Tteokbokki (떡볶이)
Chewy rice cakes in sweet-spicy gochujang sauce.
- Korean name
- 떡볶이
- Spice level
- Spicy
- Flavor
- spicy · sweet · chewy
- Typically contains
- rice cake, fish cake
- Vegetarian / vegan
- Not vegetarian — meat or seafood is core to the dish
- Also written as
- topokki, ddeokbokki, dukbokki, ddukbokki
What is Tteokbokki?
Tteokbokki is chewy cylinders of rice cake simmered in a sweet-spicy gochujang sauce, usually alongside folded sheets of fish cake and a boiled egg. It's the anchor of bunsik — Korea's cheap, fast snack-food genre — and a first food memory for basically every Korean.
The texture is the surprise for newcomers: dense, bouncy, nothing like bread or pasta. The heat is real but sugar-cushioned, and the sauce is considered communal property — dipping everything else in it is standard practice.
Nutrition
| Calories | 144 kcal |
|---|---|
| Carbohydrate | 25.96 g |
| Protein | 3.51 g |
| Fat | 2.96 g |
| Sodium | 391 mg |
Per serving (~180g): ≈259 kcal · sodium ≈704 mg (35% of the WHO daily guideline, 2,000 mg)
Related foods
순대 · SundaeOften eaten together Korean blood sausage with glass noodles — dip it in seasoned salt. 
김밥 · GimbapOften eaten together Seaweed rice rolls — Korea's picnic and lunchbox default. 어묵탕 · Eomuk TangOften eaten together Fish-cake skewer soup — the street-stall winter warmer. 라볶이 · RabokkiSame family · rice cake Tteokbokki plus ramyeon noodles — the best of both. 호떡 · HotteokMilder alternative Griddled pancake with molten brown-sugar filling — winter street gold.
김밥 · GimbapOften eaten together Seaweed rice rolls — Korea's picnic and lunchbox default. 어묵탕 · Eomuk TangOften eaten together Fish-cake skewer soup — the street-stall winter warmer. 라볶이 · RabokkiSame family · rice cake Tteokbokki plus ramyeon noodles — the best of both. 호떡 · HotteokMilder alternative Griddled pancake with molten brown-sugar filling — winter street gold.