Modern tteokbokki is cylindrical garaetteok (white rice cakes) simmered in an anchovy-kelp broth spiced with gochujang, fish cake (eomuk), and hard-boiled eggs. The broth reduces and thickens as the rice cakes absorb liquid and release starch.
Rice cake texture
Garaetteok fresh from the market: chewy and tender immediately. Refrigerated or frozen: must be soaked in cold water 30 minutes before cooking to rehydrate. The cakes should be yielding but with a small resistance at the centre — cooked through to the core means overdone.
Rose tteokbokki
A more recent (post-2015) variant: half gochujang, half cream, reducing to a spicy cream sauce. Not traditional, but commercially successful and now standard in many street stall menus.