Spicy and Sweet Tteokbokki (Simmered Rice Cakes) with Fish Cake Broth
A 15-minute snack of simmered rice cakes made by simmering a sweet and spicy sauce into a fish cake and kelp broth.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
To recreate the street-cart taste of school days, fish cake and dried kelp broth are used as the base soup. Adding the fish cake and vegetables later, after the rice cakes have softened, prevents them from getting soggy and preserves their chewy texture. Fine chili flakes give the sauce a smooth finish and vibrant color in this spicy snack dish.
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Cook time
- 15 minprep not included
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Very spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Tteokbokki rice cakes20
- Square fish cake (eomuk)2 sheets
- Cabbage2 leaves (2 handfuls, chopped)
- Large green onion (daepa)1
Fish cake broth
- Square fish cake (eomuk)1/2 sheet
- Dried kelp (dasima)5 cm (square)
- Water2.5 cups
Seasoning
- Gochujang (Korean red chili paste)2 tbsp
- Regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang)1 tbsp
- Fine gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)1 tbsp
- Corn syrup (mulyeot)2 tbsp
- Sugar1/2 tbsp
- Mirin (cooking rice wine)1 tbsp
- Minced garlic1 tsp
- If you have anchovy broth, you can use that instead.
- You can also add other vegetables such as onion or perilla leaves.
Steps
1. In 2.5 cups of water, add 1/2 sheet of square fish cake (eomuk) and 1 piece of dried kelp (dasima, 5 cm square), then boil until it reduces to 2 cups of water (about 5 minutes).
If you have anchovy broth, you can use that instead.
2. Prepare 20 standard tteokbokki rice cakes.
Cut the square fish cake into bite-sized pieces, and slice the cabbage and large green onion (daepa) to a similar size as the fish cake.
You can also add other vegetables such as onion or perilla leaves.
3. Add all the seasoning ingredients to the fish cake broth and bring to a rolling boil.
At this point, chili powder is added to brighten the color and add heat;
using finely ground chili flakes rather than coarse chili flakes makes the sauce much smoother and gives it a prettier color.
Because the taste of gochujang differs from household to household, taste it first and adjust the seasonings.
I used store-bought gochujang; if you use homemade gochujang, reduce it by half a tbsp and increase the sugar by half a tbsp for the right flavor.
4. Add the rice cakes to the sauce and simmer until they turn soft.
5. Add the fish cake, cabbage, and large green onion all together...
If you simmer the fish cake right from the start along with the rice cakes, it will swell too much and lose its chewy bite.
Adding it toward the end lets you enjoy both chewy rice cakes and chewy fish cake.
6. Simmer until the vegetables have wilted, and it is done.
As you can tell just by looking at the sauce, it is quite spicy.
You know that addictive flavor that keeps you coming back even when it is spicy.
Ppunwife's tips
- Using finely ground chili flakes rather than coarse chili flakes makes the sauce much smoother and gives it a prettier color.
- If you use homemade gochujang, reduce it by half a tbsp and increase the sugar by half a tbsp for the right flavor.
- If you simmer the fish cake right from the start along with the rice cakes, it will swell too much and lose its chewy bite. Adding it toward the end lets you enjoy both chewy rice cakes and chewy fish cake.
FAQ
Can I use a different broth instead of fish cake broth?
You can use anchovy broth instead of fish cake and kelp broth.
How do I adjust the seasonings when using homemade gochujang?
If using homemade gochujang instead of store-bought, reduce the gochujang by half a tbsp and add half a tbsp more sugar for the right balance.
Why shouldn't I boil the fish cake with the rice cakes from the start?
Simmering it from the start for too long makes the fish cake swell and lose its texture, so adding it at the end with the vegetables keeps it pleasantly chewy.
What ingredients can I add besides the basic vegetables?
In addition to cabbage and large green onion, you can add vegetables like onion or perilla leaves according to your preference.
