Cooking in
Japan
Korean · Seoul
Tteokbokki
Tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) is Korea's most beloved street food — cylindrical garae-tteok (rice cakes) simmered in a fiery gochujang and gochugaru sauce with fish cakes and hard-boiled eggs. The rice cakes must be chewy but not hard; the sauce should be thick, glossy, and intensely spicy-sweet. It is sold by pojangmacha (street food vendors) throughout Korea and consumed with an intensity that borders on religious.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
400 g
Korean rice cakes (tteok)
sliced 1 cm thick
Origin · Korea
200 ml
gochujang sauce base (see below)
100 g
fish cake (eomuk)
sliced
100 g
onion
sliced
Your own market
60 g
green onion
cut into 2 cm lengths
Your own market
3
garlic cloves
minced
Your own market
5 g
sugar
Your own market
2 g
kosher salt
Your own market
2 g
sesame seeds
5 ml
sesame oil
Your own market
Gochujang Sauce
60 g
gochujang (Korean red chilli paste)
30 ml
water
Your own market
15 ml
rice vinegar
Your own market
10 ml
soy sauce
15 g
sugar
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Whisk gochujang, water, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and 15 g sugar until smooth and glossy sauce forms; set aside.
From the canon — Gochujang is one of the great fermented condiments of the world — a thick, brick-red Korean paste made from gochugaru (Korean red chilli flakes), fermented s… Gochujang (Korean Fermented Chilli Paste — Ratio and Use) →
2
Blanch rice cakes in boiling water 2 minutes; drain and set aside (prevents sticking during cooking).
3
Heat 5 ml sesame oil in large skillet or shallow pot over medium-high; sauté onion and garlic 2 minutes until fragrant.
4
Add gochujang sauce and bring to simmer; add blanched rice cakes, fish cake, and green onion; stir continuously 5–7 minutes until rice cakes are tender and sauce clings and thickens.
5
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and sugar; finish with sesame seeds and serve in shallow bowl with sauce.
III
Sensory Tests
◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where tteokbokki lives or dies is the final 3-minute simmer — as the rice cakes approach correct doneness, the starch released into the sauce reaches a critical concentration and the sauce transforms from a thin, watery consistency to a thick, coating glaze. Watch for the texture shift: the sauce changes from liquid to viscous, coats the back of a spoon, and clings to the rice cakes. Serve immediately at this point.
Pillar IV
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
V
What to Pour
The pairing
Shochu
From Japan
Nothing from Japan holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VI
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
The working kitchen