Today, I will show you how to make an ingredient for Korean cooking – sticky rice cakes. They are commonly used for tteokbokki, tteokggochi, and tteokguk. Koreans take their rice to a shop and let them make it. It is an interesting process, which is detailed in this awesome blog post by the Stumbling Engineer. Outside of Korea, many people cannot find these sticky rice cakes where they live, so they want to make tteokbokki and tteokguk at home. With this recipe, you can make sticky rice cakes at home and enjoy tteokbokki and tteokguk.
Yield: 2½ lb. Sticky Rice Cakes
Short Korean Lesson
- Tteok (떡) = Sticky Rice Cakes
- HuSik (후식) = Desserts
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 3 Cups Rice Flour
- 1½ Cups Water
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1½ Cups Water + 1 tsp Sesame Oil
Directions
For the steaming process, filled almost half of a pan with water and boil it on high.
Meanwhile, combine 3 cups of rice flour and 1 tsp of salt.
Slowly add 1½ cups of water, stirring it gently.
The rice flour will be crumbly.
Prepare a wet cheesecloth. Place the cheesecloth in a steamer.
Add the rice flour on top of the cheesecloth.
Once the water starts to boil, steam the rice flour for about 20 minutes on high.
In a bowl, add 1½ cups of cold water and 1 tsp of sesame oil. If you don’t like sesame oil, you can use normal cooking oil instead.
After 20 minutes, the rice flour will be cooked.
Wear cotton gloves before placing the plastic gloves over your hands. This will help prevent your hands from becoming burnt. The dough will be hot!
Use a bread machine to knead the dough. I used the pizza dough setting for 25 minutes. It is very important to knead the dough thoroughly for the gluten to fully develop and become sticky, so I do not recommend taking any shortcuts with this step. =P
If you don’t have a bread machine, you can make the sticky rice cakes with 1½ cups of rice flour and 1½ cups of sweet rice flour instead of 3 cups of rice flour. Hand knead the dough for at about 10 minutes. Rice cakes made this way will be inferior to using a machine; hand kneading does not make a good texture for the rice cakes.
When you handle the dough, cover your hands and the board with a little oil and water so that the dough will not stick to things. Take some of the dough and round it. Roll it on a board with your hands until it becomes about half an inch in diameter.
For tteokbokki or tteokggochi, cut it into 2 inch pieces.
For tteokguk tteok, roll the dough into a 1-inch diameter, and leave it at room temperature for one day before you cut it.
If you put some water on your knife, it makes it easier to cut. After waiting one day, slice it diagonally into ¼-inch pieces.
Put the rice cakes in freezer bags and store them in the freezer.
Hi, I’d really love to make my own tteokbokki but can’t find rice flour in our area. Can’t go to neighboring towns either since our town is on quarantine due to this covid pandemic. Is it possible to use nian gao(chinese sticky rice cake) as an alternative to tteok?
Hi Jhoie,
Since I don’t know what Nian Gao, I googled it and found this. https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/homemade-nian-gao/
I see the recipe and the ingredients… it looks very similar to tteokbokki tteok.. if this is what you meant.. I think you can try it.. please let me know if it works.. so I can share the information with others who can not get Korean tteok like you.. Thanks
rice doesnt have gluten
You are right. It’s good for gluten free diet.
If you know that then why does the recipe say to knead it to develop gluten when there is no gluten in rice
Sorry to confuse you, I meant to develop the chewy texture… not gluten..
Hi Aeri,
I don’t have a steamer, so I wanted to ask you what can I use to replace it ?
Thank you
Soumaya
Hi Soumaya,
I’m sorry, but you need a steamer to make rice cakes… if you do not have a steamer.. you can use a steamer basket for your normal pots like this. https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Vegetable-Steamer-Basket-Handle/dp/B00KYDZHSI/ref=sr_1_15?keywords=steamer+basket&qid=1567598745&s=gateway&sr=8-15 thanks
Hi, if I use sweet rice flour, will be ok? Will it change the texture?
Hi Gigi,
yes, normnally.. you don’t add much sweet rice flour for it.. because.. sweet rice flour is a little guey..and chewy texture.and we don’t want that for tteokbokki tteok..
Thank you so much. also, do you know what kind of recipes can I use the sweet rice flour?
Sure, Gigi
Here are some links for you that you can use your sweet rice flour.
http://aeriskitchen.com/2013/03/mung-bean-injeolmi/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2012/05/la-sticky-rice-tteok/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2008/10/sweet-rice-cake-with-red-bean-paste-chap_ssal_ddeok/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2016/09/choco-chaltteok-pie/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2013/10/fried-beef-garlic-chive-salad/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2019/03/giant-korean-red-bean-doughnut-holes/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2017/04/korean-radish-kimchi-2/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2012/11/napa-cabbage-water-kimchi/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2012/01/red-bean-juk/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2010/10/pumpkin-porridge/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2008/12/cake-crumb-sticky-rice-cakes-경단gyeongdan/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2018/11/tang-soo-yook/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2018/09/my-moms-kimchi-recipe/
After i store them in the fridge how can i defreeze them so the texture doesnt change?
hi Vanessa Garza,
I normally don’t defreeze my frozen rice cakes.. I just cook them until it gets soft. Hope it helps.
Could I use a mixture of glutinous rice flour and regular all purpose flour? Or would that not make the right texture?
hi Kaila,
It gets the best result when you use 100 % short grain rice flour… for flavor and the texture.. (especially the flavor..)
but your answer does not really answers her question. Just say yes or no. We get it, using short grain rice flour gives the best result, but can she use the moisture of glutinous rice flour and all purpose flour work for making the rice cake?
DUDE,
You sounds a little annoyed to me in your comment. I thought I indirectly answered that’s (wheat flour and sweet rice flour..) not what I will use to make this rice cake..but maybe.. you are right it was not clear. I will say no. The wheat flour will not make the right texture for TteokBokkI rice cake.
Hi Kaila,
About your question, I will not recommend you to use wheat flour to make rice cakes for TteokBokkI.. because the texture will be too off.. some companies do use some of wheat flour ..but obviously they put some chemical or some other ingredients to make it get more closer texture with rice cakes.. but it still not quite right either.. but at home, the result will be even worse if you try wheat flour to make the rice cake.. As DUDE mentioned, my previous answer might be not clear to you, so I leave this message again.
Can I use a KitchenAid with the dough attachment to knead the dough?
hi Maria,
Yes, you can. Just I want you to know that the rice cakes are very very sticky and it is difficult to clean later when it’s stick to the attachment and the bowl. You might want to soak them in water to wash later.
Thank you so much omg I’ve been trying and failing for so long ur recipe finally did it.
Tip for those using dry flour: make sire u add 1/2 cup water per 1 cup of flour. The texture I had once I finished mixing the two was like wet clay. It would stick to my hand bit after steaming I got the exact texture of tteok.
That’s wonderful to hear. Thanks a lot ~~~~ 🙂 happy happy..hehe
Hi there
Aeri Lee. I bought a shelved not frozen rice flour. Is it okay to use this tyoe or best to change it?
Thank you
hi Joanne Tran,
Sure, Joanne. You can use that rice flour too.
Hi Aeri,
I also bought shelved rice flour and the rice caked cake put a little different then the regular ones sold which were made with frozen rice flour. Should there be a more specific amount of hot water that needs to be added for the texture to be the same? How much water would you add for about 2 cups of non-frozen rice flour? Thank you!
My apologies. My first sentence sounded weird because of my autocorrect. I meant to say that the rice cake I made using the shelved rice flour did not have the same texture as the rice cakes that are made with frozen flour.
Hi Van,
My recipe is using non frozen rice flour too… maybe your rice flour is normal long grain rice flour ?? because Koreans use short grain rice flour.. That’s what I can guess for your problem.. let me know what you think.
Hi Aeri
I was wondering what they were I am going to try making those Rice rolls
I am trying a lot of Korean cooking, and I find the food delicious
I’m not too keen on it being too hot so I just cut down on the chilli
thank you
Ammiel
hi Ammiel,
Nice to meet you. I’m glad to hear that you are into Korean cooking. 🙂 thanks
Please tell me can I grind directly the short grain rice with a cofee grinder or do I have to soak the rice first? For making rice flour I mean.
hi Rodica,
I’m sorry that I can not tell what will be best for your cofee grinder… I guess it will be better to use just dried rice as your coffee beans are dry ?? I’m thinking to come up with a different method to make this tteok since some people have problem to get right result for this recipe.. thanks
Yes, you can use the coffee grinder. Rice flour (ssalgaru) is flour made from finely milled rice. Koreans usually use one of two kinds of ssalgaru for making rice cakes: chapssalgaru (sweet rice flour) and maepssalgaru. Maepssalgaru is made with short grain rice and usually sold frozen to keep it moist. Maepssalgaru is a wet flour and kept frozen.
How to make your own “Short grain rice flour Mepssalgaru 멥쌀가루”
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/mepssalgaru Shows you a video and written recipe for making your own wet Short grain Rice Flour for Tteokbokki and TTeokguk.
hi Audrey,
Thanks for your detailed information about Korean rice flour for tteok. 🙂
Just made it
Amazing recipe ! I didn’t have rice flour so I just ground short grain rice and steamed it 30 minutes.
Great idea to knead with bread machine 🙂
My gareatteok are waiting in the freezer and I can’t wait to make ddeokbokki
Thank you !
hi Cass,
Wow, great job for your tteok. I’m so excited to hear it. Thanks 🙂
Thanks, I was wondering about being able to make it that way sometimes.
hi, is there absolutely no chance to make garaeddeok using long grain rice flour? in my country, short grain rice is really expensive.
hi eva,
I’m sorry to say this but ..yes you have to use short grain rice for rice cake. It is because the texture and flavor between short grain rice and long grain rice are very different. Thanks
What about medium grain rice? I have cooked the sekka brand before to eat as general rice and it is pretty sticky. DO you think that could work to make tteok?
hi Shannel,
For the right result, you need short grain rice for this.. when you say.. pretty sticky .. I don’t know how much the rice you mentioned same with the short grain rice.. You can always try it and find out.. but it really needs right kind of rice to get chewy texture and good flavor..thanks
Thanks
hi ruth,
You are welcome. Thanks 🙂
Omg!! I have been trying to find these in the store for months! These are delicious, and so fun to eat! Thank you, thank guy, thank you!!
hi Asia,
🙂 Thanks for your comment.
Hi i want to try this recipe for tteokboki but can i use all purpose flour ? or what can i use as a substitute for rice flour ?
hi kyleen
I’m sorry but you can only use short grain rice flour to make tteokboki tteok. I hope you can get it somewhere. Thanks for your comment.
Hey very nice recept 🙂 but can u tell me how much ml water do i need at 400g rice flour ??
hi Samantha Tabel,
I just replied your same question on youtube.. lol I can see you really want to try this recipe for yourself. I hope you get success. Please make sure that you use right kind of flour.. that will be Korean sticky rice flour (short grain rice flour).. thanks 😉
Thanks for the recipe! Can I use a stand mixer to knead the dough if I don’t have a bread maker?
hi June,
Yes, if your mixer is strong enough to knead the dough.. sure you can use it. 🙂 thanks
Is the rice flour glutinous or just the regular one as I found 2 kinds in the supermarket?
Thanks.
hi Debbie,
I don’t know what supermarket you are talking about. If you go to a Korean grocery store, they will have short grain rice flour and sweet rice flour.. for this recipe.. You need short grain rice flour. thanks 🙂
Hi. I have a question. can i use instant rice flour instead of homemade rice flour; which u need to soak the rice overnight, grind the rice and sift them. It’s quite complicated. Thank you.
hi hana,
Yes, I used rice flour from a store too.. just make sure that you use right kind of rice flour.. it is short grain rice flour.. it will be safe to buy right kind if you get it in a Korean grocery store. It is not sweet rice flour.. or long grain rice flour.. thanks
Hi Aeri, I saw these in the Korean shops and asked the lady how to eat it and she said you just eat it plain like that. So I bought it and we opened the package and ate it like that. I’m sure there’s more to it than this. I also bought seasoned seaweed so we wrapped the rice cakes in the seaweed. LOL. My question is, what do you eat with these rice cakes?
hi Jameela,
The Korean lady is in some point right and the other points wrong.. lol because I love to get that fresh rice cakes whenever i go to Kroean grocery market and eat plain on way home in the car. (my husband is driving.. lol) that’s what she meant..but it’s not only way to eat it.. you use it for cooking ingredient..such as these.. I will give you some links.
http://aeriskitchen.com/2015/07/oil-ddeokbokki/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2013/09/black-bean-paste-tteokbokki/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2013/12/sticky-rice-cake-and-bacon-mali/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2012/09/gangnam-style-carbonara-tteokbokki/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2012/08/rabokki/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2010/07/royal-palace-tteokbokki-%EA%B6%81%EC%A4%91-%EB%96%A1%EB%B3%B6%EC%9D%B4-goonjung-tteokbokki/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2008/10/ddeok-bok-ki-%EB%96%A1%EB%B3%B6%EC%9D%B4/
http://aeriskitchen.com/2008/05/skewered-sticky-rice-cakes-ddeokggochi/
Let me know which one is your favorite.. lol thanks ^^