Have you ever come across sultteok or “rice cake cereal” on TikTok? While many people outside of Korea are already familiar with tteokbokki, today I’d like to introduce two other stars of the Korean rice cake world—sultteok and kkul-tteok, which recently caught global attention through TikTok trends. And along the way, I’ll also introduce a few popular Korean desserts that creatively use rice cakes, so you can experience them even without traveling to Korea.

@camipetyn                   @codyraptorowens

Let’s begin with sultteok. Often referred to in English as Makgeolli Rice Cake, Fermented Rice Cake, or Alcohol-infused Rice Cake, sultteok is made by mixing rice flour with makgeolli (Korean rice wine), fermenting the mixture, and then steaming it. Recently, a well-known TikToker created a buzz by filming a sultteok mukbang with the caption, “Let’s get drunk off this cake.” This made many viewers curious whether the rice cake could actually make you tipsy. The truth is that while sultteok carries a faint aroma of rice wine, it contains almost no alcohol, so it won’t intoxicate you. The sensation of “feeling tipsy” comes only from the placebo effect of its fragrance.

What truly sets sultteok apart is its flavor. The fermentation process creates a gentle sweetness and a lightly tangy aroma, resulting in a soft, moist texture. For first-time tasters, the slight tang can be surprising, but soon it blends beautifully with the subtle sweetness, creating a flavor that becomes addictive. This delicate balance of sweet and sour is a natural product of fermentation, giving sultteok its unique charm.

@Sympathique

Interestingly, sultteok has also become part of a playful Korean meme. On TikTok, round white sultteok topped with a single black sesame seed is often compared to a fluffy Bichon Frisé dog. The resemblance white rice cake resembling fur and the sesame seed resembling facial features has made the comparison both funny and endearing.

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Another rice cake that recently took TikTok and YouTube by storm is kkul-tteok, or honey-filled rice cake. A viral recipe known as “kkul-tteok cereal” showed people dropping these chewy, syrup-filled bites into a bowl of milk. The combination of nutty sesame, creamy milk, and chewy rice cake turned out to be surprisingly delicious. Even Koreans were amazed by this unexpected pairing. With their colorful, round appearance and gooey center, kkul-tteok has become the next rice cake to spark international curiosity after tteokbokki.

From Tradition to Snacks You Can Enjoy Anywhere

And here’s the good news: you don’t need to travel all the way to Korea to enjoy rice cake–based treats. Thanks to modern Korean confectionery, there are a variety of snacks that reinterpret traditional rice cakes into convenient sweets. Among them are Chaltteok Pie, Chaltteok Ice Cream, Cham Bungeo, and Chaltteok Cookie.

@LOTTE

Chaltteok Pie

A fluffy marshmallow sandwiched with chewy rice cake and coated in chocolate. It’s Korea’s nostalgic answer to the moon pie, but with the delightful bounce of tteok.

@LOTTE

Chaltteok Ice Cream

A frozen treat where soft mochi-like rice cake wraps around ice cream. It combines the chewiness of tteok with the cool sweetness of ice cream—perfect for summer.

@ORION

Cham Bungeo

A playful snack shaped like a fish, filled with chewy rice cake and sweet red bean paste or chocolate. It’s a crunchy-meets-chewy version of Korea’s winter street food classic.

@CW

Chaltteok Cookie & Rice cake Choco chip

A cookie that hides a chewy rice cake filling inside. With a crispy outside and soft, stretchy center, it delivers the best of both worlds.