Tteokbokki – not refrigerated in store, safe to consume?
Hey! So I bought these at H-Mart, they were not refrigerated and sitting out normally on the shelf. Are they safe to eat?? Thanks! 🙏
by acollin892
18 Comments
slowraccooncatcher
No, I wouldn’t since idk how long it’s been sitting out. Even if it’s sealed and you keep it in the fridge, it gets moldy. If it’s open, it gets moldy in a week or two. Some say you can keep it in the fridge for about a month but I’ve never kept it sitting around for that long so I couldn’t tell you. If you want to store it for longer, you should keep it in the freezer.
Regular_White_Man
the first sign of tteok gone bad is mold. 10 yrs ago when i was a poor student, I would eat it if I don’t see mold. now I can afford to chuck it.
Coriandercilantroyo
I see vacuum sealed tteok products out in the middle of the aisle all the time at Korean markets, usually when they’re on special
thymeveil
Absolutely not. **It says Keep Refrigerated on the front.** Return to Hmart and let management know. This is a health risk to the public.
frenchkissmybutthole
No
Folding_Space_Monkey
I have that same exact H-Mart Tteobokki bag – unopened in my frig for over 3 months now. Once I open and use a portion, I freeze the rest in small ziplocs. To Answer your Q – Per the Internet: Tteobokki in vacuum sealed bags like that are meant to be shelf stable until opened. As the other Post said above, just smell and look for mold as rice products (eg rice cakes) routinely go moldy when old or bad.
Chunkee-monkeeato-81
Yeah I have seen them on shelves and then again in the refrigerated section at Hmart. I think it’s fine to buy them on the shelf but only if it is tightly vacuum sealed. If they are not tightly vacuum sealed, and you’ll see that the vacuum sealed rice cakes have become loose in bag, I would not buy those. After opening the bag, you definitely need to refrigerate them. Putting them in the freezer is even better.
And these tteok packages typically have the silica gel packets to keep out moisture. It’s moisture that causes mold on rice cakes.
tierencia
That ain’t vacuum sealed… and clearly says it needs to be in the fridge…
I mean I don’t even trust vacuum sealed room temp bags because of past experiences of buying a box for a church cook off and half of the content had mold in them.
ImGoingToSayOneThing
A lot of Korean stores will do that and it’s really aggravating. They’ll have an open box right next to the refrigerated section.
Growing up it didn’t bother me but as I started to grocery shop myself it is something that disturbs me.
I think the Korean owners are following what they saw or learned in Korea. A lot of the time dduk was fresh and so it’d just be out on the counter to sell.
Dduk was never something one would refrigerate. It’s always something that was consumed fresh.
Anyway, it is vacuum sealed so it does help with spoiling but it’s not guaranteed.
I would look at the dduk and look for any green or red spots. If no, then I’d still use it.
Fomulouscrunch
Hell no. Someone might have picked those up, lost interest and dropped them. Tteokbokki are just rice starch, and almost nothing goes bad faster.
Depressed_amkae8C
I had to stop ordering from Hmart my items were always damaged or opened
OG_Freckles
If it has this sign it means once open keep refrigerated
sicpsw
It’s keep referegerated once open. Not keep it in refegeration while in transport.
It says that on the Korean version, but not in the English one for some reason
IzzyBella5725
Refrigerate once open. Perfectly safe to eat, just put it in the fridge once you open it. Plenty of products are like this (most any sauce is too)
r2vcap
Hmm, that’s interesting. While most supermarkets in mainland Korea usually keep tteokbokki tteok refrigerated, some local marts or small businesses sell tteok at room temperature. This is because Koreans generally believe that garae-tteok (cylinder-shaped rice cakes) are dry enough to be safely stored at room temperature for 2–3 days. People usually eat them unless they see visible mold.
For example, in https://m.blog.naver.com/melonish/221679361837 blog post, a Korean-American took a photo of unrefrigerated garae-tteok at H-Mart but didn’t comment on it — which reflects the typical Korean perspective.
I understand that this might be frustrating or confusing. You could try asking H-Mart directly, but honestly, they might share the same view — that it’s okay unless there’s mold. As someone in Mainland Korea, I admit I may not fully understand the expectations of American consumers. If you’re unsure, it’s totally fine to buy from somewhere else. Personally, I would still eat it unless I saw mold.
thebeatsandreptaur
I wouldn’t. But also, what on earth are these sitting on? Lol.
FeeCurious
The vacuum sealed tteok I buy from our Asian supermarket has literally never been in the fridge, and it’s perfect every time. Refrigerate once opened, you’re fine to eat these.
AyesiJayel
What is really wild is – I bought this exact bag, open the app 12 hours later and this is the first post I see.
18 Comments
No, I wouldn’t since idk how long it’s been sitting out. Even if it’s sealed and you keep it in the fridge, it gets moldy. If it’s open, it gets moldy in a week or two. Some say you can keep it in the fridge for about a month but I’ve never kept it sitting around for that long so I couldn’t tell you. If you want to store it for longer, you should keep it in the freezer.
the first sign of tteok gone bad is mold. 10 yrs ago when i was a poor student, I would eat it if I don’t see mold. now I can afford to chuck it.
I see vacuum sealed tteok products out in the middle of the aisle all the time at Korean markets, usually when they’re on special
Absolutely not. **It says Keep Refrigerated on the front.** Return to Hmart and let management know. This is a health risk to the public.
No
I have that same exact H-Mart Tteobokki bag – unopened in my frig for over 3 months now. Once I open and use a portion, I freeze the rest in small ziplocs. To Answer your Q – Per the Internet: Tteobokki in vacuum sealed bags like that are meant to be shelf stable until opened. As the other Post said above, just smell and look for mold as rice products (eg rice cakes) routinely go moldy when old or bad.
Yeah I have seen them on shelves and then again in the refrigerated section at Hmart. I think it’s fine to buy them on the shelf but only if it is tightly vacuum sealed. If they are not tightly vacuum sealed, and you’ll see that the vacuum sealed rice cakes have become loose in bag, I would not buy those. After opening the bag, you definitely need to refrigerate them. Putting them in the freezer is even better.
And these tteok packages typically have the silica gel packets to keep out moisture. It’s moisture that causes mold on rice cakes.
That ain’t vacuum sealed… and clearly says it needs to be in the fridge…
I mean I don’t even trust vacuum sealed room temp bags because of past experiences of buying a box for a church cook off and half of the content had mold in them.
A lot of Korean stores will do that and it’s really aggravating. They’ll have an open box right next to the refrigerated section.
Growing up it didn’t bother me but as I started to grocery shop myself it is something that disturbs me.
I think the Korean owners are following what they saw or learned in Korea. A lot of the time dduk was fresh and so it’d just be out on the counter to sell.
Dduk was never something one would refrigerate. It’s always something that was consumed fresh.
Anyway, it is vacuum sealed so it does help with spoiling but it’s not guaranteed.
I would look at the dduk and look for any green or red spots. If no, then I’d still use it.
Hell no. Someone might have picked those up, lost interest and dropped them. Tteokbokki are just rice starch, and almost nothing goes bad faster.
I had to stop ordering from Hmart my items were always damaged or opened
If it has this sign it means once open keep refrigerated
It’s keep referegerated once open. Not keep it in refegeration while in transport.
It says that on the Korean version, but not in the English one for some reason
Refrigerate once open. Perfectly safe to eat, just put it in the fridge once you open it. Plenty of products are like this (most any sauce is too)
Hmm, that’s interesting. While most supermarkets in mainland Korea usually keep tteokbokki tteok refrigerated, some local marts or small businesses sell tteok at room temperature. This is because Koreans generally believe that garae-tteok (cylinder-shaped rice cakes) are dry enough to be safely stored at room temperature for 2–3 days. People usually eat them unless they see visible mold.
For example, in https://m.blog.naver.com/melonish/221679361837 blog post, a Korean-American took a photo of unrefrigerated garae-tteok at H-Mart but didn’t comment on it — which reflects the typical Korean perspective.
I understand that this might be frustrating or confusing. You could try asking H-Mart directly, but honestly, they might share the same view — that it’s okay unless there’s mold. As someone in Mainland Korea, I admit I may not fully understand the expectations of American consumers. If you’re unsure, it’s totally fine to buy from somewhere else. Personally, I would still eat it unless I saw mold.
I wouldn’t. But also, what on earth are these sitting on? Lol.
The vacuum sealed tteok I buy from our Asian supermarket has literally never been in the fridge, and it’s perfect every time. Refrigerate once opened, you’re fine to eat these.
What is really wild is – I bought this exact bag, open the app 12 hours later and this is the first post I see.