Introduction

Tteok (떡) is the Korean word for rice cake. It covers a huge family of foods made from rice flour or steamed rice, from savory cooking rice cakes to colorful sweet desserts.

Tteok has deep roots in Korean culture. It is shared at birthdays, weddings, and holidays: tteokguk (rice cake soup) is eaten on Lunar New Year, and songpyeon is made for Chuseok, the autumn harvest festival.

For everyday cooking, most people use plain white rice cakes, which are the base of famous dishes like tteokbokki and tteokguk.

What is Tteok Made Of?

Cooking rice cakes are made from non-glutinous rice flour and water. The dough is steamed, pounded or kneaded until smooth and elastic, and then shaped. Some products also use wheat flour, which gives a softer texture.

• Garaetteok – long, cylindrical rice cake bars; the base form of most cooking tteok
• Tteokbokki tteok – short, finger-sized sticks used for tteokbokki
• Tteokguk tteok – thin oval slices used for rice cake soup
• Sweet tteok – dessert rice cakes such as songpyeon, injeolmi, and chapssal-tteok, often made with glutinous rice

What Does Tteok Taste Like?

Plain cooking tteok has a mild, slightly sweet rice flavor. What makes it special is the texture: soft on the outside, dense and pleasantly chewy inside.

Because the flavor is gentle, tteok takes on the taste of whatever it is cooked with, from spicy gochujang sauce to clear beef broth.

Popular Korean Dishes That Use Tteok

Tteokbokki

Korea’s most famous street food: rice cakes simmered in a sweet and spicy gochujang sauce, often with fish cakes and boiled eggs.

Tteokguk (Rice Cake Soup)

Sliced rice cakes cooked in a clear broth and topped with egg and seaweed. Koreans traditionally eat it on Lunar New Year morning, and it is said that you become a year older after eating a bowl.

Tteok-kkochi (Rice Cake Skewers)

Rice cakes on skewers, fried until crisp and brushed with a sweet and spicy sauce. A favorite after-school snack in Korea.

Gungjung Tteokbokki

The non-spicy “royal court” style of tteokbokki, stir-fried with beef, vegetables, and a soy-based sauce.

Easy Tteokguk Recipe (Serves 2)

A simple, comforting beef broth version of Korea’s New Year soup, ready in about 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 300 g sliced rice cakes (tteokguk tteok)
• 100 g beef (brisket or sirloin), thinly sliced
• 1 L water or anchovy-kelp broth
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp Korean soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang) or regular soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 green onion, sliced
• Roasted gim (seaweed), crumbled, salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Soak the rice cakes. Soak the sliced tteok in cold water for 10–20 minutes (longer if frozen), then drain.
2. Brown the beef. Heat the sesame oil in a pot and stir-fry the beef with the garlic until it is no longer pink.
3. Make the broth. Add the water or broth, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Skim off any foam.
4. Season. Add the soy sauce, then salt to taste.
5. Cook the rice cakes. Add the tteok and boil for 3–5 minutes, until they float and turn soft.
6. Add egg. Beat the eggs and slowly pour them into the soup in a thin stream. Wait a few seconds before stirring gently.
7. Serve. Top with green onion, crumbled gim, and a pinch of black pepper.

Tip: Add a few frozen dumplings with the rice cakes to make tteok mandu guk, a heartier version of the soup.

Where to Buy Tteok

Cooking rice cakes are sold fresh, refrigerated, frozen, or vacuum-packed in Korean and Asian grocery stores. Look for “Korean rice cake,” “tteokbokki rice cake,” or “sliced rice cake for soup.”

United States

H-Mart
https://www.hmart.com/search?type=product&q=rice cake

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=korean+rice+cake+tteok

Canada

Amazon Canada
https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=korean+rice+cake+tteok

Europe

Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=korean+rice+cake+tteok

How to Store Tteok

Fresh rice cakes harden quickly in the fridge, so freeze any you will not use within a day or two. Frozen tteok keeps for a few months; soak it in water before cooking to restore its texture.

Vacuum-packed rice cakes can be kept according to the package date, and should be refrigerated or frozen after opening.

Conclusion

Tteok is the chewy Korean rice cake at the heart of dishes like tteokbokki and tteokguk. Mild in flavor and wonderfully chewy, it is a simple ingredient that carries centuries of Korean food culture.