Tteokbokki – the chewy rice cakes doused in spicy gochujang sauce – is a staple Korean dish that’s gaining popularity across the pond. Thanks to a confluence of Korean popular culture and accessibility, it’s becoming a hot item at restaurants and on grocery shelves in the U.S.
In Flushing, Queens, a new restaurant called Witch Topokki is aiming to fill in the gap with its AYCE (all-you-can-eat) DIY tteokbokki experience. The spot offers ten different iterations of the soft, chewy rice cake.
Traditional Tteokbokki Shop
Tteokbokki is one of Korea’s most popular street foods. They’re super easy to make and can be a great addition to any meal!
Tteok (rice cake) bokki is a traditional dish that’s been around for a long time. It’s a dish made from cylinder shaped rice cakes called garae-tteok and stir-fried in a spicy, sweet, and savory sauce. 떡볶이 프랜차이즈
The most common version is a spicy gochujang based sauce but there are other options to try. You can also find vegetarian versions of tteokbokki like ganjang tteokbokki (no sauce) or gungmul tteokbokki, which uses a dilution of doenjang (fermented soya bean paste).
It’s also easy to add a range of different ingredients to the dish, including chicken, fish, instant noodles, cheese, spam sausages and more. You can also add a range of vegetables, like cabbage, red bell pepper / capsicum and mushrooms.
Special Tteokbokki Shop
Tteokbokki is probably the most famous street food from Korea: chewy rice cakes simmered in a glorious mix of sweet, savory, spicy sauce that’s totally addictive.
The dish’s original incarnation, known as tteok jjim, was once a royal court favorite. But with the introduction of gochujang (Korean chili paste) in the 1950s, it became an affordable late night snack for Koreans everywhere.
It’s a simple dish to make, and is customizable to your personal taste. You can add any combination of vegetables or fish to this recipe.
In the original version of this dish, tteok (rice cakes) are stir-fried in a tangy and piquant red gochujang sauce. Savory elements like anchovy stock, dried kelp, and sesame oil add flavor.
Tteokbokki can be topped or stuffed with cheese, or served plain with a sprinkle of scallions and green onions. Cheese tteokbokki is popular at tteokbokki shops, and is easy to make at home.
Chunjang Tteokbokki
Chunjang Tteokbokki is a special type of tteokbokki that uses Garaetteok (bar rice cake) rather than the traditional flour-based tteokbokki. This dish is loved by young people and has become a popular street food in Korea.
This tteokbokki is cooked with a different kind of sauce called chunjang, which is similar to jajangmyeon sauce. You can find chunjang at most Korean grocery stores, or you can make your own if you have the ingredients at home.
Despite the fact that this is a new form of tteokbokki, it has already become wildly popular in Seoul. Its spicy hanchu ddeokbokki and kimchi fried rice with egg are two of the most popular dishes on the menu.
The owner of this tteokbokki shop has a knack for making dishes that are unusual yet mouth-wateringly delicious. Her tteokbokki (short rice cakes drenched in red-hot spicy sauce) is the perfect accompaniment to a well-fried tempura, and her giant gimbab (seaweed rolls of rice and fillings) are a must-try.
Jajang Tteokbokki
If you’re looking for a sweet and spicy K-street snack, you’ve come to the right place. At this tteokbokki shop in front of Jangchung Elementary School, you can get an incredibly addictive dish called Jajang Tteokbokki!
In this variant of tteokbokki, the rice cakes are soaked in a sauce based on ‘chunjang’ (cunjang), or black bean sauce. It is a very thick and smooth paste that looks like peanut butter, has an opaque brown color, and a fermented taste. 청년다방
It is a savory and slightly sweet black bean sauce that pairs well with the Korean rice cake, Garaetteok(bar rice cake). You can make this recipe with or without pork and it’s also gluten free.