Tteokbokki with Chili Crisp and Honey

Photo: Toby Scott • Food Styling: Tamara Vos • Prop Styling: Rachel Vere (Courtesy Hardie Grant). Photo: Toby Scott • Food Styling: Tamara Vos • Prop Styling: Rachel Vere (Courtesy Hardie Grant)

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In her new cookbook, Pocha: Simple Korean Food from the Streets of Seoul , author Su Scott unpacks one of her favorite street foods: an oil-seared version of Korean rice cakes known as gireum tteokbokki. This dish is believed to have appeared in Seoul after the Korean War in the early 1950s, but also has roots connecting it to the royal court delicacy known as gungjung tteokbokki, which did not include gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder). In Scott’s rendition, the rice cakes are seasoned with perilla oil and soy sauce and cooked over low heat until they’re simultaneously crispy and chewy, then finished with sweet honey and spicy chili crisp.

If you are using frozen tteok, soak them in cold water for 10 minutes to soften first. You can find tteok, gochugaru, and perilla oil in many Asian grocery stores.

Adapted with permission from Pocha: Simple Korean Food from the Streets of Seoul by Su Scott, published by ‎Hardie Grant Publishing, June 2024.

Featured in “ Pocha Takes You on a Street Food Crawl Through Seoul ” by Jessica Carbone.

Yield: 2 Time: 20 minutes

• 10 oz. fresh or frozen tteok (tube-shaped)
• 2 Tbsp. perilla oil
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder)
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp. chili crisp
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. white sesame seeds, toasted and lightly ground

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the tteok and cook for 1 minute, then transfer to a strainer or colander and rinse with cold water. Set aside to drain completely, about 5 minutes.
2. To a large bowl, add the tteok, perilla oil, soy sauce, gochugaru, and sugar and toss until well combined. Set aside.
3. To a large wok or skillet over medium heat, add the vegetable oil. When it’s hot and shimmering, add the scallions and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Using a spider skimmer, transfer the scallions to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the oil behind in the wok, and set aside.
4. Turn the heat to low, then add the seasoned tteok and cook, stirring frequently, until they are tender and appear crispy and scorched in places, about 8 minutes. Stir in the chili crisp and honey and continue cooking until caramelized, 1–2 minutes more.
5. Transfer the tteok to a platter, top with the fried scallions and sesame seeds, and serve immediately.