Enjoy Korea’s Tteokbokki Road that Has Mouthwatering Tastes for Everyone : VISITKOREA

Enjoy Korea’s Tteokbokki Road
that Has Mouthwatering Tastes for Everyone

Experience a Spicy-Flavored Treat that Will Satisfy Your Taste Buds

It's not easy for Koreans to talk about their school days without mentioning tteokbokki. Everyone remembers walking by a small snack stand with smells of tteokbokki wafting in the air, stopping to buy some, and eating them with friends as they walked out of their school gates. This is why tteokbokki is commonly referred to as nostalgia food and is loved by many Koreans. Recently, the tteokbokki craze has spread to the States thanks to the Korean Wave. After BTS member, Jimin, posted a photo of the food on his social media, tteokbokki meal kits skyrocketed. To truly enjoy Korea's global hit food, it's best to understand its regional characteristics. Just as no two people in the world are alike, tteokbokki has distinct attributes from each region. Let's find the tteokbokki that suits your taste buds starting from Seoul, Daegu, and Busan.

The Hometown of Tteokbokki(Cooked on the Table): Seoul

Seoul’s Tteokbokki(Cooked on the Table)

There's a Tteokbokki Town in Sindang-dong, Seoul. It's an alley about 100 meters long and filled with tteokbokki restaurants. In 1953, Mabongnim created the modern red chili paste tteokbokki. This grandmother created the dish by adding rice cakes, vegetables, red chili paste, tianmian sauce, and other ingredients in a small pot over a briquette fire. Mabongnim was a street vendor, and as her tteokbokki started to gain popularity, more tteokbokki restaurants started to open, and Tteokbokki Town was born.

Tteokbokki in Tteokbokki Town is made by boiling various ingredients such as fish cakes, mandu, glass noodles, ramen, and mushrooms in a large pot. Once the soup boils, the noodles are eaten first. In the past, tteokbokki was made with the spiciest flavors that could make anyone cry, but it's been adjusted to a milder taste to suit the younger generation.

Tteokbokki in Korea was originally a street food, a common dish that can be seen at street food stalls, with the rice cakes simmering in a red chili paste on a large iron plate. If you order one serving, they ladle a scoopful from the iron plate right onto your dish. Tteokbokki sold in the streets is cooked continuously and ladled out. It has its distinct taste, but the tteokbokki in Sindang-dong is made to order, which has its appeal as well. On days you want to try something more special, visit Sindang-dong, the hometown of tteokbokki(cooked on the table).

Seoul’s Tteokbokki(Cooked on the Table)

Mabongnim Tteokbokki
5, Dasan-ro 35-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
+82-2-2232-8930
09:00-23:00 / Closed every 2nd and 4th Monday of each month
Set for 2 KRW 17,000
Set for 3 KRW 20,000
Set for 4 KRW 27,000

I Love Sindangdong
50, Toegye-ro 76-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
+82-2-2232-7872
Open 24 hours / Closed every 1st and 3rd Monday of each month
Sindang Tteokbokki (For 2) KRW 17,000
Royal Tteokbokki (Small) KRW 22,000
Cheese Tteokbokki (Small) KRW 22,000

Mirim Bunsik
553, Hoam-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul
+82-2-888-8567
11:30-20:00 / Open all year-round
Red Chili Paste Tteokbokki (1 serving with 1 ramen additive) KRW 7,000
Red Chili Paste Tteokbokki (2 servings with 1 ramen additive) KRW 11,500
Red Chili Paste Tteokbokki KRW 4,500

Addictive and Spicy Tteokbokki: Daegu

Daegu Tteokbokki Comes with Generous Broth and a Spicy Kick

Daegu is a tteokbokki paradise with many small and large restaurants and franchises. It goes to show how much pride they have in their tteokbokki taste. However, there aren't many additional ingredients added to their version. Of course, there are slight differences from store to store, but they mainly add flat mandu and fish cakes to focus on the original taste of tteokbokki. Also, they stand apart with their generous amount of broth and the spicy taste. The broth is made with Cheongyang red peppers and pepper powder (or curry powder) to make the broth hotter and spicier. Those who pride themselves on being spicy eaters should try Daegu's tteokbokki.

Having earned the name of Tteokbokki Paradise, the people of Daegu take their tteokbokki very seriously. Daegu held the third annual Tteokbokki Festival. A civil service worker from Daegu came up with the idea over their love for tteokbokki. The festival's theme first felt like a joke, but it has gained more popularity with each passing year, proving how sincere the people of Daegu and the entire country are about their tteokbokki.

Daegu Tteokbokki Comes with Generous Broth and a Spicy Kick

Flat Mandu are the Best Ingredients for Daegu Tteokbokki

Yoon Okyeon Halmae Tteokbokki
11, Deulan-ro 77-gil, Suseong-gu, Daegu
+82-53-756-7597
10:00-20:30 / Last orders at 20:00 / Closed Mondays
Tteokbokki KRW 2,000
Halmae Tteokbokki KRW 3,500
Fishcakes (3 pieces) KRW 1,000

Jungang Tteokbokki
81, Dongseong-ro 2-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu
+82-53-424-7692
11:30-19:00 / Closed Sundays
Rice Cake Tteokbokki KRW 4,500
Mandu KRW 4,500
Sundae KRW 4,500

Banhalman Tteokk
73-2, Yulhadong-ro 24-gil, Dong-gu, Daegu
+82-53-962-0789
11:00-19:00 / Closed Mondays
Banhal Tteokbokki KRW 4,000
Banhal Pan-fried Mandu (6 pieces) KRW 5,000
Deep-fried Mandu and Vegetables in Spicy Sauce KRW 7,000

Thick Rice Cakes and a Rich Broth: Busan

Busan’s Tteokbokki Broth is Made by Boiling Radish Instead of Plain Water

In Busan, tteokbokki is made with an unusually thick broth as the main dish. The broth is thick with a lot of red chili pepper paste. You may think it looks very spicy just by looking at it, however, despite its vibrant color, it's not as spicy as it looks. That's because it's boiled with starch syrup. It makes the broth sweet and rich in consistency. Instead of adding water, sliced radishes are added and boiled, and the water from the vegetables becomes part of the broth. Busan tteokbokki is famous among those who enjoy the dish for its thick broth and deep savory flavor.

The vibrant red broth is simmered in a double boiler, which contains thick rice cakes and large pieces of fish cake. The sticky seasoning and simple ingredients give a sweet and clean finish.

Street foods are a specialty in Busan, and a variety of these foods are sold mainly in the markets, but vendors and tteokbokki restaurants selling fish cakes, spicy glass noodles, water rice cakes, and syrup-filled pancakes have been appearing. Visit Bupyeong Kkangtong Market or BIFF(Busan International Film Festival) street to taste the essence of Busan street food.

Busan’s Tteokbokki is Vibrantly Red, yet Sweet and Savory

Igane Tteokbokki
48, Bupyeong 1-gil, Jung-gu, Busan
+82-51-245-0413
10:00-16:00 / Closed Sundays
Tteokbokki (1 serving) KRW 5,000
Tteokbokki and Deep-fried Food Set KRW 5,000
Hotdog KRW 1,000

Red Tteokbokki
4, Udong 1-ro 20beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan
+82-51-743-2814
08:00-18:30 / Closing time subject to change
/ Closed Sundays (Please call before visiting on Thursday)
Tteokbokki KRW 3,500
Sundae KRW 4,500
Fishcake KRW 1,000

Sanggukine
40-1, Gunam-ro 41beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan
+82-507-1400-9027
10:00-00:30 / Closed every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month
Tteokbokki KRW 5,000
Sundae KRW 5,000
Deep-fried Food (1 piece) KRW 1,000

Tteokbokki's Fun Transformation: The Tteokbokki Trend

Mala Tteokbokki Boiled in Mala Sauce

Korea is famous for its rapidly changing food trends enjoyed by the younger generation. Just a few years ago, tteokbokki sauce trend was all about cream sauce, black bean sauce, and, until recently, rosé sauce. Currently, the emerging trend is the tingling and spicy mala sauce. This trend is evident from the nationwide sell-out of Mala yupdduk tteokbokki from Dongdaemun Yupdduk(tteokbokki franchise) and other competitive franchises like Dookki Tteokbokki and Youngdabang, releasing a mala-style tteokbokki. The numbing mala sauce has become a mainstream tteokbokki sauce.

A new trend can also be seen in the sauce and extra ingredients used to enhance the taste of classic tteokbokki. It's not just the classic tteokbokki+deep-fried foods+sundae combination. We're seeing thin pork belly slices, beef small intestine, grilled beef brisket, beef reed tripe, shrimp, and a variety of ingredients being added to tteokbokki.

These additional ingredients are so-called "toppings", and they make the classic tteokbokki feel a little more luxurious. Korea's tteokbokki undergoes an endless transformation, both in terms of sauce and ingredients.

As Korea's soul food, tteokbokki continues to evolve to suit consumers’ taste, we hope you enjoy all the flavors that tteokbokki has to offer when you visit Korea.

Tteokbokki with Grilled Beef Brisket as an Ingredient.

※ This column was prepared in August 2023, hence some of the details regarding menus, opening hours and other information may have changed. Please check with the restaurants before visiting.

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