Tteokbokki appears as a signature dish in 1 South Korea cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Tteokbokki · Seoul
Tteokbokki are chewy rice cake tubes cooked in a gochujang-based sauce: sweet, spicy and sticky. Seoul's most eaten street food since the 1950s.
The modern spicy tteokbokki (gochujang-sauced rice cakes) was invented by Ma Bok-rim in Sindang-dong, Seoul, in 1953 after the Korean War. The original Joseon dish was entirely different: a non-spicy preparation using soy sauce, beef and vegetables, eaten by the royal court. Ma Bok-rim's gochujang version was a post-war reinvention that spread from Sindang-dong across the city and then the country. Sindang-dong Tteokbokki Town still operates today, a cluster of restaurants each claiming the original recipe. Variations now include rabokki (with ramen), cheese tteokbokki, and cream-based versions.
Where to eat in Seoul:
- Sindang Tteokbokki Town
- Myeongdong Street Food Alley
- Jongno 3-ga Pojangmacha Street