You Can Only Taste It in Daejeon♥
My school days were always accompanied by Tteokbokki. Whether it was a day filled with sadness, a day of joy that naturally made me chatty, a day I received allowance, or my birthday, I ate Tteokbokki. Laughing and chatting away while eating Tteokbokki with close friends was the joy of life.
The most popular Tteokbokki among students at that time was ‘Tteokban.’ ‘Tteokban’ is a soup-style Tteokbokki that can only be tasted in Daejeon, and its name means ‘half a bowl of Tteokbokki.’ It got its name because it sells half the portion of a regular bowl of Tteokbokki.
If you spent your school days in Daejeon, you might have heard of ‘Tteokban’ at least once. For those unfamiliar with this name, I visited the original Tteokban restaurant and ordered their ‘favorite’ menu.
Pushing open the glass door with ‘Tteokbanjip’ written on it, you notice the walls covered with dense graffiti showing the marks of time. Here, they sell the basic Tteokban and cheese Tteokban, which are especially craved after school, as well as toast varieties like egg toast and ham cheese toast, along with beverages.
Among the various menus, my favorites during school days were the basic Tteokban, egg toast, and fresh strawberry juice. It’s truly a ‘Mat-eopseot (impossible to be tasteless)’ combination. These are menus that even first-time visitors to Tteokbanjip can enjoy deliciously.
The Tteokban comes with a generous amount of broth, long wheat rice cakes, thick fish cakes, and a boiled egg as standard. The broth is not thick like typical soup-style Tteokbokki but rather a bit watery.
Although it has a color similar to rose Tteokbokki, the taste is completely different. Unlike rose Tteokbokki, which has a creamy and smooth flavor, Tteokban has a strong sweet taste. You won’t find flavors like pepper or curry. The spicy-sweet broth boasts an addictive taste that makes you keep spooning it up.
To enjoy Tteokban even more deliciously, it is recommended to use a spoon rather than a fork. You can scoop up the ingredients with the broth, and at the end, split the boiled egg in half and mix the yolk into the broth before eating.
Next is the egg toast, which boasts a fantastic harmony with the Tteokban broth. A thick fried egg is placed in the center, with strawberry jam spread on one side of the bread and a sauce that looks like a mix of ketchup and mayonnaise on the other. Although it’s a bit disappointing that it lacks the crunchy vegetables found in street toast, the combination of the sweet sauce and slightly salty fried egg is excellent. Thanks to the substantial presence of the fried egg, it also provides a considerable feeling of fullness.
The must-order menu here is the fresh strawberry juice, which is made by blending strawberries and ice together, giving it a strawberry slush-like feel. Like other fresh fruit juices, it has a slight syrupy taste but is not overly sweet, so it doesn’t overpower the flavors of the other dishes. Drinking it once before picking up your spoon for the Tteokban after eating the toast refreshes your palate pleasantly.
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The spicy and sweet charm of Tteokban! Once you try it, you’ll find yourself craving it again. It’s a dish you can only find in Daejeon, much like Seongsimdang, so if you visit Daejeon, I highly recommend trying it at least once.
You might even buy a ticket to Daejeon just because you want to eat Tteokban...
Photo by Kim Bomi
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