Street Style Tteokbokki
By Judy Joo
Published on 14 November 2025
"I have so many awesome memories of eating this spicy rice cake dish on the streets of Seoul after a late night clubbing! Chopsticks were hardly ever given out, only toothpicks, so we had to skewer these chewy rice cakes with great skill to avoid dropping them. To make a vegetarian version, use bean curd sheets, which have a similar texture to fish cakes, but are slightly chewier." says Judy Joo.
Time and servings
30 minsTotal time
4Servings
20 minsPrep time
10 minsCooking time
Ingredients
- 450g gaerae-tteok (cylindrical Korean rice cakes)
- 200g eomuk (fish cake sheets), cut into triangular pieces approx. 7.5cm long (or 120g dried bean-curd sticks or sheets for a vegetarian alternative)
- 1 dashima stock bag (Korean stock tea bag)
- 270g Chinese leaf cabbage, cut into 2cm pieces
- 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 210g gochujang
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)
- 2-3 large eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and quartered lengthways
- 2 salad onions, thinly sliced
Method
Step 1
In a large wide pan, drop the stock bag into 1L of water, and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat and allow to steep further. Keep warm.Step 2
If you’re making the vegetarian option, put the bean curd sticks or sheets in a heatproof bowl and pour over just enough boiling water to cover. Once rehydrated, drain and cut into 7.5cm pieces. Set aside.Step 3
Place the gaerae-tteok in a large bowl and cover with warm water. Set aside to soak.Step 4
Bring the stock back to a simmer over medium low heat. Add the Chinese leaf cabbage, carrots, onion, garlic, gochujang, sugar, soy sauce and gochugaru. Stir to combine well and simmer for 5 mins.Step 5
Drain the tteok, then add them to the pan along with the eomuk (or the rehydrated bean curd). Cook for about 5 mins, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the tteok are softened.Step 6
Spoon the tteokbokki onto serving plates. Nestle the eggs in the sauce, top with the salad onions and serve immediately.