tteok

Tteok refers to a family of Korean rice cakes made from rice flour or ground rice dough. It is a traditional element of Korean cuisine, prepared for everyday meals as well as holidays, rituals, and celebrations. Tteok comes in a wide range of textures, from soft and tender to chewy.

Most tteok is formed from rice flour or glutinous rice flour. The dough is commonly steamed (sirutteok), pounded (tteok), or occasionally boiled and molded. Additives such as sugar, salt, sesame, mugwort, red bean paste, chestnut, or honey may be included to create different flavors and colors.

Common varieties include garaetteok, a cylindrical rice cake used in tteokbokki; songpyeon, a half-moon shaped steamed cake eaten during the Chuseok festival; injeolmi, small pieces rolled in powdered beans or sesame; and baekseolgi, a plain steamed white rice cake. Regional styles and seasonal ingredients yield numerous other forms.

Culturally, tteok is associated with major milestones and ceremonies. Tteokguk, a soup containing sliced tteok, is traditionally eaten for the Korean New Year. Songpyeon and other tteok are prepared for harvest celebrations and family gatherings, reflecting the social and symbolic role of rice in Korean society.

Fresh tteok is perishable and typically kept refrigerated for a short time or frozen for longer storage. Dried varieties and ready-to-use flour are also available. Modern methods employ steamers and molds, while traditional tteok-making relies on stone mortars and wooden tools.