Traditional Korean Rice Cakes (Tteok): Gyeongdan, Injeolmi and Songpyeon

Gyeongdan

Gyeongdan are small, round rice cake balls, often coated in a fine powder such as roasted soybean, sesame, or sometimes colored to be visually striking, occasionally filled with a sweetened bean or nut paste inside. Traditionally associated with celebratory or refined occasions, they're a popular gift item and a common sight at traditional tea houses served alongside a cup of tea.

Injeolmi

Injeolmi is a chewy, pounded glutinous rice cake, cut into rectangular pieces and coated generously in roasted soybean powder, giving it a distinctive nutty flavor and satisfying, sticky-chewy texture. It's one of the most widely recognized tteok varieties, appearing both as a standalone snack and as a topping in dishes like injeolmi bingsu, making it a useful one to know by name and appearance.

Songpyeon

• Songpyeon is a half-moon-shaped rice cake, typically filled with sweetened sesame seeds, chestnut, or bean paste, and traditionally steamed over a bed of pine needles, which lends a subtle aroma.
• It's most strongly associated with Chuseok, Korea's harvest festival, when families traditionally make songpyeon together as part of the holiday's rituals.
• Outside the Chuseok season, songpyeon is less commonly found in everyday bakeries, making a Chuseok-timed visit a good opportunity to try it freshly made.

Traditional tteok varieties like songpyeon are strongly associated with specific holidays, particularly Chuseok, when families traditionally make them together rather than buying them ready-made from a shop. Injeolmi, coated in roasted soybean or sesame powder, and gyeongdan, small filled rice balls, are both commonly available year-round at traditional tteok shops and markets. Many tteok shops sell items individually or in small mixed boxes, making it easy to sample several varieties without committing to a large single-flavor purchase.