KOREAN RICE CAKES

Are a chewy, versatile delight

Korean rice cakes, frequently Romanized as tteok (though you might find variations in spelling), are a staple ingredient in the country’s cuisine. Typically made by steaming and then pounding a simple dough of rice flour, salt and water before rolling into cylinders, rice cakes have a delightfully bouncy, chewy texture. Here’s what you need to know about tteok and how to use them.

Growing up in Korea, cookbook author Emily Kim, better known as Maangchi, would take rice soaked at home to her local mill to be turned into rice cakes. Now based in New York City, “sometimes you can find it in a Korean grocery

One of the most common shapes for Korean rice cakes is called tteokguk-tteok, which is made by thinly slicing garaetteok to get oval-shaped coins. Below, Korean Rice Cakes (Tteok) With Spicy Sausage and Kimchi is served with packaged fried shallots and sliced scallions.