Tteokbokki
Translated to spicy rice cakes, it is one of the most central street food dishes in Korea. It is sold everywhere, literally all over the country and it seems Koreans love their tteokbokki as much as their kimchi! This is one of my favorite dishes to order whenever I am at a Korean restaurant with my friends and family. A large platter of spicy tteokbokki to share with everyone. I can’t wait to share the recipe with you. The best part is, it comes together so quickly. It takes me half an hour to whip this up and it’s so satisfying on it’s own or with a bowl of rice!
What is Tteokbokki?
Tteokbokki is a traditional Korean street food which can be usually purchased from street vendors also called “pojangmacha” in Korean. It looks like long and rounded cylindrical sticks of rice cakes. ‘Tteok’ is the Korean word for rice cake and ‘bokki’ means something fried. There are three variations of tteokbokki.
Classic Tteokbokki - What I am sharing today and the most popular version which is also a street food. It is cooked with gochujang (fermented hot pepper paste), starch syrup or sugar as well as fish cakes, boiled eggs and green onions. This is also known as the red and spicy tteokbokki
Gungjung Tteokbokki - The original form of tteokbokki which is made by frying beef and rice cakes with soy sauce, as well as vegetables, pine nuts and sesame seeds. It was developed in gungjung, Korean word for palace and known as the ‘Palace Tteokbokki’. Just like the name implies, this version was a main example of Korean haute cuisine.
Jjang Tteokbokki - The least popular version which is cooked in rich black bean sauce with hints of onions and green onions. This type of tteokbokki is savory but not spicy which is great for young children who can’t have the classic spicy version yet.
History of Tteokbokki
There are many hypotheses and controversy about the real origin of tteokbokki. According to scholars, the first tteokbokki in Korean history is said to appear in a cook book written in the late 1800s, during the Joseon dynasty.
However, tteok as in rice cakes has been in existence even before, since the Three Kingdoms period, between 1st century BC to 7th century CE. Considering that, it's not a stretch to assume that the history of tteokbokki is much longer than what appears to be in writing during the 17th century.
If you look at old literature or unearthed relics, the history of rice cake goes back to the primitive agricultural society. The origin of rice cakes began in prehistoric times when the coarse powder obtained from the primitive threshing process of multigrain was baked without cooking utensils.
Evolution of Tteokbokki
As mentioned before, the spicy version of tteokbokki was not the original version, but a product of constant evolution. Tteokbokki has a long history in Korean food history since it traces back to the royal palace. Given the origin of the rice cakes comes from the royal kitchen, for a long time it was considered a rare luxury dish, food of the bourgeois, part of the Korean haute cuisine. Through its history, the dish has evolved, but the one event that had an enormous effect on the solidification of its version we know today, is the Korean War.
The version that we are most familiar with and the one I am showcasing today, did not come to existence until the 1950s. Much like the birth of cake mixes and boxed foods in the United States after World War II, the modern version of tteokbokki was majorly affected by the surplus of flour provided from the United States military after the Korean War. It was done in an effort to alleviate the damage done by the decrease in agricultural produce due to war and as a means of supporting the Korean community.
The cooking style of tteokbokki is constantly going through changes and evolution. Recently, more efforts are in place to turn tteokbokki from street food culture to a food franchise due to the continuous demand for this dish among Korean people. Tteokbokki has, in a way, become its own genre of cuisine in Korea that it is fitting to say it even has an industry of its own. This dish holds sentiment to many, if not all Koreans. It is one of those dishes that represents not only the current culture of Korea but also the history of Korea as a country and culture, and the hardships that Korea faced as a nation through years of war.
Recipe — Spicy Stir-Fried Squid + Rice Cakes
Serves: 3-4
The featured ingredients in our Ojingeo Tteokbokki 오징어 떡볶이 are rice cakes and squid of course. I was craving both stir-fried squid #ojingeobokkeum and spicy rice cakes #tteokbokki and had a light bulb moment! Why not combine both?! I also added fish cakes, shrimp, and vegetables, because the more the merrier! But it is a rice cake and squid forward dish so as long as you have those two ingredients, you should be good!
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About Rice Cakes + Substitutes
There are two types of rice cakes - the long white cylindrical shape or thick sliced rice cakes. I used garaetteok - the long cylindrical rice cakes because that’s what was available and traditionally used. The thick sliced rice cakes that are oval shaped are usually used in soups called tteokguk. Depending on where you live, you can find these rice cakes freshly made, refrigerated, or frozen at Korean markets
Honestly, the shape of the rice cake is not super important, this recipe is all about fun, using ingredients available to you. If you can’t find rice cakes, you can even use any rice noodles, ramen noodles or even pasta. Just make sure to to prepare the rice cakes or noodles or pasta by following the directions of the package.
Preparing the Rice Cakes
Rice Cakes - 8 oz
Soak the rice cakes in hot water for 10 minutes, if they are fresh or even longer, up to 20 minutes, if they are hardened or frozen. I don’t recommend draining the rice cakes until they are to be thrown in the wok along with the rest of the ingredients. They can end up getting sticky after draining. Because this is a quick stir-fry, I time it accordingly - soak the rice cake first, prepare all the ingredients and start frying them in the 20 minute time span.
If 20 minute isn’t enough of a time for you, another option would be to drain the rice cakes and toss them in a little bit of sesame oil so they are coated and not sticky. This applies to Arafat because he is meticulous (also a noob in the kitchen) and likes to take his time doing mise an place aka prepping all the ingredients.
Preparing the Seafood + Vegetables
Squid - 8 oz
Fish Cakes | Eomuk - 8 oz
Shrimp - 6-8
Wash and clean the squid, pat dry to remove any excess water. Cut the squid into bite size pieces - you can cut it as ringlets or 3-4 inch bit size pieces like I did. Ideally I wanted to have all the seafood and vegetables to be the same shape and size as the rice cakes so I opted for rectangular pieces. That being said, if you are making this with rice noodles, I think squid ringlets would look nice!
Slice the fish cakes into same size as the rice cakes as well. Korean fish cakes are called eomuk and you can find it at any Korean or Asian grocery stores. If for some reason you can’t locate them, Japanese fish cake called oden or Vietnamese fish cake called cha ca are good substitutes.
Shrimp was totally an afterthought. I was going to make it a squid forward dish and it still was. But last minute I decided to throw in some shrimp as well. You can also add octopus, imitation crabs, clams and mussels. The more seafood the merrier!
Carrot - 1
Zucchini - 1
Jalapeno - 1, deseeded
Onion - ¼ cup
Scallions - 2, root and stems separated
Wash and clean all the vegetables. Cut the carrots and zucchini into batonnet cuts - small sticks, again the same shape/length as the rice cakes.
Clean, destem and devein (the white parts) the jalapeno peppers. Cut the peppers and onions into thin strips, maintaining the same shape and length.
Wash, clean and remove the bulb of the green onions. Separate the scallions in half from the white bottom and green top. Cut them into 3-4 inch length shapes, same as the rice cakes. The white parts will be cooked earlier with the seafood and the green parts will be used to garnish the rice cakes.
Making the Stir-Fry Sauce
Gochujang - 2 tbsp
Gochugaru - 4 tsp
Low Sodium Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Black Pepper - ¼ tsp
Sesame Seeds - 1 tsp
Water from Soaked Tteokbokki - 2-4 tbsp
Hondashi - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Combine all the ingredients above. Set aside.
Bringing it All Together
Vegetable Oil - 1 tbsp
Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 1 tsp, minced
Ginger - 1 tsp, minced
Salt - just a pinch
Directions
Heat a large wok over medium heat and add the vegetable oil and sesame oil. Swirl to coat.
Add the onion and jalapeno slices. Sauté until the onion turns translucent and the jalapeno slightly blisters, about 1-2 minutes.
Add the white parts of the scallion, garlic and ginger, continue sautéing until they are fragrant but not burnt, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Add the carrots and sauté them for about 5 minutes. Then add the zucchini, continue sautéing for 2 minutes. The vegetables should be slightly soft at this point.
Add the squid, shrimp (and any other seafood you opted for). Stir-fry the seafood until they are cooked but still tender, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the fish cakes and a pinch of salt, continue frying for another 1 minute or so.
Add half of the stir-fry marinade, toss everything together and keep stirring so the sauce doesn’t burn at the bottom, about 2 minutes.
Drain the rice cake completely and add into the wok, along with the rest of the marinade. Again continue stirring everything together, gently to make sure the rice cake doesn’t stick and the sauce doesn’t burn. Stir-fry for another 3-4 minutes.
Add the green parts of the scallions, toss everything together for a minute. Turn off the heat and keep it covered until ready to serve.
Garnish with sesame seeds before serving. You can eat it as a snack on it’s own or have it as a stir-fry side dish with plain sticky rice. Enjoy it with some kimchi and other banchans on the side! I served it with some gyeran jangjorim — soy braised eggs.
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We will be back with our final installment of the South Korean series next week. This is going to be our showstopper, the pièce de résistance before we end our feature on Korean cuisine (for now). That being said, if there is a particular dish you want me to make, do leave your request in the comment section below. I will continue to share easy and everyday recipes with you all. Also we love your feedback so let us know what you think. Bye for now! Annyeonghi Gyeseyo!
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