Jjajang Tteokbokki Recipe | Cheap Lazy Vegan (2024)

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Jjajang Tteokbokki Recipe | Cheap Lazy Vegan (1)

Jjajang tteokbokki (짜장 떡볶이), also known as Korean Black Bean Tteokbokki, is a delicious 15 mins recipe made with chewy Korean rice cakes in a black bean sauce! You’ll find this dish in South Korea, similar to the very popular and traditional tteokbokki (떡볶이) but made with Korean black bean paste / sauce.

Tteokbokki is a very popular dish using tteok, which is chewy Korean rice cakes. Jjajang is a delicious and savoury Korean black bean paste, inspired by Chinese food. You may have heard of Jjajangmyeon which is black bean noodles. So by cooking black bean sauce or black bean paste with tteok, you make jjajang tteokbokki!

This Jjajang tteokbokki recipe takes 15 mins to cook and is a savoury and non-spicy version of the popular tteokbokki.

  • Recipe for Jjajang Tteokbokki
    • Ingredients
    • How To Make Tteokbokki (Jjajang)
Jjajang Tteokbokki Recipe | Cheap Lazy Vegan (2)

Recipe for Jjajang Tteokbokki

To make jjajang tteokbokki (aka 짜장 떡볶이), you should know that tteokbokki is made with one of Korea’s most beloved ingredients – tteok. Tteok is the Korean word for rice cakes!

Korean rice cakes, tteok, are made with rice flour and transformed into soft, slightly sticky and incredibly chewy pieces of “rice dough” as I like to call it. These can be made into many shapes but for tteokbokki, the most common shape we use is the cylinder-shaped rice cakes. Truthfully, you can use whatever shapes you can find but if you have a Korean supermarket near you, I’m sure you can find these cylinder-shaped rice cakes.

The next main star ingredient for this tteokbokki is the black bean sauce. Jjajang is Korean black bean paste or black bean sauce. You can easily find Korean-style black bean paste (Chunjang) in any Korean (or usually Asian) supermarket. If you want to make a homemade Korean black bean sauce recipe, check out my Everyday Asian Recipes ebook (available to download here)!

For this tteokbokki recipe, we are basically putting together savoury black bean sauce with chewy and soft Korean rice cakes to create a delicious jjajang tteokbokki. Feel free to switch up the vegetables and other ingredients in my ingredient list to your liking!

Jjajang Tteokbokki Recipe | Cheap Lazy Vegan (3)

Ingredients

  • Korean rice cakes (tteok)
  • Korean-style black bean paste (Chunjang)
  • Green onions or scallions
  • Onion
  • Cabbage (or vegetables of choice)
  • Garlic
  • Oil
  • Soy sauce or soy-free alternative
  • Sugar
  • Sesame Seeds (optional)
  • Smoked Tofu or seasoned tofu (optional)

You can’t make the recipe gluten-free since the main star, chunjang/black bean paste has gluten and can’t really be substituted unless you know of an alternative.

The recipe is soy-free, simply by using a soy-free alternative to soy sauce.

Jjajang Tteokbokki Recipe | Cheap Lazy Vegan (4)

How To Make Tteokbokki (Jjajang)

If your Tteok (Korean rice cakes) are frozen and stuck together, add them into a large bowl with cold water to separate them for about 5-10 minutes before using them.

Prepare your vegetables of choice. I finely chopped green onions or scallions and separated the white part from the green. Chopped onion, shredded cabbage and minced garlic. I also sliced up smoked tofu, but this is optional.

Begin making your Jjajang Tteokbokki by adding oil to a large wok or deep pan on medium-high heat. Add black bean paste on one side and whites of green onions, diced onion and minced garlic on the other side.

Sautee for about 2-3 minutes separately then mix together.

Add in shredded cabbage and soy sauce and mix well. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the cabbage begins to wilt. leave them in.

By this point, your TTeok (Korean rice cakes) should be separated in the cold water. Drain them and add the TTeok (Korean rice cakes) into the black bean sauce with sugar and water. Optionally, you can add sliced tofu here too.

Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 mins or until the rice cakes are softened and the sauce has thickened (max 15 minutes).

When ready to serve, top with the rest of the green onions and sesame seeds (optional) and enjoy hot (I prefer to eat it a few hours after making it, because the flavours really soak in)! If you are serving this later, make sure to heat it up completely until the rice cakes are very soft and chewy again.

Jjajang Tteokbokki Recipe | Cheap Lazy Vegan (5)

Jjajang Tteokbokki (비건 떡볶이)

Jjajang tteokbokki, also known as Korean Black Bean Tteokbokki, is a tasty 15 mins recipe made with chewy Korean rice cakes in a black bean sauce!

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Korean

Keyword: street food, Tteokbokki

Prep Time: 1 minute minute

Cook Time: 14 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 183kcal

Equipment

  • Wok or Deep pan

  • Spatula

Ingredients

  • 600 g TTeok (Korean rice cakes) ideally cylinder shaped tteok
  • 1/4 cup Korean-style black bean paste labeled Chunjang, black bean sauce or black bean paste
  • 2 Green onions sliced and separated (whites and greens)
  • 1 Onion diced
  • 2 cups Cabbage shredded or diced
  • 1 tbsp Garlic minced
  • 2 tbsp Oil
  • 1 tbsp Soy sauce or soy-free alternative
  • 1 cup Water
  • 2 tbsp Sugar
  • 1 tsp Sesame seeds optional
  • 2 servings Smoked Tofu optional, seasoned tofu or 2 veggie dogs is also good

Instructions

  • If your Tteok (Korean rice cakes) are frozen and stuck together, add them into a large bowl with cold water to separate them for about 5-10 minutes before using them.

  • Prepare your vegetables of choice. I finely chopped green onions or scallions and separated the white part from the green. Chopped onion, shredded cabbage and minced garlic. I also sliced up smoked tofu, but this is optional.

  • Begin making your Jjajang Tteokbokki by adding oil to a large wok or deep pan on medium-high heat. Add black bean paste on one side and whites of green onions, diced onion and minced garlic on the other side.

  • Sautee for about 2-3 minutes separately then mix together.

  • Add in shredded cabbage and soy sauce and mix well. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the cabbage begins to wilt. leave them in.

  • By this point, your TTeok (Korean rice cakes) should be separated in the cold water. Drain them and add the TTeok (Korean rice cakes) into the black bean sauce with sugar and water. Optionally, you can add sliced tofu here too.

  • Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 mins or until the rice cakes are softened and the sauce has thickened (max 15 minutes).

  • When ready to serve, top with the rest of the green onions and sesame seeds (optional) and enjoy hot (I prefer to eat it a few hours after making it, because the flavours really soak in)! If you are serving this later, make sure to heat it up completely until the rice cakes are very soft and chewy again.

Nutrition

Calories: 183kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 266mg | Potassium: 136mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 95IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 2mg

NEED MORE VEGAN RECIPE INSPO? CHECK THESE OUT:

  • Spicy Tteokbokki
  • Gochujang Pasta
  • Korean Soft Tofu Stew (Sundubu jjigae)

If you enjoy Korean recipes, try these Korean seaweed rice rolls called Kimbap! You can actually dip these into the tteokbokki sauce as these two dishes are often served together.

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Jjajang Tteokbokki Recipe | Cheap Lazy Vegan (2024)

FAQs

Is original tteokbokki vegetarian? ›

Tteokbokki (also spelled ddukbokki, ddeokbokki, dukbokki, topokki, 떡볶이) is a classic korean street food of chewy stir-fried rice cakes in a sweet/spicy/sticky red sauce. The traditional version isn't vegan, but it's very easy to modify with a few simple swaps!

What does black bean Tteokbokki taste like? ›

It's such a tasty concoction of ingredients with umami flavor from the fishcakes and kelp. The black bean sauce is also savory with sweet notes and really soaks into the rice cakes.

Should you soak Korean rice cakes? ›

When it comes time to cook tteok, the biggest point of consideration is whether they need to be soaked and for how long. Both Maangchi and Kim agree that fresh rice cakes do not need to be soaked before using in recipes.

How to make instant Korean rice cakes? ›

Cooking Steps:
  1. Pick your instant tteokbokki flavor.
  2. Add water and microwave using instructions.
  3. Can be enjoyed out of the cup.
  4. But if you prefer to dress it up, add it in a cute dishware.
  5. Top with boiled egg, scallion, sesame seeds, sausage, and kimchi.
  6. Enjoy!
May 20, 2022

Which Korean food is pure vegetarian? ›

Some easily available and often vegetarian dishes I ate in Korea included tteokbokki, kimbap and cold noodles. Additionally, Korea is home to lots of street food stalls selling sweet treats such as hotteok (filled pancakes) and hodugwaja (walnut pastries) which are delicious and also vegetarian.

Can Koreans be vegetarian? ›

You don't have to worry! The traditional food in Korea is vegetarian or at least have vegetarian option and it is not hard to find it. The great thing about Korean dining is that they eat a lot of side dishes which are mostly made out of vegetable. Let's go to have a look at some of the Korean vegetarian food!

What does jjajang mean in Korean? ›

Name. Jajang (자장; alternatively spelled jjajang 짜장) is copied from the Chinese word zhájiàng (炸醬), which means "fried sauce". Myeon (면) means "noodles".

What flavor is jjajang? ›

The thick black bean sauce that covers the noodles has a savoury, slightly sweet flavor that is both comforting and satisfying. The combination of noodles, sauce, and vegetables creates a hearty and flavorful meal.

What are the ingredients in Jajang Bokki? ›

Wheat Flour, Modified Tapioca Starch, Palm Oil, Sugar, Jajang Powder (Black Bean Paste, Color: E150c, Salt), Caramel Powder, Onion Powder, Dried Cabbage, Textured Vegetable Protein (Soy, Wheat), Wheat Gluten, Dried Onion, Salt Soy Sauce Seasoning Powder (Soy Sauce, Onion, Yeast Extract, Glucose), Soy Sauce Powder ( ...

Why is my tteokbokki falling apart? ›

If your homemade tteokbokki is breaking apart when boiled, there are a few things you can try to salvage it: Soak the rice cakes: If your rice cakes are too dry, they may break apart when boiled. Try soaking them in cold water for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

What is bibimbap in English? ›

Bibimbap (/ˈbiːbɪmbæp/ BEE-bim-bap; Korean: 비빔밥; lit. mixed rice; Korean pronunciation: [pi. bim. p͈ap̚]), sometimes romanized as bi bim bap or bi bim bop, is a Korean rice dish.

Does Trader Joe's have Korean rice cakes? ›

Trader Joe's Sliced Korean Rice Cakes are fantastic in so many ways! First of all, there are only two ingredients (white rice and water), so these rice cakes are exactly how they should be: bouncy and chewy. Because they're frozen, that texture remains consistent each time you use them.

What else can I put in tteokbokki? ›

Vegetables: Many variations include ingredients like sliced scallions, cabbage, and onions for added crunch and freshness. Boiled Eggs: Boiled eggs make a hearty, yet cost effective topping to add. Ramen: Ramen Noodles cook quickly and is great at picking up the spicy sweet sauce of tteokbokki.

What to mix with tteokbokki? ›

A very common way to eat tteokbokki is any combination with twigim (tempura), mandu (dumplings), soondae (blood sausage), and odeng broth (fish cake broth). There are also variations of tteokbokki where the sauce is slightly different, like the new rose tteokbokki that has milk to make it creamy.

Can I microwave tteokbokki? ›

Simmer frozen Korean rice cakes in the peppery broth until chewy and tender. Use the lid to trap steam in the dish, fully cooking the rice cakes and thickening the sauce at the same time. The microwave makes this craveable dish just a little too easy to make!

Can vegetarians eat tteokbokki? ›

Basic tteokbokki is made from rice cake (tteok), hot pepper paste (gochujang), soy sauce, garlic and sometimes onion and sesame oil. In this formulation, it is vegetarian.

Is buldak tteokbokki vegetarian? ›

No. This product is not vegetarian as it lists 1 ingredient that derives from meat or fish and 3 ingredients that could derive from meat or fish depending on the source.

Can vegetarians eat rice cakes? ›

They contain no animal products, making them perfect for vegans and vegetarians too. From a nutrition perspective, rice cakes are low in calories and nutrients so they are best when paired with other foods to help round out your snack.

What is tteokbokki made of? ›

What is tteokbokki? Tteokbokki is a very well known street food in Korea that is especially popular with students. The traditional version is made with rice cakes, fish cake, and sometimes hard boiled eggs, all cooked and drenched in a delicious spicy sauce that can be slightly sweet.

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