Best 10 Korean Rice Cakes (Tteok) You Must Try

Korea has so many delicious types of Korean rice cakes! From spicy tteokbokki tteok to soft injeolmi, these 10 must-try tteok showcase the best flavors of Korean tteok.

The source of the main picture is from Kurly

What is Korean Rice Cake?

Korean rice cake is called Tteok in Korea. It is made by steaming or boiling grain flours such as glutinous rice or non-glutinous rice. Ingredients like beans, red beans, or mugwort are often added to enhance flavor and nutrition, and different varieties of tteok are made. Korean tteok used to be a special food served during holidays or celebrations, eaten to pray for blessings from ancestors or for the health and harmony of the family. There was also a superstition that eating red beans would ward off evil spirits and misfortune.

There are different methods of making Korean rice cake (tteok). Some are Sirutteok, which are steamed; Injeolmi, which are pounded; and Gyeongdan, which are boiled. There are also regional specialty tteok. For example, in Jeju Island, Omegi-tteok is famous, made with foxtail millet, mugwort, and red beans.

Korean Ttoek for Cooking

Did you know that the rice cakes in tteokbokki and tteokguk are actually the same type called Garaetteok? If you make Garaetteok thin, it becomes tteokbokki rice cake, and if you make it thick and slice it thinly, it becomes tteokguk tteok. While it is often used in cooking, thick Garaetteok grilled over a fire and dipped in jocheong (rice syrup) or honey is also incredibly delicious.

Holiday Korean Rice Cake

Tteok is one of the traditional foods for Korean holidays. For example, on Seollal (Lunar New Year), people eat Tteokguk, which uses long Garaetteok to symbolize living a long and healthy life. During Chuseok (Korean Harvest Festival), people eat Songpyeon. This tteok represents gratitude for the autumn harvest and wishes for abundance. Songpyeon is filled with beans, sweet red bean paste, or sweet sesame sugar. Kids often try to avoid Kong Songpyeon (filled with beans), but since you can’t see what’s inside, picky eating isn’t allowed haha

Korean Rice Cakes for Snack

Many tteok eaten as snacks are sweet varieties. For example, there is Kkul Tteok. If you love tteok, you probably already know Kkul Tteok well. These are small, round rice cakes in pink, white, and green, filled with sweet honey, sugar, or sesame, and they are one of the tteok most loved by Koreans.

Best 10 Korean Rice Cakes (Tteok)

There are so many types of Korean tteok, but I’ve carefully selected the 10 most delicious ones to recommend. If you’re unsure which Korean rice cake to try, choosing from this list is a guaranteed success.

Baekseolgi 백설기

Baekseolgi is a Korean rice cake made by mixing non-glutinous rice flour with sugar or honey and a pinch of salt, then steaming it in a siru (steamer). Its white color symbolizes purity, which is why it’s traditionally eaten on a baby’s 100th day or first birthday, wishing for the child’s health and pure heart. Unlike chewy tteok, Baekseolgi is soft and fluffy. The nutty flavor of the rice combined with its subtle sweetness makes it one of the most basic and delicious Korean tteok.

My grandmother used to run a Korean rice cake shop, and Baekseolgi was the tteok she made best. Every holiday, visiting my grandmother meant enjoying her lovingly made Baekseolgi, a taste I will never forget. I can’t eat it anymore, but the memory is truly warm and comforting.

Injeolmi 인절미

Injeolmi is a Korean rice cake made by mixing glutinous rice flour with water, sugar, and salt, then steaming it. The key step is pounding the steamed tteok in a mortar or with a mallet to create an extremely chewy and soft texture. Finally, it’s coated with sweet and nutty roasted soybean powder to finish the Injeolmi. This Korean rice cake is also a staple on holiday and festive tables, symbolizing wishes for good fortune. If you ask many Koreans which tteok they like most, Injeolmi is a Korean tteok universally loved without exception.

Ssuk Tteok 쑥떡

Ssuk Tteok is a Korean tteok where mugwort (ssuk) is the main ingredient. The mugwort is mixed with rice flour and steamed, giving the tteok a strong, fragrant aroma. There are several variations: coated with soybean powder as Ssuk Injeolmi, made thinly as Ssuk Jeolpyeon, or filled with sweet red bean paste. Historically, during Korea’s poor past, ssuk was used in spring to stretch grains and make tteok last longer. Today, it is much more expensive than regular Korean rice cake and is sought after for its health benefits.

Kkul Tteok 꿀떡

The Korean tteok featured in the viral TikTok “Kkul Tteok Cereal” is this Kkul Tteok. It’s made by mixing glutinous rice flour and non-glutinous rice flour. The Korean tteok is shaped into small round balls much smaller than a golf ball, and comes in white, pink, and deep mugwort green colors. Inside, there’s sweet filling like honey, sugar, or sesame. Its shape is similar to Songpyeon, so it’s sometimes called Kkul Songpyeon. This Korean rice cake is loved by many children and is also highly recommended for foreigners to try.

Siru Tteok 시루떡

Siru Tteok is made by steaming rice flour in a siru (a traditional Korean steamer) and is considered the most basic form of one of Korea’s oldest tteok. The most representative variety is Pat Siru Tteok, topped with red bean paste. Instead of sweet red bean paste, some versions use slightly salty red beans, creating a rich, nutty flavor.

The red color of the beans was traditionally believed to ward off evil spirits, so people ate it on New Year’s Day to drive away bad luck and pray for peace in the home. It was also customary to make Siru Tteok when moving houses and share it with neighbors to maintain good relations and keep evil spirits away. When I was very young, it was common to share Korean tteok with neighbors after moving, and I feel nostalgic that this tradition has mostly disappeared.

Songpyeon 송편

Songpyeon is made from kneaded glutinous rice flour and is usually shaped into half-moons. It is filled with sesame seeds, red beans, or beans, and steamed on pine needles. The fragrant pine scent is the key difference between Songpyeon and Kkul Tteok (Honey Rice Cake). This Korean rice cake is traditionally eaten during Chuseok, Korea’s major harvest festival, to give thanks for the year’s harvest.

Songpyeon Recipe

This is a Songpyeon recipe traditionally enjoyed during Chuseok. My grandmother used to run a rice cake shop, and this recipe is adapted from hers so it can be easily made even outside Korea. The filling is the most popular one — sesame filling. It’s nutty, sweet, and absolutely delicious.

Omegi Tteok 오메기떡

Omegi Tteok is a traditional Korean rice cake from Jeju Island. In Jeju, glutinous millet called Omegi is used as the main ingredient to make mugwort tteok, which is then filled with sweet red bean paste and coated with whole red beans on the outside. The combination of sweet filling and the nutty exterior creates a delicious Korean tteok. When I lived in Korea, I often ordered it via direct delivery from Jeju, and it’s one of my favorite tteok. Since moving to Europe, I can no longer find it, which I really miss.

Baram Tteok 바람떡

Baram Tteok is made by steaming and pounding glutinous rice flour. It is filled with sweet red bean paste and shaped into a half-moon. When the rice cake is folded, air gets trapped inside, creating a puffed-up shape, which is why it’s called Baram Tteok (“wind rice cake”). There are plain white versions and mugwort (Ssuk) versions, made during spring when fresh mugwort is available.

Hobak Tteok 호박떡

Hobak Tteok is made by mixing rice flour with kabocha or pumpkin and steaming it in a siru. Nowadays, the pumpkin is often mashed or made into sweet pumpkin paste to enhance flavor and sweetness. This tteok is commonly enjoyed in autumn and winter.

Pumpkin Rice Cake Recipe

This is a Korean rice cake, pumpkin injeolmi with castella enjoyed in the fall, called Hobak Injeolmi (Pumpkin Korean Rice Cake). Made with glutinous rice flour, it has a soft and chewy texture, and the topping of finely ground Castella cake makes it sweeter and smoother than regular injeolmi.

It’s a trendy Korean rice cake loved by many for its delicate sweetness and soft flavor. With this easy tteok recipe, you can now enjoy a traditional Korean dessert right at home.

Gijeong Tteok (Sul Tteok or Sulppang) 기정떡

Gijeong Tteok, also called Sul Tteok 술떡 or Sulppang 술빵, is not sold in bakeries but only in tteok shops. It is made by fermenting rice flour with makgeolli and then steaming it. The texture is a cross between tteok and bread—soft, fluffy, and light. It is decorated with pine nuts, dried jujube, and black sesame on top of the white tteok.

FAQs about Korean Rice Cakes, Tteok