Oil TteokbokkiGireum Tteokbokki

Gireum tteokbokki predates the gochujang-sauce version that most people know as tteokbokki today. The oil-based version was the standard before the sweet-spicy red sauce became ubiquitous in the 1950s and 1960s. In that older style, the rice cakes were stir-fried in sesame oil with gochugaru and soy sauce — no broth, no gochujang paste, just dry heat and a light coating of red from the chili flakes.

I stumbled across gireum tteokbokki by accident. I was trying to make regular tteokbokki but had forgotten to buy gochujang. The pantry had gochugaru, soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice cakes, so I improvised. The result was drier than what I was trying to make, with a different heat — sharper from the raw gochugaru rather than the slower, sweeter heat of gochujang. The rice cakes were chewier from the stir-fry method.

I looked it up afterward and discovered I had essentially made the older version of the dish without knowing it.

The technique matters. Regular tteokbokki simmers the rice cakes in liquid until they soften and absorb the sauce. Gireum tteokbokki stir-fries them in oil over high heat, which produces a slightly crisped exterior and denser, chewier texture. You add a tablespoon or two of water only if the cakes start sticking — just enough to prevent burning, not enough to create sauce.

This version is simpler and faster than regular tteokbokki, and it stores better: the leftover rice cakes don't turn to mush in the refrigerator the way broth-cooked versions do.