When I grabbed a bag of Trader Joe’s Tteokbokki, I should have also made a trip to H-Mart and gotten the Tteokbokki from the deli. But I didn’t. So no taste-off this time.
It’s simple enough to make. I ended up doing a hybrid method because there was no way I was going to dirty two pans or the air fryer and a pan for such a small amount of rice cakes. So I soaked the rice cakes in water for 15 minutes and separately mixed the sauce packet with a cup of water for the sauce.
You can see the whole process in my TikTok below. But it’s pretty straight forward, you crisp the rice cakes in a little bit of oil. And then I opted to simmer them in the sauce until it was thickened. Sprinkle on a little extra sesame seeds and voila.
I’m no tteokbokki expert. But for the convenience, I liked it. The sauce is slightly sweet with a mild to medium kick. And the sodium is pretty reasonable all things considered. Trader Joe’s version is vegan, no anchovies in the sauce, and the ingredient list is very straightforward.
For me, Trader Joe’s tteokbokki is one of their better Korean items, along with the pajeon. Worth a try? Definitely.
Check out some other We Tried’s from Trader Joe’s: