Tteokbokki Recipe

Sharp spicy delicious sweet Tteokbokki is smooth, delicious comfort food in a bowl: stunning to the eye and bursting with flavor, it will make you break into a happy sweat. The tender chew of Korean rice cakes is enticingly satisfying, the heat of the chili is confusing and addictive: you fall in love faster than your brain can process. Add some crunchy green onions and delicious fishcakes and you’ve got yourself quite the meal.

There are many variations of teokbokki, which translates to “fried fried cake”: Gungjong-teok-bokki is the Joseon-era royal court version that uses beef, various vegetables, and a soy sauce base; Ra-bokki is served with the addition of instant ramen noodles in a soupier base. Our recipe here is for a gochujang-based tetokbokki, a red-hot, sweet-spicy version often served as street snacks and bar food. Here are some tips for making this dish at home.

Homemade Anchovy Broth

A staple of Korean cooking, dried anchovies add an important umami flavor that forms the flavor base of tetokboki. This recipe uses a homemade broth that combines salty dried kelp and sweet, earthy dried shiitake mushrooms with toasted dried anchovies to give them a mild seafood flavor. If dried anchovies and kelp are not available in your local store, dashi packets are available online which would be a good substitute. In a pinch, you can skip the homemade broth and substitute vegetable or chicken broth or water.

Spice level

There are two sources of heat in this dish: gochujang, Korean red pepper paste, and gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes. Gochujang is sweet, salty and spicy, with an aromatic fermented glutinous rice note. Gochugaru is half between your standard crushed red pepper flakes and Aleppo pepper: beyond just being spicy, it’s aromatically smoky and sweet, with a hint of freshly chopped green bell pepper. Feel free to reduce or increase the amount of spicy ingredients depending on your personal taste.

A touch of sweetness and tang

To balance the spices and make the sauce extra shiny, we are adding a tablespoon of honey. Any kind of sugar will work here: granulated, brown, corn syrup, brown rice syrup—so use whatever you like or have on hand! Don’t forget to add a few teaspoons of vinegar to brighten the mixture with a delicious, ketchup-esque kick.

addition

We’re using fish cakes in our tteokbokki but you can go any direction you like at home with extra ingredients to bulk up the dish: cabbage, a brick of instant ramen, a boiled egg, or personalize it with mushrooms, kelp, and zero waste cooking. Leftover anchovies from making broth for!

Reheat leftovers

Served as a main, this recipe will feed two very hungry souls or three picky eaters. If serving only as a side dish or snack, leftovers will store well in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. While reheating, stir in water or broth as needed to achieve desired sauce consistency: this can be done in the microwave or on the stovetop.

If you’ve made this recipe, we’d love to hear how you liked it! Be sure to leave us a note and a rating below.

YIELDS:	PREP TIME:	TOTAL TIME:
2-4 serving(s)	15 mins	1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

FOR THE HOMEMADE ANCHOVY BROTH

1 oz. dried anchovies, gutted (about 40 small anchovies)

6 c. water

12 dried shiitake mushrooms

6″ square piece dried kelp

3/4 tsp.

kosher salt

FOR THE TTEOKBOKKI

1 lb. Korean rice cakes

1 tbsp. grapeseed oil

1 tbsp. gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes)

1/4 c. gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste)

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce

2 tsp. white vinegar

1 tbsp. honey

2 to 3 c. anchovy broth, divided

6 oz. Korean fish cakes, cut into bite-sized triangles

3 green onions, sliced into 2″ pieces, plus more for garnish

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

Step 1

To make homemade anchovy broth: In a large pot over medium-low heat, toast anchovies until very lightly golden, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Add in water, mushrooms, and salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, then add in kelp and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain, reserving kelp, mushrooms, and fish for another use, if desired.

Step 2

Meanwhile, if using hard, refrigerated rice cakes: Separate cakes if they are stuck to each other, then rinse in cool water and drain. Transfer to a large bowl and cover cakes with 3 cups of hot water. Let soak for 15 minutes, until softened. Drain and set aside.

Step 3

In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add gochugaru, gochujang, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, and honey and stir until combined and fragrant, 1 minute. Add 2 cups broth and bring to a boil. Add in soaked rice cakes and cook until cakes are tender and soft, stirring often, about 10 minutes.

Step 4

Add in remaining broth as needed to loosen sauce to desired consistency. Add in fish cakes, green onions, and sesame oil, and cook until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.

Step 5

Garnish with more green onions and sesame seeds before serving.