sold cooked, but simmer them until piping hot right through.

    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Add the spring onion (opens in a new tab) and eggs (opens in a new tab) for the last minute, then sprinkle with sesame seeds (opens in a new tab) and serve hot.

    • 1 min
    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
South Korea · Well documentedMore food from South Korea
Dish
Lunch · Snack · Street food · Main courses
Cooking method
Simmered
Taste
spicy (chilli heat), sweet & spicy, savoury
Diet
Pescatarian · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-fat · Calorie-conscious
Without the optional extras: Egg-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food · Budget-friendly · One-pan
Cook more with
Korean rice cakes (tteok) · Red chilli flakes · Fish stock · Soy sauce · Sugar · Garlic
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Eggsfrom fish cake (eomuk / fish cake slices), egg
  • Contains: Fishfrom fish stock, fish cake (eomuk / fish cake slices)
  • May contain: Crustaceansfrom fish stock
  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom soy sauce, gochujang, fish cake (eomuk / fish cake slices)
  • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom soy sauce, gochujang, fish cake (eomuk / fish cake slices)
  • Contains: Soyfrom soy sauce, gochujang, fish cake (eomuk / fish cake slices)
  • Contains, can be adapted: Sesamefrom sesame seeds
  • May contain: Celeryfrom fish stock

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

473 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 425 g · recipe makes 3

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 16%
  • Carbohydrate 66%
  • Fat 18%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy473 kcal111 kcal
Protein19.3 g4.5 g
Carbohydrate79.3 g18.7 g
Net carbohydrate71.5 g16.8 g
Sugars14.9 g3.5 g
Added sugars8.4 g2 g
Fibre7.9 g1.9 g
Fat9.4 g2.2 g
Saturated fat1.9 g0.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol17 mg4 mg
Sodium1560 mg367 mg
Salt equivalent3.9 g0.9 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
616 mg
Calcium
233 mg
Iron
4.5 mg
Magnesium
70 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
81 µg
Vitamin C
19 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
1.9 µg
Folate (DFE)
81 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: gochujang, egg, sesame seeds.
  • Korean rice cakes (tteok): Gluten-free white bread made with rice flour (FDC 174100) used as a stand-in for plain cylinder rice cakes; energy and carbohydrate are similar, fat is somewhat overestimated.
  • Red chilli flakes: Ground cayenne (FDC 170932) used as a stand-in for dried chilli flakes such as pul biber or Aleppo pepper.
  • Fish cake (eomuk / fish cake slices): Surimi used as a stand-in; ready-made fish cakes are surimi bound with starch or flour and are often fried, so a little higher in fat and carbohydrate.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • The sauce thickens from the rice-cake starch — add a splash of water if it gets too thick.

Common mistakes

  • Walking away: rice cakes stick to the pan and burn quickly.

Serve with

  • Serve with kimbap, or add fish cakes and ramen noodles (rabokki).

Storage

  • Best eaten fresh; rice cakes harden in the fridge.

Reheating

  • Reheat in a pan with a little water until soft again.

Variations

  • Gungjung tteokbokki: The older royal-court style, stir-fried with beef, vegetables and soy sauce rather than chilli.
  • Rabokki: Add instant ramen noodles to the sauce.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like