Korean Bunsik Guide: Tteokbokki, Sundae, Odeng, and Twigim

Ordering tteokbokki, sundae, odeng, and twigim together is a really common combo at Korean bunsik shops. Pretty much every Korean knows the sight of all four lined up on one tray :)

The word bunsik (粉食) literally means food made from flour. It's said to have spread widely after the Korean War, when rice was scarce and the government encouraged people to eat flour-based foods. These days it's a catch-all term for fairly inexpensive, snack-style Korean food.

A long time ago, I stopped by a bunsik shop by myself and, because I was hungry, ate these four things. I didn't have any special plan. It was just a solo meal to fill my stomach.

So this isn't a review of that shop! I wrote it for foreign friends who are new to Korean bunsik, to explain what each of these dishes actually is.

Tteokbokki, Sundae, Odeng, and Twigim: The Bunsik Set at a Glance

Today I'm introducing a set you'll often see at Korean bunsik shops.

You can find a lineup like this at bunsik shops anywhere in the country, so I won't name a particular place. I'll just talk about the food itself.

In the photo, all four dishes sit on a red tray. The plate at the top left is sundae, a Korean sausage made by stuffing pig intestine with glass noodles, glutinous rice, vegetables, and other fillings, then steaming it. Mine came cut into bite-size pieces. Sliced offal was on the right side of the same plate. Sundae usually comes with liver or lung on the side, and the best-known way to eat it is dipped in plain salt or seasoned salt.

The basket at the top right holds twigim. Twigim is the umbrella term for anything coated in flour batter and deep-fried.

The bowl at the bottom left is odeng: fish cakes made from fish paste, served in a warm broth. The fish cakes are usually simmered with Korean radish and green onion. In Korea, people call this dish odeng, and they also call it eomuk.

The bowl at the bottom right is tteokbokki. It's garae-tteok, a long, cylindrical rice cake, cut into lengths and simmered down in a sweet and spicy gochujang (Korean chili paste) sauce.

Tteokbokki: From Gochujang Sauce to Many Other Flavors

Up close, the rice cakes are thick cylinders and the sauce has a smooth, glossy sheen. Sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onion are sprinkled on top. A crispy-looking half-moon piece of twigim sits right in the middle, and there's something white and round next to it.

Tteokbokki doesn't come in just one flavor! The sweet and spicy gochujang sauce you see here is the most famous version, but there's also a mild tteokbokki seasoned with soy sauce that was eaten at the royal court during the Joseon Dynasty. If spicy food is a bit much for you, that one is worth looking for. Some shops add fish cakes, boiled eggs, or ramyeon noodles, and there are newer takes too, like cheese or carbonara tteokbokki. The name may be the same, but the dish can look quite different from shop to shop.

Rice Tteokbokki vs. Wheat Tteokbokki: What's the Difference?

Texture depends on the maker, the product, and how long the rice cakes are boiled, and people's preferences differ too. The points above are only general tendencies. Neither kind is officially better than the other.

Tteokbokki Sauces Come in Many Styles

Menu names and flavors can vary a little from shop to shop.

Sundae: Bunsik-Shop Chapssal Sundae vs. Specialty-Shop Sundae

Bunsik shops sell sundae just as often as tteokbokki. On this plate, the sundae is cut into bite-size pieces, and the cross-section shows a densely packed filling. There are also green bits here and there that look like green onion.

Honestly, bunsik shop sundae feels to me like it was made in a factory and shipped in, because the shape and filling are so uniform. It's a bit different in character from the sundae you get at a restaurant that specializes in it. Still, that's just my impression from what I've eaten, so I can't say every bunsik shop is like that.

At a specialty shop, you have a lot more options. Byeongcheon sundae from Chungcheong Province uses a high proportion of vegetables and seonji (congealed blood), so it tends to taste clean and mild. Abai sundae, from the Hamgyeong and Pyeongan provinces, is thick and hearty. Baegam sundae from Yongin in Gyeonggi Province, pi-sundae (blood sundae) from the Jeolla region, and Jeju sundae are also well-known types.

Sundae can feel unfamiliar to foreigners. Even so, the chapssal (glutinous rice) sundae sold at bunsik shops is one of the easier kinds to try, and it tastes good too! If the offal that comes with it is a bit much, it's fine to skip it. When you order, just say "Sundae-man juseyo," which means "Just the sundae, please," and they'll give you sundae only.

Odeng (Eomuk): In a Bowl or on a Street Skewer

Some places serve odeng like this, in a bowl with the broth. In the photo, square-cut fish cakes and rolled fish cakes sit in a clear broth, along with thinly sliced green onion and pieces of seaweed.

Street stalls do it a little differently. They often hand you fish cakes on skewers with warm broth in a paper cup, and you dip the fish cakes in soy sauce. You can eat them standing up, so they make a perfect snack for a quick stop when you're passing by.

I'm not sure how it is in summer, but with winter just around the corner, odeng is honestly the best! One sip of hot broth on a cold street and you can feel your whole body loosen up.

There Are Two Kinds of Odeng Broth

The flavor of the broth and how spicy it is can vary from shop to shop.

Twigim: Get a Set or Pick Them One by One

The twigim came in a paper-lined basket, and it was a mix: pieces rolled in seaweed and fried, ones that look like dumpling wrappers, ones with white-looking insides, and flat, golden-fried pieces. At the place I went, they served twigim as a set like this.

Normally, a lot of shops let you pick twigim one piece at a time and sell each piece separately. It used to be cheap, but prices have gone up so much that it's hard to call it cheap anymore :(

Everyone eats it a little differently. I just give mine a quick dip in soy sauce. Some people dunk theirs in tteokbokki sauce, and that's purely a matter of taste!

Wrapping Up: If You Come to Korea, You'll Almost Certainly Run Into Bunsik

If you visit Korea, my guess is that more than 90% of travelers end up eating bunsik. It's not fancy restaurant food. Tteokbokki, sundae, odeng, and twigim are everyday dishes that end up on one table together, and you'll come across them just about anywhere you walk.

Flavors and prices differ a bit from shop to shop, and it's hard to call bunsik as cheap as it used to be. If spicy food is a bit much, start with odeng broth. If sundae offal is a bit much, just order the sundae on its own. And with the cold winter coming soon, I recommend trying a sip of warm odeng broth on the street!

Other Dishes Worth Ordering at a Bunsik Shop

The menu and prices vary by shop and region.