14 Korean rice cakes and desserts explained — what's in each one, how spicy it is, and how to order it.
Tteok (떡) are rice cakes — steamed, pounded or shaped from rice flour, often glutinous rice. They are snacks and part of celebrations: songpyeon at Chuseok, layered red bean rice cake when moving into a new home, and sliced rice cakes in soup at Lunar New Year. Traditional sweets also include yakgwa honey cookies and drinks like sikhye and sujeonggwa.
Tteok is best fresh — it hardens in the fridge, so eat it the day you buy it or warm it briefly. Patbingsu, shaved ice with sweet red beans, is the café dessert of summer and is usually big enough to share.
From our dish notes. Recipes vary, so ask if an ingredient matters to you.
All of them.
All of them.
All of them.
Most tteok are made from rice, water, sugar and fillings such as beans, sesame or chestnut, with no animal products. Some desserts here contain milk or egg, so check each one.
Rice cakes made only from rice contain no wheat, but yakgwa and walnut cakes are wheat-based and fillings vary — ask or check the label if you need to avoid gluten.