Gungjung tteokbokki (궁중떡볶이) is the traditional version of tteokbokki. Gungjung means “royal court” in Korean. Unlike today’s red spicy version, this traditional version is mildly flavored with a soy sauce based sauce. As such, it’s also called ganjang tteokbokki (간장떡볶이). Ganjang is soy sauce.
This version of stir-fried rice cakes dates back to the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). As the name suggests, it was part of the royal cuisine and regarded as a high class dish – an interesting contrast to the modern spicy version which is pretty much street food.
One story behind the origin of this royal dish is that it was inspired by japchae (stir-fried starch noodles with vegetables) and created to help regain the King’s appetite. In fact, gungjung tteokbokki is also known as tteokjapchae (떡잡채) perhaps because it is made similarly to japchae.
This deliciously colorful dish will be a great addition to your lunar New Year feast! You can, of course, enjoy as a snack or a light meal any time of year.
The rice cake
Garaetteok (가래떡), a cylinder-shaped white rice cake, is used in various ways in Korea. The thin ones are cut short for making tteokbokki, hence the name tteokbokki tteok (떡볶이떡). The thick type is sliced into thin oval shapes for making tteokguk (rice cake soup), which is the New Year soup.
Either one is fine for this recipe. If using the thick type, simply cut thin (quartered lengthwise) and short for this recipe.
You can also use thinly sliced oval shape rice cakes (tteokguk tteok, 떡국떡) to make this dish.
The Additions
This recipe uses beef but you can use pork or chicken if you like. Likewise, feel free to use any vegetables you want. Garlic chives, colorful bell peppers and spinach are all great options.
You can make this dish vegan or vegetarian by simply omitting the meat and increasing the amount of the mushrooms or other vegetables.
Ginkgo nuts and/or pine nuts are traditional garnishes, but absolutely optional.
More savory rice cake recipes
Tteokbokki (spicy stir-fried rice cake)
Seafood cheese tteokbokki
Soupy tteokbokki
Tteokguk (rice cake soup)
For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ingredients
- 1 pound thin garaetteok/tteokbokki tteok about 2-inch long pieces
- 4 ounces lean beef sirloin, eye round, chuck tender or rib eye
- 3 or 4 shiitake mushrooms fresh or soaked if dried
- 1/2 medium zucchini (about 4 ounces) You can also use garlic chives and/or colorful bell peppers.
- 1 medium carrot cut into thin, 2-inch strips
- 1/2 medium sweet onion thinly sliced
- 1 to 2 scallions cut into 2-inch lengths
- salt
- cooking oil for stir-frying
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine or mirin
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- pinch pepper
Optional garnish:
- ginkgo nuts or pine nuts
Instructions
- Mix the sauce ingredients well and set aside. Bring water to a boil in a medium size pot. Add the rice cake pieces. Boil until all the pieces float to the top. The time required will vary depending on the condition of rice cakes. The rice cakes will be very soft when cooked, but they will become harder as they cool. Drain them out with a sieve. Do not rinse. Mix with 2 tablespoons of the prepared sauce. Set aside.
- Thinly slice the beef into about 2-inch long strips. Cut stems off the mushrooms and slice into thin strips. Place the beef and mushrooms in a bowl, and mix in a tablespoon of the prepared sauce. Marinate while preparing the other ingredients.
- Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and then thinly slice crosswise and slightly diagonally to make the cuts longer. Generously sprinkle salt over zucchini slices, and set aside for 10 - 15 minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid from the zucchini by hand. In a lightly heated and oiled skillet, stir fry the onion, carrot, and zucchini over medium high heat, about 2 minutes. Add the scallion at the end (not in the photo). Transfer to a bowl.
- In the same skillet, cook the beef and mushrooms over medium high heat until the meat is cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the rice cakes and stir fry for another minute or two. Turn the heat off.
- Add the rice cakes to the bowl with the vegetables, along with the optional ginkgo or pine nuts, and the remaining sauce. Toss well to combine everything well. Adjust the seasoning with additional soy sauce or sugar as necessary. Serve warm.
Heidi says
Looking through the comments, I see I’ve already made this – today, as I had not beef, used prawns and the recipe worked well. Added a red capiscum from the garden, used home grown zucchini and onion. Thanks for posting!
em says
This is sooo tasty! I used soy curls instead of beef to make it vegan and I will definitely be making it many more times. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hyosun says
Great!! Thank you for sharing an option for vegan!
Frank Furter says
Wow! I rarely comment on recipe sites, but this was PHENOMENAL! Every bit as good as any Korean restaurant I have been to. This is a keeper! Love love love.
Katie says
I just made this tonight and it was wonderful! Thank you for this recipe. The flavors are so balanced. I unfortunately have a pepper allergy and therefore cannot do anything even with a hint of heat but I love exploring various cultures and their foods. I was so excited to try this recipe as Trader Joe’s now sells rice cakes and I knew I would love it! I will definitely be making this often!
Heidi says
Made this today – superb! Marinated the beef and shiitake overnight. Use rice cake discs to see how they worked, all good!👍🏻
Sarit says
Wonderful recipe, so tasty! Thank you so much! I’m vegan so I used tofu instead if beef and it was delicious!
Hyosun says
Great! thanks!
Anna says
Thank you this was so delicious! All your recipes are always spot on, thank you for what you do.
Dee says
3 Tablespoon kikkoman soy sauce or Korean soup sauce?
Is kikkoman soy sauce the same as Korean Jin soy sauce?
Hyosun says
Not the same, but you can use it in place of Korean jin ganjang. Every soy sauce brand/type is different in taste even among Korean brands. Also you may want to read my Korean Pantry Seasoning Ingredients for more info on soy sauce.
Jane Minervini says
I love your blog! It’s my go to for Korean recipes. This stir fry was great. I must admit, I did amp up the sauce with some freshly grated ginger and some gochujang because I like my food with attitude. Once the prep was done it was a quick recipe that was truly appreciated by my family. Another one to add to rotation. Thank you!
E.H says
Three tablespoons of soy sauce was too much. Very salty, needed to dilute with water. I used jorim-ganjang; not sure if that made it saltier than it was supposed to. Tasted great with the minor adjustment – just like my grandma used to make. Thank you!
Hyosun says
The salt level in soy sauce can certainly vary. Next time, just use less soy sauce.
디아나 says
안녕하세요 어머니 ^.^
I lived in Korea for almost 4 years and after coming back to my homecountry Colombia I miss Korean food so much! In Colombia is not easy to find 고추장 or other korean sauces/food 🙁 . I was able to get some 가래떡 to make 떡볶이with an instant sauce but I can’t eat too spicy food, so I was looking for a different recipe when I found this one! Thank you so much, I’ll try it!
I’d really appreciate if you can give some advises on how to prepare some dishes without the korean pre-made sauces.
Thanks again 🙂
디아나
Bhavani Rajesh says
Hi From Sri Lanka! I got into a craze for all things Korean thanks to my kids (they got into BTS and Blackpink :), but their addiction to K pop made me fall in love with the Korean language and culture… And thanks to your lovely blog, I’m now in love with Korean cooking! Made jjajangmyeon and kimchi already and they were both amazing! Thank you so much for the recipes!
My kids are just as crazy about Tteokbokki as they’re about BTS. Just wondering – can we make the rice cakes at home too? Is it easy, and is there a time tested recipe you have?? Would love to hear from you!
감사해요!!!
Rebecca says
Hello! I’ve made tons of your recipes and they taste just like my mom’s home cooking. I love being able to recreate dishes from my childhood! This was a new dish for me though as we usually had spicy dukbokki. Yum!
Can you recommend a brand of rice wine?
Elsa Levin says
Thank you for sharing your recipes. I have a gluten n dairy free diet, once I discovered Korean foods, history n amazing people, I am learning Hangul n learning how to cook real Korean foods. I m delighted to find your site n recipes. THANK YOU!! Elsa
Jenny says
How many servings does this recipe make?
Jessie says
I would say 2-3 if you’re only making this.
Jenny says
How many servings does this recipe serve?
Hyosun says
2 to 3 depending on the serving size.
Christine says
Made this today! My FIL really liked it! He’s Korean and he mostly eat just Korean food. Thank you for all your recipes!
K says
I was looking at a lot of different recipes but ultimate decided to use your sauce recipe. :)Stirfried all my veggies and meat, boiled my rice cakes for a minute, mixed it all together with your sauce and it tasted so good! I finished it off with a garnish of green onion and thinly sliced 깻잎! Thank you!!
Ciara Gomez says
Love this recipe! Got everyone into rice cakes now since no one wanted to eat the spicy ones but me
Diana says
This was delicious and very popular with my family. Spicy tteokbokki is my favourite Korean meal but sadly the rest of my family don’t agree, so this is a great recipe to get my rice noodle hit and keep them happy. Thank you!
Naty says
That’s it! Can you be my adoptive mom? I just love all your recipes. I followed your kimchi recipe, and it came out fantastic. I had tried tteokbukki in the past but didn’t like it because it was far too spicy. But this! This is exactly how I felt it should be eaten. Can’t wait to try this recipe. Right now, with COVID-19, finding meat is a little hard. But I will definitely try!
Jasmine says
i just cooked this without the meat and it tasted great as a vegetable option. I used two portobello mushrooms or maybe just up the dose in the shittake mushrooms. Just simmer down the mushrooms when cooking (about 10 minutes)
Monique Landry says
Thank you for opening this new world for me. What are rice cakes? I realize this is a very simple question for you but I don’t know what they are made with.
I’m from Canada, learning Korean and hangul writing. Korean food is so great!
Danielle says
This was a really excellent recipe! I was surprised and delighted by how easy and tasty it was–and I almost always have the non-tteokbokki ingredients on hand, so I made it on a whim. Thank you for posting!
Hyosun says
Awesome! Thank you for letting me know how the recipe turned out for you.
Valerie M says
I made this tonight after making your spicy tteokbokki last week, and I have to say I much prefer this.
Rice cake is an interesting ingredient to cook with, and I can’t say I fully enjoy it. However, I know that when the craving strikes, I’ll make this recipe. It was easy enough to whip up, and I made it vegetarian by omitting the beef and doubling up on the mushrooms. My friends also had some when I made it and said it’s some of the best they’ve had.
Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe! If you ever visit Jeonju, you’re welcome to stay with me!
amy says
I’ve been looking for this recipe for my toddler, thank you!!
Do you know if I could make this vegan by using only mushrooms, no beef?
Hyosun says
Of course! Enjoy!
Mochi says
Love your recipies. I tried making kimchi jjiage and it was delicious.
I will definitely try to make tteokbokki next. It’s one of my favorite Korean food.
Thank you again
Mochi
Zoe Lau says
Thank you for this beautiful recipe! Finally got to make it after trying it in Korea whilst on holiday with my family.
Used chicken instead but still taste just as good. Even my Korean friends said it tasted great!
Posted it here: https://sprinkleofvanillasugar.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/oil-free-gluten-free-korean-gungjung-dukkboki-chicken-rice-cake-stirfry/
Thank you for all your recipes, have tried several and they all taste delicious!
Maria Shipley says
All this looks wonderful!
I especially appreciate the explanation of Gungjung tteokbokki.
We often make Korean food at our home in Germany. My all-time favorite dish is Kimchijikae.
Rebecca Phillips says
I just need to tell toy that I LOVE your blog. I’m an American living in South Korea and your blog is helpful in my kitchen as well as when were learning about what we’re eating in a restaurant. Thanks for all your hard work. You’re helping us love Korean food!!
Hyosun Ro says
My great pleasure, Rebecca! I’m so happy to hear I can be helpful with your cooking and eating Korean food in Korea. Hope you’re having lots of great food Korea can offer. Thank you so much for stopping by! Cheers!
angela says
Thank you for sharing! Now I am hungry! gungjung tteokbokki is one of my favorite Korean dishes! 새해 복 많이 받으세요!
Hyosun Ro says
hi angela – Hope you get to make it soon. I love it too. It’s such a comforting dish. Happy New Year!
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
Happy Lunar New Year Hyosun! Your tteokbokki looks delicious! Hope you have a nice celebration with your family. 🙂
Hyosun Ro says
Hi Nami – Happy Lunar New Year to you and your family too!
Nammi says
hello, I love your website cos its a door way to learn korean food 🙂 , your luna new year feast looks delicious!!
Hyosun Ro says
Hi Nammi – aww thanks for the nice words! Hope you had great food for your New Year celebration. Happy New Year!