Ask any Korean what their favorite street food is and most likely at the top of the list will be tteokbokki, the fluffy rice cakes smothered in a sticky red pepper sauce. Now the dish is gaining ground in the US thanks to the confluence of Korean popular culture and accessibility.
Pre-packaged versions of the food have begun to appear at national wholesalers like Costco, online sales are increasing, and tteokbokki-specific restaurants are expanding. There was also, of course, that moment when BTS singer Jimin helped make it a social media trending element when they saw him eating it at a food market in Seoul. Tteokbokki is also Ji-Young’s favorite food from Sesame Street. first asian muppet.
O’Foods, a global producer of Korean pantry staples, began selling instant prepackaged tteokbokki in the US in October 2021 through online retailers including Walmart and Amazon. Its rice cake sales have increased by 450% in the past year.
“Our best-selling product on online platforms has always been gochujang, but our tteokbokki product line has already become our second best-seller in a year,” Justin Park, a representative for the O’Foods company, told NBC News.
Added that tteokbokki has outperformed popular Western snack foods at times, with its product and Quaker alternating for first and second best sellers in the «rice cakes» category in Amazon’s gourmet food and grocery section.
Its sentimental value isn’t lost on second-generation Korean-Americans, even as newer clientele discover comfort food.
“One of my earliest memories is when I was 9 or 10 years old, I was in Korea for the summer, and my cousins took me on a jip (store) right next to her house and I just remember crying so mae-yo (spicy),» said Joanne Lee Molinaro, creator behind the instagram account The Korean Vegan and Cook Book by the same name.
“I think it’s a rite of passage that a lot of Korean-Americans have. As a result, his popularity exploded. It has certainly exploded on my own blog,” Molinaro said. «People would print out that recipe and take it to the Korean grocery store and say, ‘I want to make this.'»
Korean food has long been gaining awareness among the Western public. Bibimbap was an early favorite of Goop and Gwyneth Paltrow. recipe in 2009. Korean barbecues in urban areas often generate long lines. But the proliferation of Korean entertainment, much of which features critical plotlines revolving around food (think ram-don in «Parasite»), has helped accelerate interest in dishes beyond Korean fried chicken and K- BBQ. And Netflix has turned Korean food shows and dramas into global sensations.
“Recently, the rise of Korean music, K-pop, Korean dramas, Korean movies, and anything from Korean culture has become much more popular and is now accepted as cool and cool and something to try,” said Hooni Kim, the head chef. receive a Michelin star for Korean cuisine. «Someone who has never tried Korean food but loves BTS and loves the movie ‘Parasite,’ it’s much easier for them to try Korean food.»
Kim sells a packaged version of tteokbokki at her premium grocery store in New York City, Little Banchan Shop. He gets his dduk from the rice cake maker and bakery. yedang, for which he swears. “This is the best place. i tried every dduk from all providers,” he said.
Once a delicacy served at royal courts, tubular rice cakes date back to ancient times. Joseon period in Korea, where it was traditionally cooked with sweet soy sauce and beef. It is believed to have been first documented in the 19th century cookbook. “Siuijeonseo”, although its modern form has evolved to be red, sticky and sweet, slow-cooked with hard-boiled eggs and fish cakes. However, that too is changing as new innovations bring new flavors.
In New York City, the restaurant toppoki witch is banking on the growing appeal of rice cakes by bringing a wider selection to the public. The restaurant opened its first location in Flushing, Queens, in December 2022, and a second in nearby Bayside in February 2023.
The menu highlights a variety of rice cakes, from sweet potato to wheat and corn, and unconventional sauces like rose and carbonara. Rice cakes are short like gnocchi, medium or long and thin. Guests select the ingredients from the buffet, most of which are produced in Korea except for the vegetables, and cook tableside.
“I think the younger generation really likes it, because this is the first concept in the United States,” said Jerry Kim, general manager of Witch Toppoki, who said similar concepts already existed in Asia. “There are many all-you-can-eat KBBQs, but [stateside] they never ate a spicy rice cake.”
The restaurant yep ddukwhich opened in Los Angeles in 2015 and specializes in spicy Korean comfort food, turned the flavors of tteokbokki into the popular hashtag “#Ktownspicychallenge.” It challenges users to conquer rice cakes drenched in sauces so spicy they deserve a spot on «Hot Ones,» like cheongyang. pepper, which is 10,000 Scoville heat units, and the even spicier Korean ghost pepper, ttaengcho.
Yup Dduk is originally a South Korean franchise restaurant whose massive expansion speaks to the potential of tteokbokki across the pond: The franchise has 500 locations worldwide.