The Ultimate Tteokbokki: Daebak House’s Golden Recipe
Unlock the secrets to Daebak House’s legendary Tteokbokki with this golden recipe!
Let’s recreate the famous Daebak House Tteokbokki, a recipe grounded in tradition and perfected by the culinary genius, Chef Asura. This dish stays true to its roots, delivering an irresistible blend of chewy rice cakes and savory, sweet, and spicy sauce.
Ingredients- 400g Garaetteok (rice cakes) or Milltteok (wheat flour cakes) – Milltteok is recommended for its chewiness and ability to absorb sauce well.
- 3 sheets of square fish cakes
- 2 stalks of green onion
- 2 hard-boiled eggs (preferably stone-baked for extra flavor)
The Golden Sauce- 3 Tbsp coarse gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
- 7 Tbsp fine gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
- 5 Tbsp corn syrup (for a glossy finish and sweet depth)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce (soup soy sauce)
- 1/2 Tbsp salt
- 1 Tbsp Dasida (MSG-based soup stock)
- 100ml water (about half a paper cup)
- 3 Tbsp coarse gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
- 7 Tbsp fine gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
- 5 Tbsp corn syrup (for a glossy finish and sweet depth)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce (soup soy sauce)
- 1/2 Tbsp salt
- 1 Tbsp Dasida (MSG-based soup stock)
- 100ml water (about half a paper cup)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Begin by preparing your tteok (rice cakes). While traditional rice cakes (ssal tteok) are chewy, wheat flour cakes (mil tteok) are often preferred for tteokbokki as they absorb the sauce better. Choose your preferred type!
Step 2
To prevent the tteokbokki sauce from developing a sour taste or altering its flavor when simmered for too long – a common issue with commercially produced tteok that contain additives and alcohol – it’s crucial to wash the tteok thoroughly. Rinse them 2-3 times under cold running water and then soak them in clean water for about 10 minutes. After soaking, drain them well.
Step 3
Cut the square fish cakes into bite-sized pieces. Rectangles are common, but you can also cut them into triangles or any shape you prefer.
Step 4
You can use regular hard-boiled eggs, but for this recipe, we’re using convenient and flavorful stone-baked eggs (maekbanseok gyeran). Prepare two.
Step 5
Cut the two stalks of green onion into long, diagonal pieces. These will add a refreshing sweetness and aroma to the dish. (Note: The image might show shorter pieces, but long cuts are recommended for this recipe.)
Step 6
Now, for the heart of the dish – the golden sauce! The ratio of coarse to fine gochugaru is key to achieving that perfect Daebak House color and flavor. Mix 3 tablespoons of coarse gochugaru with 7 tablespoons of fine gochugaru. Add 5 tablespoons of corn syrup for a beautiful glaze and smooth sweetness, 2 tablespoons of sugar for extra sweetness, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce for depth, 1/2 tablespoon of salt to balance the flavors, and 1 tablespoon of Dasida for an umami boost. Finally, pour in 100ml of water (about half a paper cup) and stir everything together until well combined.
Step 7
In a wide, deep pot or a large pan, add 900ml of water and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, add the prepared sauce mixture and stir to dissolve.
Step 8
When the sauce mixture comes to a rolling boil, add the prepared tteok. Cook the tteok until they float to the surface. This parboiling step is essential as it removes excess starch, resulting in a cleaner-tasting and better-textured tteokbokki.
Step 9
To remove excess oil and make the fish cakes more palatable, briefly blanch them in the same water used for the tteok for about 10 seconds.
Step 10
After parboiling, drain the tteok and fish cakes and rinse them briefly under cold water. This helps to remove any remaining starchiness and prevents them from sticking together, allowing the sauce to coat them evenly.
Step 11
Add the drained tteok, fish cakes, and hard-boiled eggs to the simmering sauce. Stir gently to ensure everything is coated in the delicious sauce.
Step 12
Finally, toss in the long-cut green onions. These will infuse the tteokbokki with a wonderful fresh sweetness and aroma.
Step 13
Once the mixture comes back to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly and coated the tteok and fish cakes beautifully. You want a consistency where the sauce is slightly viscous and glossy, not too watery but still with a little bit of sauce left to spoon over. The color should be a vibrant, appetizing red!
