Tteok is a traditional Korean dessert made by steaming glutinous rice flour. It has more than 200 varieties and is nutritious. Considered a celebratory food, it was customary to eat rice cake on New Year’s Day, at weddings, and on birthdays. Over the years, however, tteok has turned into a casual and everyday dessert as one can simply pick up a tray at a neighborhood tteok store, department store, or even tteok cafes.
The opening of tteok cafes has allowed transformation of traditional rice cakes into modern and stylish savory dishes. For example, some tteok cafes have introduced fusion tteok by using chocolate and strawberry flavors that give a great opportunity for foreigners to discover Korean food with less reluctance. It has also succeeded in winning loyal customers by serving tteok in a more modern and classy atmosphere. The contemporary interior decor and beautifully decorated tteok has reacquainted the young generation with the once fading food culture.
With the rise in popularity of slow food, people are becoming more and more interested in tteok, which is healthy and nutritious compared to other sweet desserts. According to Yoon Sook-ja, director of the Institute of Traditional Korean Food, tteok is made of the most nutritious ingredients, such as beans, nuts, vegetables, fruit, and even herbal ingredients used in Chinese medicine, and, therefore, it is the next best food after Kimchi to represent Korea.
