How to Shop for BEST Korean Rice Cakes in Soups

Rice Cake in Korean is TTEOK

A tip I learned from my Mom that we should all use when making Korean soups with rice cakes (tteok)

Tip: She suggests buying rice cakes that are freshly made by a rice cake bakery (can be found in the Korean Grocery Store) versus buying the packaged rice cakes that have been imported by some factory.

Additionally, she likes buying rice cakes ovals over cylinders because the cylinders can be a bit of overkill since they are thick. Rice cake ovals are nice and thin, and has a better ratio to whatever it’s being made with (e.g. rice cake ovals to tteokbokki hot sauce)

Why: The rice cakes that are freshly made simply taste better. They are chewier and just fresh. As opposed to the packaged rice cakes that have been imported, these rice cakes are less chewy and require you to thaw them in hot water for 5-10 because they are not as fresh.

How: You can find rice cakes at any Korean Grocery Store. There are usually two area you can find this.

Freshly Made Rice Cakes: This is typically in the grocery market's rice cake area. No, this is NOT located at the grocery's bakery that sells bread, cakes, and what not. It's a small section in the market that sells all sorts of Korean rice cakes, pictured below. It's made from a fresh bakery that was delivered to the market. Around $6-7.

Packaged Rice Cakes: You can find this in the refrigerated aisles within the Korean Grocery Store. Just buy whatever is on sale. My Mom sometimes buys this when there’s a good sale ($1.99-$2.99). Definitely not as good as the first option above, but options are always nice!