Cooking in

Cranbrook · the Kootenays

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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.

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Serves4

Total25 min

Within reach0of 6 in Cranbrook

One elsewhere in British Columbia · five not yet within reach.

How the 6 are reached

Elsewhere in British Columbia: 1 · korean rice cakes (tteok)
Not yet within reach: 5 · gochujang sauce base (see below), fish cake (eomuk), sesame seeds, gochujang (Korean red chilli paste), soy sauce

Cook

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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 · KoreaElsewhere in British Columbia · Crazy Korean Cooking →

200 ml

gochujang sauce base (see below)

Not yet within reach of Cranbrook · each reach is counted

100 g

fish cake (eomuk)

sliced

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100 g

onion

sliced

Your own market

60 g

green onion

cut into 2 cm lengths

Your own market

garlic cloves

minced

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5 g

sugar

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2 g

kosher salt

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2 g

sesame seeds

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5 ml

sesame oil

Your own market

Gochujang Sauce

60 g

gochujang (Korean red chilli paste)

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30 ml

water

Your own market

15 ml

rice vinegar

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10 ml

soy sauce

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15 g

sugar

Your own market

Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.

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The Method

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) →

Blanch rice cakes in boiling water 2 minutes; drain and set aside (prevents sticking during cooking).

Heat 5 ml sesame oil in large skillet or shallow pot over medium-high; sauté onion and garlic 2 minutes until fragrant.

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.

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.

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