[FOOD COURT] Warm up this fall with a hearty bowl of tteokbokki

Whether it's a quick snack or an entire meal, there are few dishes Koreans reach for more often than tteokbokki, the sticky rice cakes in a spicy gochujang sauce that can be found on practically any street corner in Korea.

A plate of tteokbokki at Sungumine in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul [LEE SUN-MIN]

Whether it's a quick snack or an entire meal, there are few dishes Koreans reach for more often than tteokbokki, the sticky rice cakes in a spicy gochujang sauce that can be found on practically any street corner in Korea.

Tteokbokki restaurants are so ubiquitous in Seoul that often they're not restaurants at all, just a tent on the sidewalk. Those restaurants that have moved into brick-and-mortar premises still embrace this tradition, often setting up their cooking surface on an open storefront so that passersby get pulled in by the smell and sight of the cooking tteokbokki.

Tteokbokki is also popular among home diners as one of the most common take-out options, filed under bunsik alongside other Korean staples like odeng (fishcakes) sundae (blood sausage).

With so many tteokbokki places to choose from it can be difficult to set your sights on a specific restaurant. Breaking the mold on such a well-known dish can be a challenge, but here are three of the most interesting options in Seoul today.

Bbalgan Oden Busan Eomuk

Located inside Gaepo Market in southern Seoul’s Gangnam District, Bbalgan Oden Busan Eomuk has been loved by locals for decades. Without any seats to sit down on, people often stand by the bar as they fill up on tteokbokki, sundae, odeng and twigim (tempura).

[LEE SUN-MIN]

One of the most appealing things here is that you can choose your tteok (rice cake).

Many tteokbokki lovers are divided into two groups: Those that like ssalteok made from rice, and those that like milteok made from flour. Texture lovers go for ssaltteok as it is chewier, while those who want to focus on the sauce go for the softer milteok.

If you can’t decide which is to your preference, you can order half and half. This is a definite plus as most places make their tteokbokki with just one option.

In case you can’t finish your food at the restaurant, you can simply use the plastic bag that covers the plate to wrap it up and take your food home.

(02) 459-6928 13-11 Gaepo-ro 82-gil, Gangnam District

Byeongangseo Tteokbokki

Located steps away from the restaurant-heavy Cheongdam in Gangnam District, this place is sought after by those who want some late night food after a drink or two as it stays open until midnight. It is a popular spot with restaurant staff in the area as well, offering a comfortable late-night dinner venue and somewhere for families to pick up a snack for the evening.

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The tteokbokki here is soupy and its tteok is made of rice. Each tteok is bigger so that you have to take a few separate bites to finish it. Those who like dipping their sundae or twigim in the tteokbokki sauce usually welcome this soupier style of tteokbokki.

(0507) 1331-9978 21 Dosandae-ro 46-gil, Gangnam District

Naru Tteokbokki

Gwangjin District is known for two tteokbokki spots: Sintoburi and Sungeamine, located on the same street within about 200 meters from each other. But the search for something new and different continues and another rising spot among those who don’t mind a little travel is Naru Tteokbokki.

[LEE SUN-MIN]

Although it is already well known among locals in Gwangjin District, Naru Tteokbokki has only recently started to draw attention from tteokbokki lovers across the city more for its fried shrimp ball.

While most of the tteokbokki spots offer the same ingredients fried, such as squid, sweet potatoes and assorted vegetables and gimmari (glass noodles covered in seaweed), Naru Tteokbokki has chewy shrimp balls cut into pieces. And that makes the look of the dish filled with tteok and shrimp balls stand out on social media.

To end your meal on a sweeter note, the store offers a cup of pine-nut-flavored soft serve to help you cleanse your palate.

(0507) 1465-9113 18 Gwangjang-ro 1-gil, Gwangjin District

BY LEE SUN-MIN [lee.sunmin@joongang.co.kr]