If you’re a tteokbokki lover, you won’t want to miss these 10 Korean tteokbokki menu dishes you must try. If you only knew gochujang tteokbokki and rose tteokbokki, welcome! Let me introduce you to the full world of topokki!
Table of Contents
What is Tteokbokki?
For Koreans, tteokbokki is a national snack. One of the joys of childhood was walking home after school while eating cup tteokbokki served in a paper cup.
Origin of Topokki
The first version of tteokbokki wasn’t red because it didn’t contain gochujang. It’s believed that the original tteokbokki dates back to the Joseon dynasty as a royal court dish, making it rare and precious. Back then, it was made with soy sauce seasoning. Tteokbokki only became popular as a street food after the Korean War.
Tteok (Korean Rice Cake)
Tteokbokki is typically made with thin, cylindrical rice cakes, but some snack bars use thicker ones. These rice cakes are made with either rice or wheat flour and are known as ssal-tteok (rice tteok) or mil-tteok (wheat tteok). Ssal-tteok has a nuttier flavor and doesn’t absorb sauce easily, allowing you to really taste the rice itself. It’s also firmer in texture. Mil-tteok is softer, chewier, and absorbs sauce well. This is why people tend to have strong preferences for either rice tteok or wheat tteok.
Sauce
The sauce is gochujang-based—spicy and sweetened with sugar and corn syrup. But interestingly, many street food vendors skip the gochujang and use only gochugaru (Korean chili flakes). At home, though, most people use gochujang.
Add-ins
Popular add-ins include fish cakes, cabbage, and boiled eggs. Popular toppings include ramyum noodles and cheese.
Seoul Tteokbokki Hotspots
Of course, if you’re visiting Seoul, you’d want to try the best tteokbokki. I’ve picked the top 5 Seoul tteokbokki spots that only the locals know about. Choose any of them, and you’re guaranteed an unforgettable tteokbokki experience. I’ve been going to one of them since I was a kid!
Pairings
Since tteokbokki is a classic Korean street food, it’s typically enjoyed alongside other bunsik dishes, such as kimbap or ramyeon. Fried seaweed rolls (kimmari), sweet potato fritters, and vegetable fritters are the perfect sides—dip them in the tteokbokki sauce for an absolutely delicious treat.
Fried mandu (dumplings), especially Yangnyeom mandu, also go super well with it. You’ll get the full Korean bunsik experience!
Topping Ideas
- Mozzarella Cheese: Shredded mozzarella is one of Koreans’ favorite tteokbokki toppings. The creamy, nutty cheese melts beautifully into the sweet and spicy sauce.
- Noodles: Add ramyeon noodles to make rabokki! You can also try glass noodles (dangmyeon) or udon. These days, many Koreans love adding Chinese glass noodles, which are thicker and chewier.
Tteokbokki can change its flavor completely depending on the sauce and extra ingredients you use. From spicy gochujang-based sauces to creamy ones—how far can tteokbokki transform?
10 Must Try Tteokbokki Menu
Today, I’ll introduce you to 10 ddukbokki menus. There are also simple Korean tteokbokki recipes, so find the one that matches your style and give it a try!
Classic Gochujang Tteokbokki
This is the most basic and iconic version of tteokbokki, which is made with a gochujang-based sauce. Its sweet and spicy flavor comes from a blend of gochujang (Korean red chili paste), gochugaru (chili flakes), sugar, corn syrup, minced garlic, and soy sauce.
Interestingly, many tteokbokki restaurants skip the gochujang and use only gochugaru to achieve a cleaner taste. Want your tteokbokki to taste just like the ones at Korean snack bars? Try adding a pinch of MSG or Dashida, a Korean beef bouillon powder—it’ll blow your mind. The secret to seriously good tteokbokki? Yep, MSG.
Gungjung Tteokbokki (Royal Court Tteokbokki)
Gungjung tteokbokki is the traditional version of tteokbokki that was once served in the Korean royal court. Unlike red, spicy versions, it uses a soy sauce–based marinade with sugar, minced garlic, and sesame oil to create a savory, bulgogi-style flavor. It is typically stir-fried with thinly sliced beef, shiitake mushrooms, and carrots, which gives it a rich umami flavor. In Korea, this mild version is often made for children or those who cannot handle spicy food.
Jeukseok Tteokbokki (Hot Pot Style Tteokbokki)
Jeukseok means “made on the spot,” which is exactly what this tteokbokki is all about. It’s served uncooked in a pot with rice cakes, cabbage, and ramen noodles, and you boil it yourself at the table.
Some versions use the classic gochujang sauce, while others mix in chunjang (Korean black bean paste) for a unique, slightly jjajang-style flavor twist. It usually has more broth than regular street-style tteokbokki, and the fun is in cooking and eating it with friends. This is not a solo meal—it’s meant to be shared!
Rosé Tteokbokki
In Korea, “rosé sauce” refers to a creamy gochujang sauce, not the Italian tomato-cream variety. Blending heavy cream with gochujang creates a rich, smooth flavor that’s less spicy but still has a gentle kick. The sweet, savory, and creamy notes are perfectly balanced.
Rosé tteokbokki is a very popular tteokbokki menu among young Koreans. It often comes with bacon and sausage, which pair perfectly with the creamy, savory sauce. Top it off with a generous amount of mozzarella cheese, and you’ve got a rich, sweet-spicy bowl of heaven.
Gireum Tteokbokki (Gireum Tteokbokki)
Gireum tteokbokki stands out because it has no broth. Gireum means oil. The sauce is made with gochugaru (Korean chili flakes), sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil instead of gochujang, giving it a sweet, spicy, and nutty flavor. The sauce is poured over rice cakes and stir-fried in oil until the outside is crispy yet chewy. The texture is incredibly addictive!
This unique dish is famous at Tongin Market in Seoul, so if you’re visiting, you should definitely try it for a fun twist on classic tteokbokki.
Cream Tteokbokki
Can’t handle spicy tteokbokki? Try cream tteokbokki, a mild, creamy version made with heavy cream and milk. Think of it as tteokbokki meets creamy pasta sauce. It’s rich and slightly salty, and it pairs perfectly with soft, chewy rice cakes. Kids and those sensitive to spice love this version, and it’s especially good with a bacon topping, which adds a savory kick to the smooth sauce.
Cheese Tteokbokki
This is a classic spicy tteokbokki menu, topped with a generous layer of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Koreans love adding mozzarella as a topping because it melts beautifully and stretches as you eat it, creating that cheesy pull we all love. It also tones down the heat of the spicy sauce, balancing it with a creamy, savory flavor. When ordering topokki in Korea, be sure to say, “Add cheese!”
Jjajang Tteokbokki
This tteokbokki menu uses jjajang (black bean) sauce as the base instead of gochujang. So it’s a famous non spicy tteokbokki.
This sauce is typically made with chunjang (fermented black bean paste) or jjajang powder and includes typical ingredients like rice cakes, fish cakes, and onions. If you’re a fan of jjajangmyeon (Korean black bean noodles), you’ll love this dish. The deep, savory, slightly sweet flavor of jjajang sauce also makes it a kid-friendly favorite.
Basil Cream Tteokbokki
Imagine basil cream pasta, but with chewy Korean rice cakes instead of noodles. The sauce, made with a blend of basil pesto and cream, has a smooth, fragrant, and slightly nutty flavor. This fusion-style Korean dish has an elevated and trendy feel with a hint of Italian flair.
This version went viral thanks to Samcheop Bunsik, a restaurant that first made it popular in Korea. Crispy bacon is highly recommended for toppings—it adds a salty contrast to the creamy basil sauce.
Mala Tteokbokki
Mala is a Chinese flavor profile known for its numbing spiciness. It’s incredibly popular in Korea—so much so that tteokbokki has even gotten the mala treatment! This version, popularized by Yupdduk (Yupgi Tteokbokki), contains ingredients typically found in mala tang, such as thinly sliced beef brisket, glass noodles, wide Chinese glass noodles, tofu skin rolls, and Sichuan peppercorns. The sauce is thicker than a typical mala tang broth and has a tingly, numbing aroma from the peppercorns. It’s a favorite among mala lovers. If you’re visiting Korea, you’ve got to try it at least once!
