Cheese Tteokbokki: Chewy, Cheesy Korean Rice Cakes

If you’ve never had these chewy rice cakes, prepare to have your life changed. Think: Korean spicy rice cakes with gooey melted cheese.

This cheese Tteokbokki is lathered with hot cheese and has a perfect balance of sweet and spicy gochujang sauce.

Traditional tteokbokki is a highly popular Korean street food. The main ingredient is tteok, which are long cylindrical rice cakes, that have been softened by sitting in soaking water. You add spicy gochujang sauce, which is made from Korean red pepper paste and various other ingredients. The dish can be as simple as that.

For this cheesy version, I added mozzarella to the chewy rice cakes, to make a cheesy and spicy rice cake dish. If adding cheese to Korean cuisine throws you off, you’re not alone. It’s actually become a common ingredient, especially in popular street food.

This delicious comfort food is so simple, it will shock you with how incredible it is. Get ready to explore the amazing flavors Korean food has to offer.

❤️ Why You’ll Love this Cheese Tteokbokki recipe:

• A taste of Korean soul food from your own kitchen.
• Flavorful spicy sauce.
• The addition of cheese takes this popular Korean rice cake dish up a notch.
• Make as a snack or appetizer
• You can water down the gochujang sauce for younger kids and toddlers.

🍲 Ingredients

Tteok: cylindrical rice cakes

Gochujang: Korean red pepper paste

Coconut Aminos

Honey

Garlic

Sesame Oil

Green Cabbage

Mozarella Cheese

Hard-Boiled Eggs

Green Onions

👩‍🍳 How to Make Cheese Tteokbokki.

1. Soak the cylindrical rice cakes (tteok) in a small bowl of warm water for about 20 minutes to soften them.
2. In a large frying pan, combine water, gochujang, coconut aminos, honey, minced garlic, and sesame oil. Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir.
3. Drain the soaked rice cakes and add them to the boiling sauce. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the rice cakes are soft and the sauce has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Once the rice cakes are soft and the sauce has thickened, stir in the shredded cabbage then top everything with shredded mozzarella cheese. (If you are adding hard boiled eggs, add them now). 
5. Close the sauté pan with a lid to melt the cheese on low heat for about 1 to 2 minutes. Make sure to check under the lid to see if the cheese has melted to your liking.
6. Transfer the cheese tteokbokki to a serving dish and garnish with chopped green onions.

🪄 Tips and Tricks 

• Soak tteok in warm, not cold water, to ensure they soften.
• Go to your local Korean grocery store to find tteok and gochujang. They’ll have a lot more options than a standard store.
• Korean red pepper paste can be spicy, so be cautious when serving to toddlers. To make it less spicy, play around with different gochujang brands, some are less spicy than others. If you can not find a less spicy brand, add water to the gochujang sauce to make it more mild.
• Use fresh rice cakes! Frozen ones tend to crack.

🗒 Substitutions

• Use soy sauce in place of coconut aminos.
• Add shitake mushrooms when you add the shredded cabbage to add vegetables. This gives a rich flavor to the dish.
• For an even richer flavor, sub the water for vegetable broth or chicken stock.
• Add parmesan cheese to make this extra cheesy.

🗒 Serving Suggestions

• Add sesame seeds prior to serving.
• These chewy Korean rice cakes make a great appetizer or side snack. For a complete Korean meal, serve it with Bulgogi Fried Rice or Bulgogi Noodles.

👝 How to Store Leftovers

This is really one you want to eat hot and fresh. If you have any leftovers, store in an airtight container and reheat in the oven.

🤔 Common Questions