In Korea, rice cakes show up at almost every moment that matters. A baby’s first birthday. Lunar New Year morning. The Chuseok table in autumn. A wedding. A funeral. The Korean word for all of these is tteok (Korean rice cake), and it covers far more ground than most people outside Korea realize. If your only reference point is the chewy cylinders in a plate of tteokbokki (spicy Korean rice cakes), you are seeing one branch of a very large tree.
I used to think the same thing, honestly. Tteok meant tteokbokki, and that was it. Then I had tteok grilled over an open flame and dipped in honey, and suddenly the category opened wide. But the one that really changed my understanding was tteokguk (Korean rice cake soup): just a simple, clear broth with sliced rice cakes, and it was so warm and satisfying that I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make.
This guide covers the full world of Korean food rice cake varieties, from everyday street food to ceremonial dishes shaped by hand. You will learn what tteok actually is, the major types, how they taste, and where to find them.
What Is Tteok? (The Short Answer)
Tteok is the Korean word for rice cake. It is not a single dish but a broad category of foods made from rice flour, either steamed, pounded, or shaped. Some varieties are savoury, some are sweet, and some are eaten as part of religious rituals. There are over a hundred recognized types across Korea’s regional traditions. The word covers everything from chewy cylinders cooked in spicy sauce to delicate steamed cakes filled with red bean paste.
Tteok in Korean Culture: More Than a Snack
Rice cakes are woven into Korean life in ways that go far beyond the kitchen. In Korea, tteok is present at births, deaths, and nearly every milestone in between.
On a baby’s first birthday (doljanchi), families prepare towers of colourful tteok to share with guests. The act of distributing rice cakes is itself meaningful: the more people who eat them, the more blessings the child receives. At Seollal (Korean Lunar New Year), the entire country eats tteokguk. Finishing a bowl is said to add a year to your age. It is one of the most universally observed food traditions in Korea, cutting across regions, wealth, and generation.
During Chuseok (Korean harvest festival), families gather to make songpyeon (Korean half-moon rice cakes eaten at Chuseok) together by hand. The rice cakes are stuffed with sesame seeds, sweet red bean, or chestnut paste, then steamed over a bed of pine needles. There is a well-known saying that the person who shapes the prettiest songpyeon will find a good spouse. Parents teach children, grandparents supervise, and the kitchen fills with hours of conversation. The songpyeon itself is secondary to the gathering.
At jesa (Korean ancestral memorial rites), specific tteok varieties are placed on the ceremonial table according to tradition. The arrangement of food matters. Rice cakes sit alongside jeon (pan-fried dishes), fruit, and soup, all prepared with care and intention. Jesa food carries cultural weight that goes beyond flavour, and tteok occupies a central position on that table.
Even at weddings and funerals, tteok appears. At a traditional Korean wedding, pyebaek (a post-ceremony family ritual) features stacked rice cakes. At funerals, white baekseolgi (steamed white rice cake) is served because white symbolises purity and mourning. The specific variety chosen for an occasion is never random.
The Main Types of Korean Rice Cakes
Tteok comes in more forms than most newcomers expect. Here are four of the most common types you will encounter.
Garaetteok (cylindrical Korean rice cake) is the variety most people recognize without knowing its name. These are long, smooth, white cylinders made from non-glutinous rice flour. Sliced crosswise, they become the coins floating in tteokguk. Left whole or cut into shorter lengths, they form the base of tteokbokki. Garaetteok has a firm, chewy bite and a clean, neutral rice flavour. It is the workhorse of Korean rice cake cooking.
Songpyeon is seasonal. Shaped like a half-moon and pinched closed around a sweet filling, songpyeon is tied to Chuseok and rarely eaten outside that holiday. The pine needle steam gives it a subtle woodsy aroma that sets it apart from other tteok.
Injeolmi is pounded glutinous rice cake coated in roasted soybean powder (kong-garu). It has a softer, stickier chew than garaetteok and a nutty, toasty taste from the powder coating. Injeolmi is popular as a snack, a dessert, and a topping for bingsu (Korean shaved ice). It is one of the most-loved tteok varieties across generations.
Baekseolgi is a steamed rice cake with a soft, spongy crumb. Its name means “white snow cake,” and it looks the part: pure white, mild, and slightly sweet. Baekseolgi is the classic birthday tteok for a child’s first birthday and is also used at jesa. Its plainness is the point. It represents purity.
Savoury vs. Sweet: The Divide Most People Miss
If you have only eaten tteok in tteokbokki, your mental model is locked on savoury. Fair enough. Tteokbokki is Korea’s most famous street food, and it is the entry point for most non-Korean eaters. But the savoury side is actually the smaller half.
The majority of traditional tteok leans sweet or neutral. Songpyeon is filled with sweetened sesame or red bean. Injeolmi is dusted in sweet soybean powder. Yakshik is a sweet glutinous rice cake made with chestnuts, jujubes, and honey. Hwajeon is a small pan-fried rice cake topped with edible flowers and drizzled with honey. These are closer to confections than to anything you would pair with gochujang (Korean fermented chili paste).
Then there is the in-between territory. Grilled garaetteok dipped in honey sits right on the line. Tteokguk is savoury, but the rice cake itself is neutral and absorbs whatever broth surrounds it. The same cylinder of garaetteok can be street food or soup, depending on the cut and the sauce.
This range is what makes tteok difficult to pin down for newcomers, and it is also what makes it interesting. Once you understand that tteok is a format, not a flavour, the category opens up.
Tteok vs. Mochi vs. Nian Gao: What Is the Difference?
Korean tteok, Japanese mochi, and Chinese nian gao are all made from rice, and all get called “rice cake” in English. That shared label creates confusion. They are not the same thing.
Mochi is made from glutinous (sweet) rice that is steamed and then pounded until extremely smooth and elastic. The result is very soft, very stretchy, and almost gummy when fresh. Most mochi is sweet and eaten as a dessert or snack, often filled with red bean paste or ice cream.
Nian gao (Chinese New Year cake) is a dense, sticky cake made from glutinous rice flour, often sliced and pan-fried. It is sweet, caramelised at the edges, and chewy through the centre.
Tteok overlaps with both but is broader than either. Tteok uses both glutinous and non-glutinous rice flour, depending on the variety. Garaetteok (the type used in tteokbokki and tteokguk) is made from non-glutinous rice, which gives it a firmer, bouncier chew than mochi. Injeolmi, on the other hand, uses glutinous rice and is closer to mochi in texture. The textures, preparation methods, and culinary roles vary widely within the tteok category itself.
The simplest way to remember it: mochi is one thing. Nian gao is one thing. Tteok is an entire family.
Where to Buy Tteok
Your best option is a Korean grocery store. Fresh garaetteok is often available in the refrigerated section, sometimes made in-house that morning. Fresh tteok has a noticeably better texture than frozen: softer bite, more pliable, and less likely to crack when you cook it. If your city has a Koreatown or a well-stocked Korean supermarket (H Mart, Lotte, Hannam Chain), check there first.
Frozen tteok is the most reliable option for most people. Bags of sliced garaetteok for tteokguk and cylindrical pieces for tteokbokki are widely available in the freezer aisle of Korean and general Asian grocery stores. Frozen tteok keeps for months and cooks well straight from the freezer. No thawing needed for most recipes.
Online retailers carry frozen tteok too, though shipping costs for frozen goods can be high. Search for “Korean rice cake tteokbokki” or “sliced rice cake tteokguk” on Korean grocery delivery sites.
For specialty types like songpyeon or injeolmi, you will typically need a Korean bakery or a Korean grocery that makes fresh tteok. These varieties are harder to find outside Korean communities, and quality drops significantly in frozen form. If you spot them fresh, buy them that day.
How to Store Tteok
Fresh tteok lasts 2 to 3 days at room temperature and up to a week in the refrigerator. It hardens as it cools. That firmness is normal and reversible.
Frozen tteok keeps for 3 to 6 months in the freezer. Keep the bag sealed tightly. If you buy fresh tteok and cannot use it within a few days, freeze it immediately. Spread the pieces on a baking tray in a single layer, freeze until solid, then transfer to a resealable bag. This prevents them from sticking together in a single block.
To soften hardened tteok, soak it in room-temperature water for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on thickness. For faster results, soak in warm (not boiling) water for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not microwave dry tteok. It turns rubbery and uneven. Soaking restores the chew properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does tteok taste like?
Most tteok has a mild, clean rice flavour. It tastes like freshly cooked rice compressed into a denser, chewier form. The flavour is intentionally neutral because tteok is designed to absorb sauces, broths, and seasonings. Sweeter varieties like injeolmi or songpyeon carry additional flavour from their coatings or fillings, but the rice base itself stays subtle.
Is tteok the same as mochi?
No. Tteok and mochi are both rice cakes, but they differ in ingredients, texture, and culinary use. Mochi is made exclusively from glutinous rice and is very soft and stretchy. Tteok includes varieties made from both glutinous and non-glutinous rice, which produces a wider range of textures from bouncy and firm (garaetteok) to soft and sticky (injeolmi). They are related concepts from different food cultures, not interchangeable products.
Can you eat tteok raw?
Tteok is cooked during production (steamed or pounded), so it is safe to eat without further cooking. Fresh tteok, still soft from the steamer, is eaten as-is in Korea. However, most store-bought tteok is sold chilled or frozen and has firmed up, so it benefits from being cooked again: boiled in soup, stir-fried in sauce, or grilled. Eating it cold and firm is safe but not particularly pleasant.
Why is tteok so chewy?
The chew comes from the starch structure of rice. When rice flour is steamed and pounded, the starch molecules align and form a dense, elastic network. Non-glutinous rice (used for garaetteok) produces a firm, bouncy chew. Glutinous rice (used for injeolmi) produces a softer, stickier chew. The pounding process is what creates the characteristic texture. The more the rice is worked, the chewier it becomes.
Where can I buy tteok?
Korean grocery stores are the best source. Check the refrigerated section for fresh garaetteok and the freezer aisle for frozen tteok in pre-cut shapes (cylinders for tteokbokki, ovals for tteokguk). General Asian supermarkets often carry frozen options as well. For specialty types like songpyeon or injeolmi, look for a Korean bakery or a store that makes tteok fresh. Online Korean grocery retailers also stock frozen tteok.
