List of tteok varieties facts for kids

Pounding tteok

Tteok (pronounced "duck") are yummy rice cakes from Korean cuisine. They are a traditional snack or dessert, often enjoyed during holidays or special events. There are many different kinds of tteok, each with its own unique shape, color, and taste. Some are steamed, some are pounded, and others are shaped or even pan-fried! Let's explore some of these delicious Korean treats.

Steamed Tteok

These tteok are cooked by steaming them, often in a special steamer called a siru.

• Sirutteok (시루떡)
  • This is a basic steamed tteok. It's often made with layers of rice flour and red beans.
• Duteop tteok (두텁떡)
  • This tteok was once enjoyed by Korean royalty!
  • It has three layers: an outer powder, sweet rice in the middle, and a mix of nuts and fruits inside.
  • Ingredients can include chestnuts, dates, pine nuts, and a special citrus fruit called yuja.
• Baekseolgi (백설기)
  • This tteok means "white snow tteok" because it's super white!
  • It's made from white rice and sometimes has raisins mixed in.
  • Baekseolgi is often served at a baby's first birthday party.
• Kongtteok (콩떡)
  • This tteok is made with different kinds of beans, like soybeans or red beans.
• Jeungpyeon (증편)
  • This tteok is special because it's made using makgeolli, a type of Korean rice wine.
  • The makgeolli helps the tteok become light and fluffy.
• Mujigae tteok (무지개떡)
  • This tteok is called "rainbow tteok" because it has bright, colorful stripes!
  • It's a popular treat for big Korean parties and celebrations.
  • You might see it at a baby's first birthday, a 60th birthday party, or a wedding.

Pounded Tteok

These tteok are made by pounding cooked rice until it becomes a chewy, sticky dough.

• Injeolmi (인절미)
  • This is a very popular pounded tteok. It's often coated in a sweet powder.
  • Pat injeolmi (팥인절미) is covered with red bean powder.
  • Kkaeinjeolmi (깨인절미) is coated in black sesame seeds.
  • Ssuk injeolmi (쑥인절미) is made with mugwort, a type of herb, giving it a green color.
  • Surichwi injeolmi (수리취인절미) uses a mountain herb called surichwi.
• Garaetteok (가래떡)
  • This tteok is shaped into long, white cylinders. It's also called "white tteok."
  • Thinly sliced garaetteok is used to make tteokguk, a traditional New Year's soup.
  • Thicker pieces are used in tteokbokki, a popular spicy street food.

Shaped Tteok

These tteok are molded into fun and interesting shapes.

Kkul tteok (꿀떡)

• Kkul tteok (꿀떡)
  • This tteok means "honey tteok" because it's filled with sweet Korean syrup.
  • It looks a bit like songpyeon but is usually smaller.
• Songpyeon (송편)
  • These are crescent-shaped tteok often filled with sweet ingredients like sesame seeds or beans.
  • Songpyeon are a must-have during the Chuseok holiday, which is like a Korean Thanksgiving.
• Gochitteok (고치떡)
  • This tteok can be colorful! It's made with strawberry powder, mugwort, and gardenia seeds.
• Ssamtteok (쌈떡)
  • This tteok is special because it's used for ssam. Ssam is when you wrap food in a leaf.
• Dalgal tteok (닭알떡)
  • This tteok is named after the Korean word for egg, dalgyal.
• Gyeongdan (경단)
  • These are small, round rice balls.
  • They are usually filled with sweet red bean or sesame paste.
  • After being shaped, they are rolled in colorful powders like black sesame.
• Bupyeon (부편)
  • This tteok is made from sticky rice flour dough.
  • It has a sweet filling and is covered with a powdered bean coating called gomul.

Pan-fried Tteok

These tteok are cooked by frying them in a pan, often until they are golden and crispy.

Jindallae hwajeon

• Hwajeon (화전)
  • These are small, sweet pancakes made from sticky rice flour.
  • They are decorated with beautiful flower petals, like azaleas, chrysanthemums, or roses.
• Bukkumi (부꾸미)
  • These are sweet, pan-fried tteok shaped like a crescent moon.
  • They can have different sweet fillings inside.
• Juak (주악)
  • Juak are made from sticky rice flour and filled with ingredients like mushrooms, dates, and chestnuts.
  • They are pan-fried and then coated in sugar or honey, making them extra sweet.

Non-rice Tteok

Not all tteok are made from rice! Some are named tteok because of their shape or how they are made.

Tteok galbi

• Tteok-galbi (떡갈비)
  • This dish is made from minced (ground) beef ribs, called galbi.
  • It's called "cake ribs" because the meat is kneaded and shaped, similar to how rice tteok is made.

See also

• List of Korean desserts