Tteok

Tteok
Alternative namesRice cake
TypeRice cake
Place of originKorea
Main ingredientsFlour made of various grains, including glutinous or non-glutinous rice
VariationsSteamed, pounded, shaped, pan-fried
Korean name
Hangul
떡
RRtteok
MRttŏk
IPA[t͈ʌk̚]
  •  Wikimedia Commons logo Media: Tteok

Tteok (Korean: 떡) is a general term for Korean rice cakes. They are made with steamed flour of various grains, both glutinous and non-glutinous rice. Steamed flour can also be pounded, shaped, or pan-fried to make tteok. In some cases, tteok is pounded from cooked grains.

Tteok is eaten not only as a dessert or seasonal delicacy, but also as a meal. It can range from elaborate versions made of various colors, fragrances, and shapes using nuts, fruits, flowers, and namul (herbs/wild greens), to plain white rice tteok used in home cooking. Some common ingredients for many kinds of tteok are red bean, soybean, mung bean, mugwort, pumpkin, chestnut, pine nut, jujube, dried fruits, sesame seeds and oil, and honey.

Tteok is usually shared. Tteok offered to spirits is called boktteok ("good fortune rice cake") and shared with neighbours and relatives. It is also one of the celebratory foods used in banquets, rites, and various festive events. Tteokguk ("rice cake soup") is shared to celebrate Korean New Year and songpyeon is shared on Chuseok, a harvest festival.

History

The history of Korean rice cakes goes back to Korean primitive agricultural society. It is presumed to have been consumed from around the 7th to 8th centuries B.C., as there are records of sowing seeds, plowing, and farming along with ancient artifacts found throughout the country. Found in the ruins[clarification needed] were artifacts such as the galdol (a flat stone used as a tool when grinding fruit against a grind stone) and the dolhwag (a small mortar made of stone) used throughout that period.

The origin of rice cakes began in prehistoric times when the coarse flour obtained from the primitive threshing process of mixed grains was baked or pan-fried without the use of cooking utensils.

Utensils for making tteok

Tteoksal
Jeolgu
Siru

Below are cooking utensils used to make tteok in the traditional Korean way.

Types

Tteok is largely divided into four categories: steamed tteok (찌는 떡), pounded tteok (치는 떡), boiled tteok (삶는 떡) and pan-fried tteok (지지는 떡). The steamed tteok is made by steaming rice or glutinous rice flour in a siru (시루), a large earthenware steamer, so it is often called sirutteok (시루떡). It is regarded as the basic and oldest form of tteok. Pounded tteok is made by using a pounding board or mortar after steaming it first. In making pan-fried tteok, the rice dough is flattened like a pancake and pan-fried with vegetable oil. Shaped tteok are made by kneading dough with hot water, then shaping it into balls.

Steamed tteok

Baekseolgi
Sultteok

The main ingredients for steamed tteok or sirutteok are rice (멥쌀, mebssal in Korean) or glutinous rice (찹쌀 chapssal), and sometimes they are mixed together. In some cases, other grains, beans (azuki beans or mung beans), sesame seeds, wheat flour, or starch are mixed with the rice. Various fruits and nuts are used as subsidiary ingredients, such as persimmons, peaches or apricots, chestnuts, walnuts, and pine nuts. In addition, marinated vegetables or herbs can be used to flavor the tteok. Danggwi leaves (Ostericum grosseserratum), seogi mushroom (manna lichen), radish, artemisia, pepper, and cheongju are the most common flavorings, and honey and sugar are used as sweeteners.

In order to make steamed tteok or sirutteok, rice or glutinous rice is soaked in water for a while, then ground. The prepared rice flour is put in a siru and steamed. According to steaming method, sirutteok is subdivided into two groups: seolgitteok (설기떡), which is shaped into a single large lump, and kyeotteok (켜떡), which consists of multiple layers with adzuki bean powder or other bean powder. Seolgitteok is also called muritteok (무리떡), which is regarded as the most basic form of sirutteok because it is made only of rice. When making kyeotteok, rice and glutinous rice are mixed. The name kyeotteok derives from the adverb kyeokeyo (켜켜, literally "layered") in Korean because this tteok is made in layers.

Pounded tteok

Garae-tteok
Injeolmi

In traditional preparations, pounded tteok is made by pounding rice or glutinous rice with utensils called jeolgu and jeolgutgongi or tteokme and anban. Injeolmi (tteok coated with adzuki bean powder or roasted soybean powder), garaetteok (가래떡 cylinder-shaped white tteok), jeolpyeon (절편 patterned tteok) and danja (단자 glutinous tteok ball coated with bean paste) are the most commonly eaten pounded tteok.[citation needed]

Rice and glutinous rice are hulled to make grain particles or powder and then steamed in a siru (earthenware steamer) and pounded with utensils. The pounded tteok is divided by rice type into glutinous pounded tteok (찹쌀도병 chapssal dobyeong) and non-glutinous pounded tteok (맵쌀도병 mapssal dobyeong). Injeolmi, a representative of glutinous pounded tteok, varies in accordance with gomul types (고물, coating made with bean powder, sesame seeds, or sliced jujubes) or subsidiary ingredients mixed into the steamed rice while pounding on the anban. Patinjeolmi (팥인절미), and kkaeinjeolmi (깨인절미) are examples for the former, coated with red bean powder and sesame, respectively. In ssuk injeolmi (쑥인절미) and surichwi injeolmi (수리취인절미), ssuk (Artemisia indica) and surichwi (Synurus deltoides (AIT.) NAKAI) are added.

Shaped tteok

Pan-fried tteok

Other varieties

Dishes made with tteok

See also

References

  1. ↑ HANSIK), 한식포털 (The Taste of Korea. "한식포털 (The Taste of Korea HANSIK)". www.hansik.or.kr (in Korean (South Korea)). Retrieved 2026-09-25.
  2. ↑ Park, Chun-Ok (2003). 한국 전통 떡의 고찰. 釜山女子專門大學 論文集. 29: 109–137 – via 부산여자대학.
  3. ↑ 채, 병숙; 김, 문숙 (2019). 조리전공 대학생이 인식하는 전통떡 상품속성이 상품전략과 상품만족에 미치는 영향연구. 외식경영연구(Journal of Foodservice Management). 21: 263~283 – via 한국외식경영학회.
  4. ↑ 떡조리기구 (in Korean). Sujeong Food. Archived from the original on 2005-01-14.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Ttuk, Hangwa : Kinds of Rice Cakes". Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation. Archived from the original on 2010-07-04. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  6. ↑ Archived March 1, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ 가래떡 Garaetteok Cylinder-shaped Rice Cake. Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs. Retrieved 2013-04-23.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  8. ↑ Archived November 30, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ 여, 경모 (10 April 2008). 밀양떡, 양반 입맛 사로잡던 그 맛 그대로. 경남도민일보. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
  10. ↑ Archived November 30, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ "Bukkumi (부꾸미)" (in Korean). Doosan Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2009-02-06. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
  12. ↑ 주악 (juak). Click Korea Online Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
  13. ↑ Archived November 30, 2022, at the Wayback Machine