Tteok-bokki

Tteok-bokki (떡볶이; also spelled ddukbokki) or stir-fried rice cakes is a popular Korean food made from small-sized garae-tteok (long, white, cylinder-shaped rice cakes) called tteokmyeon (떡면; "rice cake noodles") or commonly tteok-bokki-tteok (떡볶이 떡; "tteok-bokki rice cakes").[1][2] Eomuk (fish cakes), boiled eggs, and scallions are some of the most commonly added ingredients. It can be seasoned with either spicy gochujang (chili paste) or non-spicy ganjang (soy sauce)-based sauce; the former being the most typical form,[3] while the latter is less common and sometimes called gungjung-tteok-bokki (royal court tteok-bokki).

Tteok-bokki
Alternative namesStir-fried rice cakes
TypeBokkeum
Place of originKorea
Associated national cuisineKorean cuisine
Main ingredientsTteok (rice cakes), fishcake, gochujang
VariationsGungjung-tteok-bokki, ra-bokki
Korean name
Hangul
떡볶이
Revised Romanizationtteok-bokki
McCune–Reischauerttŏk-pokki
IPA[t͈ʌk̚.p͈o.k͈i]

Today, variations also include curry-tteok-bokki, cream sauce-tteok-bokki, jajang-tteok-bokki, seafood-tteok-bokki, galbi-tteok-bokki and so on. Tteok-bokki is commonly purchased and eaten at bunsikjip (snack bars) as well as pojangmacha (street stalls). There are also dedicated restaurants for tteok-bokki, where it is referred to as jeugseog tteok-bokki (impromptu tteok-bokki).

History

The first record on tteok-bokki appears in Siuijeonseo, a 19th century cookbook, where the dish was listed using the archaic spelling steokbokgi (복기).[4] According to the book, tteok-bokki was known by various names including tteokjjim (steamed rice cakes), tteok-japchae (stir-fried rice cakes), and tteok-jeongol (rice cakes hot pot). The royal court version was made from white tteok (rice cakes), sirloin, sesame oil, soy sauce, scallions, rock tripe, pine nuts, and toasted and ground sesame seeds, while the savory, soy sauce-based tteok-bokki was made in the head house of the Papyeong Yun clan, where good-quality soy sauce was brewed.[5] In this version, short ribs among others was a common ingredient. The name tteok-bokki also appears in the revised and enlarged edition of Joseon Yori Jebeop, where it is described as a soy sauce-based savory dish.[5]

It is believed that red, spicy tteok-bokki with gochujang-based sauce first appeared in the 1950s. When Ma Bok Lim participated at the opening of a Chinese restaurant, she dropped tteok into hot sauce accidentally and ate it, and found that it was delicious. After that, she started to sell it in Sindang and it has since become tteok-bokki.[6] Today, the typical tteok-bokki purchased and eaten at bunsikjip (snack bars) and pojangmacha (street stalls) are red and spicy, while the soy sauce-based, non-spicy version is referred to as gungjung-tteok-bokki (궁중떡볶이; "royal court tteok-bokki"). Rice tteok rose in popularity as the South Korean economy developed, and various versions of the dish have proliferated there and around the world. As it was a folksy food for working class people, wheat tteok was often substituted for rice.[5]

Varieties

Like other types of popular food, tteok-bokki went through various fusions. Boiled eggs and pan-fried mandu (dumplings) were traditionally added to tteok-bokki.

Variations

Ingredients such as seafood, short ribs, instant noodles, chewy noodles are also added to the dish.

Haemul-tteok-bokki, (해물떡볶이; "seafood tteok-bokki") uses seafood as a sub ingredient.

Galbi-tteok-bokki (갈비떡볶이; "short rib tteok-bokki") is a tteok-bokki uses short ribs as an ingredient.

Ra-bokki (라볶이; "instant noodle tteok-bokki") and jol-bokki (쫄볶이; "chewy noodle tteok-bokki"), are quite similar. They both add noodles to tteok-bokki. Ra-bokki and jjol-bokki differ in the kind of noodles added to tteok-bokki; ra-bokki adds ramyeon noodles, and jjol-bokki adds the chewy noodles which are used to make jjol-myeon.

Jeukseok-tteok-bokki

Jeongol (hot pot)-type tteok-bokki is called jeukseok-tteok-bokki (즉석떡볶이; "on-the-spot tteok-bokki"), and is boiled on a table-top stove during the meal.[7] A variety of additions, such as vegetables, mandu (dumplings), and ramyeon or udong noodles are available at jeukseok-tteok-bokki restaurants. As jeukseok-tteok-bokki is usually a meal rather than a snack; bokkeum-bap (fried rice) is also a common end-of-meal add-on.[7]

Variation based on sauce

Non-soy sauce- or chili paste- based tteok-bokki sauce have also gained in popularity. There are some well-known variations.

First it is curry-tteok-bokki. Curry tteok-bokki is roasted by yellow Korean style curry. It uses curry powder which includes a lot of turmeric  component, which makes it healthier than other variations.

Second one is cream tteok-bokki. Cream sauce tteok-bokki is made with the idea of cream pasta, or carbonara spaghetti. Cream sauce and bacon are used instead of gochujang and fish cakes.[8]

Another well known variation is jajang-tteok-bokki, which uses jajang sauce instead of red pepper paste.

Gochujang tteok-bokki
Soupy gungmul-tteok-bokki
Gireum-tteok-bokki stir-fried in oil

Piquant, red gochujang-based tteok-bokki is one of Koreans' favorite snacks. Both soupy gungmul-tteok-bokki (국물떡볶이; "soup tteok-bokki") and dry gireum-tteok-bokki (기름떡볶이; "oil tteok-bokki") are commonly enjoyed, while the former is considered as the prototype. In gungmul-tteok-bokki, kelp-anchovy stock is often used to bring out the savory flavor. Gochutgaru (chili powder) is often added for additional heat and color, while mullyeot (rice syrup) helps with sweetness and consistency. Eomuk (fish cakes), boiled eggs, and diagonally sliced scallions are common additions to the dish. In gireum-tteok-bokki, the mixture of gochutgaru (chili powder), soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil often replaces gochujang (chili paste). Soft tteok sticks are seasoned with the sauce mixture, then stir-fried in cooking oil with a handful of chopped scallions and served. Tongin Market in Jongno, Seoul is famous for gireum-tteok-bokki.

There are also many variations in Gochujang tteok-bokki. For example there is perilla leaf tteok-bokki. original gochujang tteok-bokki and etc.

Ganjang tteok-bokki
Gungjung-tteok-bokki

Sweet and savory, brown soy sauce-based tteok-bokki is often referred to as gungjung-tteok-bokki (궁중떡볶이; "royal court tteok-bokki").[9] Its history dates back to a royal court dish before the introduction of chili pepper, which happened in the Joseon era (17th & 18th Centuries).[10] The earliest record of gungjung tteokbokki was that in the 1800s, a cookbook called Siuijeonseo.[10] Having a taste similar to japchae (stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables), it was enjoyed by the royals as a banchan and as a snack.[9] Although traditional tteok-bokki was made with soup soy sauce, which is the traditional (and was the only) type of soy sauce in the pre-modern Korea, sweeter regular soy sauce has taken its place in modern times. Other traditional ingredients such as sirloin or short ribs, sesame oil, scallions, rock tripe, pine nuts, and toasted and ground sesame seeds are still commonly used in modern gungjung-tteok-bokki.[5] Other ingredients such as mung bean sprouts, carrots, onions, dried Korean zucchini, garlic, and shiitake mushrooms are also used frequently. The dish is usually served with egg garnish.[9]

Cheese tteok-bokki

Cheese tteok-bokki, a variant of tteok-bokki, refers to food that is placed on top of a complete tteok-bokki or has cheese in it. When chewed, it combines rice cakes with cheese, which gives you a strong sense of it. It is sold in snack bars and is easy to eat at home. And depending on individual tastes, they can be eaten with green tea powder, herb powder, sesame, parsley, etc.

Gireum tteok-bokki

Gireum tteok-bokki (기름떡볶이; "oil tteok-bokki") is a variety of tteok-bokki that is stirfried in oil and served with little sauce. This style is most famously found in Seoul's Tongin Market, where visitors can buy coins, which in turn can be used to purchase food from various vendors around the market. [11] U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who visited Korea in February 2014, sampled Gireum tteok-bokki at the Tongin Market.[12]

Gyeran tteok-bokkki

Gyeran tteok-bokkki (계란떡볶이; "egg tteok-bokki") is a one of variations of tteok-bokki that has any sauce. Only eggs, vegetables, salt and rice cake are used for it. Similar stir-fried Giruem tteok-bokki, but Gyeran tteok-bokkki is not spicy.

See also

References
  1. National Institute of Korean Language (30 July 2014). "주요 한식명(200개) 로마자 표기 및 번역(영, 중, 일) 표준안" (PDF) (in Korean). Retrieved 22 February 2017. Lay summary – National Institute of Korean Language.
  2. 이, 석희 (24 March 2009). "[백년맛집] 쌀떡·밀가루떡·칼라떡까지…떡볶이 떡도 다양해". The Daily Sports (in Korean). Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  3. Lee, Jiyeon (29 May 2012). "Don't say we didn't warn you: Korea's 5 spiciest dishes". CNN Go. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  4. Unknown (1919) [late 19th century]. Siuijeonseo (in Korean). Manuscript by Sim Hwanjin. Sangju, Korea. Lay summary – Korean Food Foundation.
  5. Bang, Sinyeong (1942) [1917]. Joseon Yori Jebeop 조선요리제법 (in Korean) (revised and enlarged ed.). Seoul: Hanseong doseo jusikhoesa. Archived from the original on 2017-03-12 – via Korean Food Foundation.
  6. "맛있고 재미있는 한식이야기 < 한식 스토리 < 한식(Hansik) < 한식 포털". hansik.or.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-06-24.
  7. "Jeukseok-tteok-bokki" 즉석떡볶이. Doopedia (in Korean). Doosan Corporation. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  8. "떡볶이". 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전 (in Korean). 2017-08-28.
  9. "Gungjung-tteok-bokki" 궁중떡볶이. Doopedia (in Korean). Doosan Corporation. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  10. "Gungjung-tteok-bokki". archive.hansik.org (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2018-04-18. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
  11. "The best tteokbokki in Seoul". Time Out Seoul. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  12. 설승은 (2014-02-13). "<통인시장 찾은 존 케리 "매운 떡볶이 베리 굿">". 연합뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-04-03.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.