Garaetteok (long rice cake) is a fundamental Korean tteok traditionally used in New Year’s tteokguk (rice cake soup). Made from pure rice dough and shaped into long, chewy cylinders, it pairs well with broths, sauces, and various toppings because of its mild, slightly nutty flavor. Its long form symbolizes longevity, and its coin-like slices suggest good fortune. Beyond tteokguk, thinly pulled garaetteok becomes the standard rice cake for tteokbokki (spicy stir-fried rice cakes), while chunkier pieces are used regionally (e.g., Busan’s “multeok” served on skewers in fishcake-style broth). Leftover slices are commonly grilled, fried, added to stews or ramen, or even puffed into chips. Street snacks include tteok-kkochi (grilled rice cake skewers) and so-tteok-so-tteok (sausage and rice cake skewers). The article also recommends places to try various garaetteok dishes, such as specialty tteokguk restaurants, regional varieties like joraengi-tteokguk (small rice cake soup), rice-cake tteokbokki brands, oyster-and-seaweed tteokguk, and dedicated tteok-kkochi stalls.
