Simple & Delicious Rice Cake Tteokbokki with Scallions
Easy Homemade Tteokbokki Recipe: Mastering the Sauce with Basic Ingredients
Discover a simple tteokbokki recipe that maximizes the fragrant aroma of scallions without needing many vegetables. Enjoy the chewy rice cakes and fish cakes harmonized with a deeply flavorful sauce. This recipe is so easy to follow, you can create amazing tteokbokki at home that rivals your favorite restaurant!
Tteokbokki Ingredients- 1 bag (500g) Rice Cake (Tteokbokki Tteok)
- 3 sheets Thin Square Fish Cakes (Eomuk)
- 1 stalk Scallion (Green Onion)
- Hard-boiled Eggs (optional, to taste)
Tteokbokki Sauce- 2 Tbsp Cooking Oil
- 2 Tbsp Fine Gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
- 3 Tbsp Gochujang (Korean chili paste, heaped)
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (Guk-ganjang)
- 3 Tbsp Sugar
- A pinch of Curry Powder or Dashida (optional)
- 2 Tbsp Cooking Oil
- 2 Tbsp Fine Gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
- 3 Tbsp Gochujang (Korean chili paste, heaped)
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (Guk-ganjang)
- 3 Tbsp Sugar
- A pinch of Curry Powder or Dashida (optional)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Before we start on the tteokbokki, let’s get the hard-boiled eggs ready! Boil as many as you like; they’ll add extra goodness to the dish. The eggs will absorb the delicious sauce as they simmer.
Step 2
The ingredients for today’s tteokbokki are wonderfully simple. The stars are the chewy rice cakes and thin fish cakes, but the key flavor comes from the scallions! It’s said that adding plenty of scallions, instead of other vegetables like onions or carrots, creates a much richer and more delicious taste. Since tteokbokki and scallions are such a great pair, this is guaranteed to be delicious!
Step 3
First, cut the scallions into manageable lengths. Then, chop them again a couple more times to make them finer. This helps them release their flavor beautifully when cooked and allows the sauce to cling better.
Step 4
Now, grab a pot or a wide pan and add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Once the oil is lightly heated over medium-low heat, add all the chopped scallions and begin to stir-fry them.
Step 5
Sautéing the scallions first is a crucial step! This process wilts them down, infusing their fragrant aroma into the oil, which creates a richer base for your tteokbokki sauce. Once the scallions are fragrant and slightly softened, move on to the next step.
Step 6
When the scallions have softened and released their fragrance, pour in about 500-600ml of water. You can use plain water, but I used anchovy-kelp broth for an extra layer of umami. The amount of water can be adjusted as it simmers and reduces, so feel free to start with a bit more.
Step 7
Now, let’s add the spice: 2 tablespoons of fine gochugaru (Korean chili powder). Using fine gochugaru helps the sauce coat the rice cakes beautifully, giving the tteokbokki a vibrant, appetizing red color. If you don’t have fine gochugaru, regular gochugaru will work just fine.
Step 8
Time for the gochujang, the heart of the sauce! Add 3 heaped tablespoons. However, the saltiness and flavor of gochujang can vary by brand. I found my gochujang to be a bit salty, so I used only 2 tablespoons. Feel free to adjust the amount to your preference!
Step 9
Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce for a savory depth. For an extra boost of umami, I like to use a mix: 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce. This combination really elevates the overall flavor profile.
Step 10
Finally, add 3 tablespoons of sugar to balance the flavors and add sweetness. With this, the basic sauce is complete! Give everything a good stir to combine.
Step 11
If you prepared hard-boiled eggs, add them to the pot now. This allows them to simmer in the delicious tteokbokki sauce, soaking up all that wonderful flavor.
Step 12
Add the chewy rice cakes and the sliced fish cakes to the pot. Now all the main ingredients are in, and it’s time to let them cook into deliciousness!
Step 13
Let the tteokbokki simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency. The starch from the rice cakes will naturally thicken the sauce, and the flavors from the fish cakes and scallions will meld together, creating a rich and satisfying broth.
Step 14
Personally, I found the sauce a little too strong, so I added an onion to bring in a subtle sweetness and more complex umami. I added the onion after the sauce had already reduced a bit, and then added a little extra water to help it cook and slightly re-simmer. This step is optional; feel free to omit it or add other vegetables you enjoy.
Step 15
And there you have it – delicious tteokbokki! The sauce is perfectly reduced, coating the chewy rice cakes and fish cakes beautifully. It looks absolutely mouthwatering!
Step 16
See how simple this is? The recipe involves stir-frying scallions to build flavor, then adding water and all the sauce ingredients, rice cakes, and fish cakes to simmer. It’s an incredibly easy method for a fantastic result.
Step 17
This recipe is inspired by Yoon I-ryeon’s tteokbokki sauce. I love how it uses simple ingredients and an uncomplicated method to create such a delicious dish. I hope you enjoy making and eating it! Happy cooking! ^^
