Tteokbokki - Spicy stir-fried rice cakes
Tteokbokki, a spicy stir-fried rice cake dish, is a highly popular Korean street food and a delicious comfort food you can easily make at home. The spicy, slightly sweet, and chewy rice cakes are simply addictive!
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 20 min
- Yield
- 3 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 pound tteokbokki tteok 떡볶이 떡 (about 24 3-inch long rice cake pieces) (See Note 1)
- 1-2 eomuk 어묵 (fish cake) sheets
- 4 ounces green cabbage (yangbaechu, 양배추)
- 1-2 or scallions
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 8-10 medium to large dried anchovies (마른멸치), about 0.5 ounces (15 grams)
- 1 piece dasima (dried kelp), about 3-inch square
- 1/4 medium onion, roughly sliced
- 3 cups anchovy broth (or water (use 4 cups for more sauce))
- 3 tablespoons gochujang, 고추장 (See Note 2)
- 1-3 teaspoons gochugaru, 고추가루 (See Note 3)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar (use 1 tablespoon for less sweet tteokbokki)
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup (or oligo syrup) - use more sugar if not using
- 2 boiled eggs
Instructions
- 1
Soak the rice cakes for about 20 minutes (can be longer for refrigerated rice cakes).
- 2
Cut the fish cake, cabbage, and scallions into about 2-inch long pieces.
- 3
To a large pan, add the dried anchovies, dried kelp, and onion along with 5 cups of water. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat, and continue to boil for 10 minutes. Reduce it close to medium if your heat is very high. Remove the anchovies, dasima and onion from the broth.
- 4
Add the sauce ingredients to the pan, stirring to dissolve the red chili pepper paste (gochujang).
- 5
Add the rice cakes. Boil until the rice cakes become very soft and the sauce is thickened, about 8 - 10 minutes. This can take longer, depending on your rice cakes. Stir frequently so the rice cakes don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- 6
Drop the vegetables, garlic, and fish cakes in. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, for an additional 4 - 6 minutes. Depending on rice cakes, you may need more time to reach a desired level of softness. Add more broth or water as necessary. Drop in the scallions and boiled eggs with 2 to 3 minutes remaining. Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve hot.