Like Thailand, China, and Japan, Korea is home to a famous selection of delicious street food.
Tteokbokki, one of the most popular Korean street foods, is famous for its divinely chewy texture and sweet, spicy, and savory flavor.
In its most basic form, tteokbokki can be eaten alone. However, tteokbokki tastes even better eaten with other dishes.
Many main and side dishes can be eaten with tteokbokki, and we’ll let you in on some delicious foods you can eat with tteokbokki.
To know how to spice up this Korean rice cake delicacy, lean in.
What to Eat with Tteokbokki
If you are looking for something exciting to eat with tteokbokki, here are three foods we recommend:
Cucumber kimchi
Are you a lover of flavorful dishes? Then, we implore you to eat cucumber Kimchi with tteokbokki.
Cucumber Kimchi is a flavor powerhouse. It is a crunchy, refreshing Korean summer dish with a deliciously complex flavor. Cucumber kimchi has spicy, salty, tangy flavors with a hint of garlic.
Here’s a cucumber kimchi recipe you’ll love and, most importantly, enjoy eating with tteokbokki:
Ingredients for the cucumber:
- 1 tablespoon of coarse sea salt
- 3 well-rinsed Lebanese cucumbers (450 grams)
- 20 g of garlic chives (julienned)
- 50 g of carrots (julienned)
Ingredients for the kimchi Sauce
- 1 tablespoon of garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons of gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
- 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey
- ½ teaspoon of ginger (minced)
- ½ teaspoon of Korean fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon of grated red apple or Asian pear
- ½ tablespoon of minced Saeujeot (Korean salted shrimp)
Guide
- Mix all the ingredients for the kimchi sauce in a bowl.
- Cut off both ends of each cucumber. Then cut each cucumber into three pieces and cut each piece lengthways into smaller pieces. Place the cucumbers in a bowl, pour the sea salt on top, gently mix both, and leave the cucumbers to pickle for about 20 minutes.
- Brush off the salt and place the cucumbers in a clean bowl. Add the kimchi sauce, follow with the carrots and garlic chives and mix. Place the mixture into an airtight glass container and cover it. Store at room temperature for 8-12 hours and then place it in the fridge. Enjoy it when it is refrigerated.
Korean sticky chicken
Chicken is an excellent addition to various meals, and tteokbokki is no exception.
Korean sticky chicken is sticky, spicy, sweet, and garlicky. This flavorful chicken dish is great with tteokbokki.
Use this recipe to make some delightful pieces of sticky Korean chicken:
Servings: 6
Prep time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients for the marinade:
- 1 tablespoon of ginger (grated)
- ¼ cup of soy sauce
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon of red chili flakes
- ½ cup of honey
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Ingredients for the chicken:
- 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
- 3 pounds of chicken thighs and (or) legs (with their bones and skin intact)
- 4 medium green onions
Guide
- Add the honey, red chili flakes, vegetable oil, garlic, soy sauce, and ginger to a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the pieces of chicken and fully submerge them in the marinade. Cover the chicken pieces with plastic wrap or an airtight cover and leave to marinate for about 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and place them on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Do not throw out the marinade.
- Let the chicken cook for 30-40 minutes or until the skin is dark and blistered lightly. Halfway through the cooking time, baste the chicken pieces with the rest of the marinade to give a flavor depth. The chicken pieces should attain an internal temperature of 180°F.
- Remove the chicken pieces from the oven, place them on a serving plate, and serve with the green onions and sesame seeds as toppings.
Soondae
If you like to pair mildly-flavored dishes with flavorful meals, you’ll enjoy eating soondae with tteokbokki.
Soondae is pretty easy to cook. Here’s how:
Ingredients for the stir fry sauce:
- 2 tablespoons of gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of oligodang or honey, rice syrup, and corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of plum syrup or honey, rice syrup, and corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons of sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon of gochujang Korean red pepper paste
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
Veggie ingredients:
- 2 green onions
- 4 oz. cabbage
- 1 Korean pepper or jalapeno
- 1 small onion
- 4 oz. carrot
Ingredients for the blood sausage:
- 12 oz. Korean blood sausage in plastic
- 2 tablespoons of neutral oil
- A bunch of perilla leaves
Guide
- Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl.
- Slice the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Then, take out the stems from the perilla leaves, roll the leaves and slice them.
- Boil the blood sausage with the plastic wrap for five minutes (if it was refrigerated) and eight minutes if it was frozen. Then, remove the plastic wrap and slice the blood sauces into one-inch pieces.
- With the oil, stir fry onions and carrots on medium heat. Follow up with the cabbage. Finally, add the blood sausage, Korean chili pepper, green onions, and sauce.
- Mix all carefully and continue to stir-fry for another two minutes. Add perilla and leave strips as toppings.
Read also: What to eat with Mozzarella Sticks
What are Some Popular Side Dishes to eat with Tteokbokki?
Side dishes are the underrated heroes of many cuisines, and Korean foods are no exception.
If you’re in the mood for tteokbokki and some perfect side dishes to go with it, we’ve got you.
Here are twenty side dishes you can eat with tteokbokki:
- Ramen noodles
- Boiled eggs
- Kimbap
- Korean pan-fried tofu (Dubu Buchim)
- Sigeumchi Namul (seasoned spinach)
- Korean green salad
- Oi Muchim (cucumber salad)
- Korean pickled radish
- Gaji Namul (steamed eggplants)
- Dumplings
- Korean Mushrooms
- Stir-fried eggplants
- Hotdogs
- Korean egg rolls (Gyeran Mari)
- Oi Bokkeum (stir-fried cucumbers)
- Korean Braised potatoes (Gamja Jorim)
- Sweet and sour radish salad
- Kimchi
- Korean Zucchini (Aehobak Bokkeum)
- Tuna Kimchi pancakes
How can you Customize your Tteokbokki meal?
It is easy to customize tteokbokki when you know what to do, and we’re here to help you.
If you want to look beyond the side dishes listed above, here are three interesting ways to spice up tteokbokki.
Turn your tteokbokki into a tteokbokki pizza
This is a pizza dish where the dough is filled with tteokbokki—picture quiche but with tteokbokki as filling rather than custard.
The dough, tteokbokki, and cheese combination results in a crunchy crust and tender inside you’ll love.
Make jajang tteokbokki
Jajang tteokbokki incorporates tteokbokki with the sauce of black beans sauce noodles, aka Jajangmyeon.
This combination creates a robust flavor that goes well with the squishy texture of the tteokbokki rice cakes.
Make rabokki
Rabokki is the result of combining tteokbokki and ramen. Ramen + tteokbokki = Rabokki.
Rabokki is simply topping tteokbokki with ramen noodles.
You can find Rabokki in many Korean restaurants, but since it is very easy to make, many people opt to make some at home.
Can tteokbokki be eaten for dinner?
Tteokbokki is a snack, but you can have tteokbokki for lunch and dinner.
What is Tteokbokki?
Tteokbokki is a popular stir-fried Korean street food consisting of fish cakes, rice cakes, and a savory red chili sauce.
Tteokbokki is said to have been food for royalty during the Joseon dynasty in Korea. During that time, what is now known as tteokbokki was called tteok jjim.
Tteokbokki is usually sold in Korea by street food vendors, often referred to as pojangmacha.
Is tteokbokki healthy?
Tteokbokki is not generally considered problematic for your health if you eat it in moderation.
Nevertheless, tteokbokki contains an ample amount of sodium, fat, and carbs that may be unhealthy if consumed in large quantities.
To balance your sodium, carb, and fat intake when you consume tteokbokki, follow these tips:
- Add proteins to the dish.
- Ensure that you follow the recommended daily intake of carbs and fat.
- Do not consume tteokbokki daily.
- Pair tteokbokki with veggies.
Is tteokbokki a side dish?
Tteokbokki is often served as a side dish or a snack, but it can make for a more filling main dish when you add side dishes like veggies, eggs, or cheese.
Is tteokbokki a meal or a snack?
Tteokbokki is primarily considered to be a snack and is sold as that. However, you can always spice up tteokbokki and transform it into a full meal. If you need ideas to help spice up tteokbokki, do well to scroll up.
What does tteokbokki taste like?
Tteokbokki is a sweet, spicy, garlicky, and savory snack.
Tteokbokki embodies the same starchy aftertaste that mochi has because, like mochi, it is made from rice.
If chewy carbs are your forte, you’ll love these flavor-packed rice cakes.
What do Koreans drink with tteokbokki?
Koreans generally pair tteokbokki with soju, but beer is also a welcome option.
Is tteokbokki vegetarian?
Unfortunately, tteokbokki is not vegetarian as it doesn’t fit into a vegetarian diet. This is because tteokbokki often contains fish cakes, and tteokbokki sauce is usually made from anchovy broth.
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