Garae-tteok facts for kids
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| Type | Tteok |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Korea |
| Associated national cuisine | Korean cuisine |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul |
가래떡
|
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | garae-tteok |
| McCune–Reischauer | karae-ttŏk |
| IPA | [ka.ɾɛ.t͈ʌk̚] |
Garae-tteok (which means "가래떡" in Korean) is a special kind of tteok (a Korean rice cake). It is long and shaped like a cylinder. This tasty snack is made from rice flour that is not sticky, often called non-glutinous rice.
Sometimes, you can find grilled garae-tteok sold as street food in Korea. It's a popular snack to eat while walking around! People also slice garae-tteok very thinly, usually on an angle. These slices are then used to make tteokguk, which is a traditional rice cake soup. Koreans often eat tteokguk to celebrate the Korean New Year. In 2018, a super long garae-tteok was made in Dangjin, South Korea. It set a world record, measuring an amazing 5,080 meters (about 3.16 miles) long!
How Garae-tteok Is Made
Traditionally, garae-tteok is made by first steaming non-glutinous rice flour in a special steamer called a siru. After steaming, the rice flour is pounded until it becomes a smooth dough.
Then, people roll the dough between their hands and a table, or just between their palms. This method creates a thick, round rice cake. It's usually about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) wide. When made by hand, garae-tteok might not be perfectly even in thickness.
Today, most garae-tteok is made using machines. These machines push the steamed rice flour out in long, continuous cylinders. This process is called extruding. It helps make the garae-tteok more uniform in size.
