Cooking in

Squamish · the Sea to Sky

Nearest city · Vancouver Change

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›

Serves4

Total25 min

Within reach7of 11 in Squamish

Five in town · one shipped · one in Vancouver · four not yet within reach.

How the 11 are reached

In town: 5 · onion, green onion, garlic cloves, sugar, sugar
Shipped to you: 1 · korean rice cakes (tteok)
In Vancouver: 1 · gochujang (Korean red chilli paste)
Not yet within reach: 4 · gochujang sauce base (see below), fish cake (eomuk), sesame seeds, 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 · KoreaShipped to you · Wismettac → · also Bosa Foods, SGC Food Distributors · 2 more

200 ml

gochujang sauce base (see below)

Not yet within reach of Squamish · each reach is counted

100 g

fish cake (eomuk)

sliced

Not yet within reach of Squamish · each reach is counted

100 g

onion

sliced

In town · Kitchen Quickies →

60 g

green onion

cut into 2 cm lengths

In town · Kitchen Quickies →

garlic cloves

minced

In town · Kitchen Quickies →

5 g

sugar

In town · Kitchen Quickies →

2 g

kosher salt

Your own market

2 g

sesame seeds

Not yet within reach of Squamish · each reach is counted

5 ml

sesame oil

Your own market

Gochujang Sauce

60 g

gochujang (Korean red chilli paste)

In Vancouver · Bosa Foods → · also Angel Seafoods, Atkinson's of Vancouver

30 ml

water

Your own market

15 ml

rice vinegar

Your own market

10 ml

soy sauce

Not yet within reach of Squamish · each reach is counted

15 g

sugar

In town · Kitchen Quickies →

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.

The larder of Squamish →

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

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

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