Creamy Carbonara Tteokbokki is the ultimate comfort food: rich, savory, and comforting with chewy rice cakes and tender noodles in a silky, creamy sauce.
Tteokbokki + ramen = rabokki
What is tteokbokki?
Tteokbokki (떡볶이) literally means stir-fried rice cakes. You may see alternate spellings like topokki, ddeokbokki, or dukbokki, but they all refer to the same dish.
Rice cakes, called tteok, come in many shapes and sizes. The small cylindrical variety is the most common for tteokbokki, but any rice cake will work. If you can find cheese-filled tteok, grab it — it makes the dish extra indulgent.
Rice cakes have a mild flavor and absorb the taste of the sauce, which is why a well-seasoned sauce makes such a difference. Their texture is pleasantly chewy, similar to a thicker, chewier udon noodle.
Tteokbokki can be made in many different styles—there are several recipes on this site reflecting that versatility.
- Spicy tteokbokki with gochujang – a more traditional, street-food style version.
- Cheese tteokbokki – spicy rice cakes with fish cakes, hard-boiled eggs, and plenty of melted cheese.
Where to buy tteokbokki ingredients
Most ingredients for this recipe are available at Asian markets. If you have an H Mart or another Korean grocery nearby, you’ll find a wide selection of fresh refrigerated rice cakes, which taste better than frozen. Many larger mainstream grocery stores now stock staple Asian ingredients in their international aisles as well. If local options are limited, online retailers carry them, though prices can be higher.
How to store leftovers and reheat
Creamy Carbonara Tteokbokki is best served fresh, but it refrigerates well for up to 4 days.
To reheat: place leftovers in a pan over low heat, add a splash of chicken broth to loosen the sauce, and cover. Heat gently until warmed through, stirring occasionally. Reheating slowly helps preserve the rice cakes’ texture and maintains a creamy sauce.
Watch the video tutorial
Creamy Carbonara Tteokbokki
- Author: Jasmine and Tea
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 slices bacon
- ½ onion (about 100g)
- 6 baby bella mushrooms, sliced (100g)
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped (30g)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup rice cakes, rinsed (175g)
- ramen noodles (see notes)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (20g)
- ¼ tsp dried basil
- fresh basil for serving
Instructions
- Place the bacon in a cold pan and set the heat to medium-high. Cook, turning occasionally, until the bacon is crispy. Remove bacon and leave the rendered fat in the pan.
- Add the onion and mushrooms to the same pan and sauté until softened and browned, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and slightly browned.
- Sprinkle in the garlic powder and pour in the chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Gradually stir in the heavy cream, add the rice cakes, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to simmer.
- Add the ramen noodles to the pan and cover. Cook on low, stirring once halfway through to ensure even cooking, until the rice cakes and noodles are tender and the sauce is creamy.
- Remove from heat, stir in the Parmesan and dried basil, then top with chopped fresh basil and reserved crispy bacon. Serve immediately and enjoy.
Notes
For best results, parboil dried ramen noodles in a separate pot until they are halfway cooked, then add them to the pan to finish. This helps prevent overcooking the noodles or rice cakes.