[Food] Tteok-kkochi (떡꼬치, Rice Cake Skewers)

[Food]

[Food] Tteok-kkochi (떡꼬치, Rice Cake Skewers)

Tteok-kkochi (떡고치, Rice Cake Skewers)

In my previous articles about Korean gourmet, I mentioned that Koreans are big fans of chewy textures and spicy flavors such as sticky rice cake. Dishes made of sticky rice have been a beloved dish since ancient times in Korea. One of them is 'Tteok (rice cake)', which is roasted, boiled, stir-fried or barbecued and enjoyed as a snack.

Today, I would like to introduce you to 'Tteok-kkochi (떡꼬치, Rice Cake Skewers). 'Tteok' means 'rice cake' and 'kkochi' means 'skewer' in Korean. Tteok-kkochi is a simple snack made of rice cake. It's very easy to cook and eat.

Garae tteok (long rice cake): main ingredient of tteok-kkochi

1. Chop garae tteok into small pieces as desired

2. Place chopped tteok pieces into skewers, and deep-fry them in hot oil till they become crispy

3. Mix sugar, chili powder, chili paste, oligosaccharide syrup, ketchup, minced garlic, soy sauce and water into a bowl to make a sweet and spicy tteok-kkochi sauce.

4. Brush sweet and spicy sauce onto deep-fried tteok-skewers

Local Korean snack bar

It is not clear when and how tteok-kkochi was invented, but people suppose it originiated in the 1980s as a new menu in addition to tteok-bokki (Stir fried spicy rice cake). Some people claim that a recipe book from the 15th century Chosun dynasty recorded the name 'tteok-sanjuk' - an origin of tteok-kkochi - in its menu.

Some months ago, a new type of tteok-kkochi became very popular through a comedic reality show. 'So-tteok-so-tteok' is a new kind of Korean-style rice cake skewer made of rice cake and Vienna sausage. Rice cake and Vienna sausages are skewed one after the other. The same sauce used for tteok-kkochi is also used for so-tteok-so-tteok.

Famous and popular Korean snack so-tteok-so-tteok

I remember buying one or two tteok-kkochis at a snack shop near my school and eating them on my way home :) It was a cheap and tasty snack for all ages which also filled our bellies quickly.

There are not many snack shops that sell tteok-kkochi these days but I still miss tteok-kkochi :)


Bon Appétit!