logo
Tteokbokki, beloved Korean street food

Tteokbokki, beloved Korean street food

Korea Herald23-03-2025
Tteokbokki is a beloved Korean street food, offering a perfect blend of chewy rice cakes, savory fish cakes and the bold, spicy-sweet flavors of gochujang sauce. This recipe captures the essence of this comforting dish with simple ingredients and easy-to-follow steps. For a richer taste, consider using an anchovy and kelp broth instead of plain water to deepen the umami.
Feel free to adjust the spiciness level by adding extra gochugaru (red chili powder) or incorporating vegetables like onions, carrots and green onions for added texture and flavor. Whether you're enjoying it as a snack or a meal, this dish is sure to satisfy your cravings for something flavorful and satisfying.
Try this recipe from the Hansik Promotion Institute.
Ingredients
500 grams cylinder shaped rice cake sticks
150 grams fish cake sheets
360 ml water
Gochujang sauce
3 tablespoons gochujang (red chili pepper paste)
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
Preparation
1. Rinse the soft rice cake sticks and drain. If the rice cakes are hard, blanch in boiling water until soft.
2. Cut the fish cakes into strips. Place the fish cake strips in a sieve and pour boiling water over them for degreasing.
Cooking
1. In a saucepan, add water, gochujang, soy sauce, sugar and corn syrup and mix them together.
2. Bring the sauce pan to a medium heat, and cook the rice cakes, stir occasionally with a wooden spoon.
3. Add fish cakes, and continue cooking until sauce thickens.
Tip
Use a rich brew of anchovies and kelp instead of water to make the dish tastier. More gochugaru and additional ingredients such as onion, carrot and green onion can be added if a spicier taste is preferred.
Serves 4.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Back from Japan, dragon-headed roof tiles and eaves offer glimpse of Joseon royal shrine
Back from Japan, dragon-headed roof tiles and eaves offer glimpse of Joseon royal shrine

Korea Herald

time2 days ago

  • Korea Herald

Back from Japan, dragon-headed roof tiles and eaves offer glimpse of Joseon royal shrine

Carefully kept in good condition, with even dancheong colors preserved, 4,982 parts of Gwanwoldang reflect its noble status, aesthetics From a distance, the beam appears no different from an ordinary piece of timber. But stepping closer, its surface reveals cracks and dents that reflect its age, along with faint inscriptions looking like the Japanese characters "ho" or "ma," indicating it was likely marked or labeled during its time in Japan. These are parts of the disassembled pieces of Gwanwoldang, thought to be a royal shrine from the Joseon era (1392-1910), which were taken to Japan during the country's colonial rule of Korea in the early 20th century. Officials believe the writings were added by Japanese carpenters when the structure was dismantled in Japan. It was the first time the structure's components had been unveiled since its return to South Korea in May at the Korea Foundation for the Traditional Architecture and Technology — an institution dedicated to collecting and conserving traditional building frame materials — in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. The parts came back under an agreement reached with Kotoku-in, a Buddhist temple in the neighboring country's Kamakura city, and the Korea Heritage Service and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation. The long-lost royal shrine is a traditional wooden structure spanning three bays in width. Its architectural style features symbolic patterns, including dragons, spider webs and bats — all of which are characteristics of royal shrines from the late 18th to early 19th-century Joseon period. Research suggests that Gwanwoldang's size and structure indicate it was a royal shrine built for a "Daegun," which is a title given to the son of the king and queen, Lee Kyu-cheol, Associate Research Fellow at the Architecture and Urban Research Institute, told reporters as he toured the press. A total of 4,982 parts — 1,124 pieces of timber, 3,457 "giwa," or traditional Korean roof tiles and 401 stone elements — were revealed during the public display of Gwanwoldang's components at the institution's storage. They include decorative eave supports known as "choyeop," which are wooden elements placed on the sides of large traditional buildings, especially palaces, and roof tiles featuring symbolic motifs ike dragons, a symbol of royalty in Korean culture, spiders and butterflies, highlighting the architectural details that reflect the shine's royal status and aesthetics. Each piece was carefully wrapped to keep it in good condition. The roof tiles, which are often prone to fragility, were cushioned in bubble wrap to protect them from breaking, while "dancheong," the traditional coloring on wooden buildings and artifacts, was protected with plastic and paper to shield the surface and paintwork from scratches, moisture, and abrasion. The storage facility tries to maintain humidity below 80 percent to protect the wooden materials. The KHS and the OKCHF said they would conduct detailed studies on Gwanwoldang's components, as well as explore ways to display the pieces to the public. The KHS also pledged to continue working on bringing Korean artifacts home. "Over 247,000 Korean cultural assets are held overseas. Among them, many were illegally taken, especially during times of war or during the country's colonial rule. Our agency is committed to bringing back those items to Korea," Huh Min, the newly-appointed chief of the KHS, told reporters during the event.

Learn traditional iron-making at NRICH's summer camp
Learn traditional iron-making at NRICH's summer camp

Korea Herald

time5 days ago

  • Korea Herald

Learn traditional iron-making at NRICH's summer camp

Some 40 participants will get a chance to learn about Korea's traditional iron-making through hands-on experiences, lessons The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and the Korea Cultural Heritage Association are jointly recruiting participants for a special iron-making camp to be held next month. Applications for the three-day camp, slated for Aug. 20-22 at the Jungwon National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, will be open from Monday through July 31. The camp is open to anyone interested in iron-making, regardless of nationality. While the program will be conducted in Korean, NRICH will provide English-language versions of the presentations to help non-Korean speakers better understand the content, an official at the institution told The Korea Herald. The program is free of charge. A total of 40 participants will be selected, and the final list will be announced on Aug. 4 via NRICH's official website. The iron-making camp is an educational program where participants can learn about Korea's traditional iron-making through hands-on experiences, while also exploring discoveries from archaeological excavations and experimental research in the field. The two institutions have jointly hosted the program every year since August 2021. Day two will feature a deep dive into iron-making sites from the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392), an exploration of traditional pig iron production techniques and a visit to Korea's first Iron Museum in Eumseong. On the final day, participants will attend a lesson on how ancient iron-making techniques are being revived today.

Baramtteok
Baramtteok

Korea Herald

time17-07-2025

  • Korea Herald

Baramtteok

Steamed rice cake dough is filled with sweet bean paste and shaped like a half-moon or with cute molds. It combines the nutty taste of dehulled red beans and the sweetness of white bean paste. Try this recipe by Jjilae. Jjilae is a digital creator specializing in traditional Korean desserts. Find more recipes on the YouTube channel Jjilae. Ingredients: 300 grams wet rice flour 6 tablespoons water 3 tablespoons sugar 1/8 teaspoon gardenia powder 70 grams dehulled red bean powder 140 grams white bean paste A little cooking oil to finish Instructions: Mix the water into the rice flour by hand, then add the sugar. Place the mixture in a steamer with a small opening in the center and steam it on a high setting for 15 minutes. Dry-fry the red bean powder on a low heat and mix it with white bean paste to make the filling. Shape the filling into 10 gram cylinders. While the dough is hot, knead it for at least 10 minutes using gloved hands. Mix 1/3 of the dough with gardenia powder to create a blue dough. Combine the white and blue dough pieces and roll out thinly. Place one of the cylinders of filling you made earlier on the rolled dough and wrap it. Press a mold onto the wrapped filling to form a shape. Reuse leftover dough to make more, brushing oil on top to finish. 1 day at room temperature 1 month in freezer

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store