Tteok Rice Cakes

Tteok is rice - usually glutinous, soaked, ground, then steamed or pounded - and it is tied to occasions rather than to appetite. Tteokguk, sliced from a long white cylinder into ovals and served in broth, is eaten at Seollal and is how Koreans traditionally count a year older. Songpyeon, half-moons filled with sesame or bean and steamed over pine needles, belongs to Chuseok. Baekseolgi, plain white steamed cake, marks a baby's hundredth day. Siru tteok with red bean is made when a business opens or a family moves, the red intended to keep bad luck out, and is shared with the neighbours. Injeolmi is pounded and rolled in bean powder. Most of it is barely sweet, and the texture - dense and chewy - is the part visitors either take to or do not. Markets have rice cake rows, and there is a dedicated museum in Jongno with a collection and classes.

What you actually see

• Tteokguk - the new year soup that counts your age.
• Songpyeon - Chuseok half-moons steamed on pine needles.
• Siru tteok - red bean cake for openings and moves, shared out.
• The market rows - rice cake stalls in every traditional market.

When to go

Any time; Seollal and Chuseok are when the specific cakes are made. Rice cake is made fresh daily and is best the same day - it hardens overnight.

Honest expectations

It is only lightly sweet and the chewy texture divides people. It goes stale fast and is not a good souvenir. Nothing here is a single destination - it is sold in markets everywhere.

Nearby

Gwangjang and Tongin markets in Seoul have rice cake rows; the Tteok Museum is in Jongno.