Tteokbokki is a popular Korean street food. It is stir fried spicy rice cake. This is a simple and easy tteokbokki Korean spicy rice cake recipe that takes around 20 minutes!
Love Korean foods? Check out these kimchi fried rice, japchae, kimchi tofu soup, kimbap, homemade kimchi, jajangmyeon and Korean ginseng chicken soup recipes.
What is Korean spicy rice cake?
It is a popular Korean street food for snacks or meals. Tteokbokki (떡볶이) means stir-fried rice cakes. Korean stir fried rice cake is spicy and non-spicy. However, spicy tteokbokki is a very common and popular one.
Often, Korean spicy rice cakes are cooked with fish cakes, boiled eggs and green onion. Then, it's seasoned with a spicy chili paste called gochujang. On the other hand, the non-spicy tteokbokki stir fry with soy sauce base sauce.
What are the ingredients for tteokbokki?
I want to make this easy tteokbokki dish less spicy. In this Korean spicy rice cake recipe, I used rice cakes, fish cakes, green onion, brown sugar, paprika, Korean chili paste, water and hondashi.
Normally, people use dried kelp and anchovy fish to make the stock for the sauce because of the savory flavor. To keep it simple and easy, I like to use hondashi which is a fish soup base powder.
Also, I added paprika instead of chili powder because it is less spicy but gives a nice red color. Besides, some like to use rice syrup to help with sweetness and consistency. But, I just use brown sugar and it tastes great!
Cooking tips for how to make easy tteokbokki recipe:
- Add hondashi into water and mix with chili paste, paprika and brown sugar.
- Put the rice cakes and fish cakes into the sauce and let it boil then turn on a small fire and simmer for 10 minutes covered with the lid.
- After Uncovering the lid and let it simmer until the sauce thickens.
FAQs:
The best to serve it right the way. However, you can keep them in the fridge for a couple days. Once it cools down or is refrigerated, the rice cake will be hardened.
The best way is to reheat it in a saucepan and add a little bit of water. However, I have tried to warm up in the microwave cover with a wet paper towel for 1-2 minutes.
Hondashi is a product brand name. It is a dashi for soup bases which gives a similar umami taste. Also, it’s a fish based powder for soups and a lot of Japanese and Korean like to use hondashi or dashi to make soup because it gives more flavor and is easier. 
Any Korean brands will work. Gochujang is Korean spicy red chili paste. It’s savory, sweet and spicy. You can find them at Asian stores with a red box like in this picture. 
It tastes spicy, a little bit sweet and chewy.
This easy tteokbokki recipe is more mild to medium. I used paprika instead of chili powder, so the taste is not too spicy. You can always adjust the amount of chili paste to your taste. I suggest adding 1 tablespoon at a time.
I used Korean fish cakes, it’s long and deep fried. 
Korean rice cakes are white, long, small and cylinder shaped. It calls tteokmyeon (떡면) means rice cake noodles or commonly named tteokbokki. It is chewy in texture and the taste is plain. Therefore, Korean like to use rice cakes to stir fry with spicy sauce or non-spicy sauce.
Instructions for how to cook Korean spicy rice cake:
- Cut 8 fish cake sticks into half.
2. Then, cut 2 sticks of green onion.
3. Turn on medium small fire, pour 2 cups of water into the non-stick pan. Then, add 1 tablespoon of hondashi and mix it well.
4. Next, add ½ teaspoon of paprika, ½ tablespoon of brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of Korean red chili paste. (If you want less spicy, you can add 2 tablespoons of chili paste or adjust to your spiciness.)
5. Mix the sauce very well.
6. After that, add 2 cups of Korean rice cake sticks into the sauce.
7. The following, add the cut fish cake sticks into the sauce. Mix it and make sure they are covered with the sauce.
8. Cover the lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. After, uncover the lid and keep stirring it once a while and let it simmer a few minutes until the sauce thickens a little bit.
10. Lastly, add the green onion, mix it well and ready to serve.
Enjoy this simple, delicious and easy tteokbokki Korean street food spicy rice cake recipe! Also, check out these soy sauce chicken wings, pork jerky, pan fried mochi and crispy teriyaki tofu recipes.
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Tteokbokki Korean Spicy Rice Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups Korean rice cake (sticks)
- 8 pieces Fish cake (Long ones)
- 2 sticks Green onion
Sauce:
- 2 cups Water
- 1 tablespoon Hondashi (Dashi, fish soup based powder)
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ½ tablespoon Brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Korean red chili paste (You can adjust to suit your spiciness.)
Instructions
- Cut 8 fish cake sticks into half.
- Then, cut 2 sticks of green onion.
- Turn on medium small fire, pour 2 cups of water into the non-stick pan. Then, add 1 tablespoon of hondashi and mix it well.
- Next, add ½ teaspoon of paprika, ½ tablespoon of brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of Korean red chili paste. (If you want less spicy, you can add 2 tablespoons of chili paste or adjust to your spiciness.)
- Mix the sauce very well.
- After that, add 2 cups of Korean rice cake sticks into the sauce.
- The following, add the cut fish cake sticks into the sauce. Mix it and make sure they are covered with the sauce.
- Cover the lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
- After, uncover the lid and keep stirring it once a while and let it simmer a few minutes until the sauce thickens a little bit.
- Lastly, add the green onion, mix it well and ready to serve.
Notes
Cooking tips for how to make easy tteokbokki:
- Add hondashi into water and mix with chili paste, paprika and brown sugar.
- Put the rice cakes and fish cake into the sauce and let it boil then turn on small fire and simmer for 10 minutes covered with the lid.
- After Uncovering the lid and let it simmer until the sauce thickens.
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