Food streets in seoul- Tteokbokki

Sindang-dong - Tteokbokki
In Sindang Tteokbokki Town, right, tteokbokki isn’t just a snack, it’s a meal and is made with a variety of ingredients not found at most streetside tteokbokki stands. By Shannon HeitSindang-dong has long been famous for its tteokbokki, or pan-fried spicy rice cakes. Ubiquitous street food, it might seem pointless to go somewhere specifically for tteokbokki when you can find it nearly everywhere in Seoul, but Sindang Tteokbokki isn’t a snack, it’s a meal.This street has become so famous for its rice cakes that the official street name is actually Tteokbokki Road and both ends of the street are bookended with arches that welcome you to Tteokbokki Town. Between the arches, everything is tteokbokki or bust. There are a few famous restaurants in Tteokbokki Town and each restaurant boasts its television appearances on the walls. But the most famous of these restaurants is certainly Ma Bok-Rim Halmoni’s Sindang-dong Tteokbokki, the oldest restaurant on the block. You may not know it, but tteokbokki as we know it today is a relatively new food and Ma halmoni, or Grandma Ma, is actually credited as the person who created tteokbokki in its current, spicy conception. Before Grandma Ma started selling the spicy version in 1953, tteokbokki was a mild-flavored food served with meat and eggs. The tale goes that Grandma Ma was eating the rice cake when it accidentally fell into her jjajangmyeon sauce (black bean sauce) and after tasting it, she realized it might taste even better mixed with gochujang (red pepper paste).So what makes Sindang-dong Tteokbokki so special? Grandma Ma says it’s her secret recipe, which she’s only just now told her daughter-in-laws after she retired, but go into any of the other dozen or so shops that line Tteokbokki Town and you’ll see a similar formula. Instead of the simple combination of tteokbokki and odaeng (fishcake) that you typically see at street food stalls, Sindang-dong Tteokbokki restaurants offer huge pans of rice cake, fishcake, ramen noodles, jjolmyeon (spicy cold noodles with vegetables), egg and dumplings to be cooked at your table. We went to Samdae Halmeonae, another popular establishment, where a two-person portion will cost you a measly 10,000 won and if you’re feeling adventurous, most stores along the street also offer dalkbal (chicken feet) as a specialty.Go to Sindang Station (line No. 2 or 6, exit 8) and turn left immediately. You should be able to see the large, bright sign for Tteokbokki Town after just a minute or two.