Yeopgi Tteokbokki Deo Chakhan Mat Review [Korean Food]

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Today’s new menu item from Dongdaemun Yeopgi Tteokbokki (Yeopgi Tteokbokki for short) comes with a question mark, as you’ll see below. It’s called Deo Chakhan Mat (literally “even kinder flavor”), and it is milder than the existing Chakhan Mat level. Yeopgi Tteokbokki is a brand where you eat tteokbokki (chewy rice cakes in a spicy sauce) for the heat. Even so, I’m one of those who find even the regular level spicy. The brand introduced Chakhan Mat for people like me, and this is reportedly a brand-new step for anyone with a low spice tolerance (the Korean slang is maepjjiri). Reportedly, the point isn’t just making it plain but turning down only the heat so it feels softer. Let’s find out what this menu is all about.

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📋 At a Glance

• Product: Deo Chakhan Mat, a spice-level option milder than the existing Chakhan Mat
• Brand: Dongdaemun Yeopgi Tteokbokki (Yeopgi Tteokbokki)
• Price: 17,500 won for the basic Silsok Set (a value set); the price stays the same because only a spice-level option was added
• My order: Silsok Set, half-and-half (rice cakes + fish cake), Deo Chakhan Mat, plus extra rice cakes, Pondang Cheese Dumplings (7 pieces) and quail eggs (5 pieces) = 21,500 won in total
• Applies to: tteokbokki menus and Yeopgi Dakbokkeumtang (braised chicken stew); not available for Rosé, Mala, Mala Rosé, chicken feet and similar menus, and there is no low-sugar option either
• Main components: Silsok Set = basic Yeopgi Tteokbokki, fried snacks, a rice ball, a Coolpis drink, danmuji (pickled radish)
• Verdict: ★4.0 — almost no heat, so the pace never drops until the last bite; Yeopgi Tteokbokki made for anyone who can’t handle spice!

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Yeopgi Tteokbokki Deo Chakhan Mat: Price and Highlights

Strictly speaking, this isn’t so much a “new menu item” as a “new flavor.” So nothing about the usual Yeopgi Tteokbokki lineup has changed much. When you order, the spice-level selection simply gains an option that is even milder than the already mild Chakhan Mat. That’s why the price stays the same. It isn’t available for every menu, though. Reportedly, it works only with the tteokbokki menus and Yeopgi Dakbokkeumtang (braised chicken stew). It doesn’t apply to popular existing menus such as Rosé, Mala, Mala Rosé and chicken feet, so keep that in mind. Oh, and there is no low-sugar option either.

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I went with the basic 17,500-won Silsok Set, a half-and-half lineup of rice cakes plus fish cake, and Deo Chakhan Mat as the level, of course. On top of that, I added extra rice cakes, Pondang Cheese Dumplings (7 pieces) and quail eggs (5 pieces), for 21,500 won in total. For reference, the Silsok Set comes with the basic Yeopgi Tteokbokki, fried snacks, a rice ball, a Coolpis drink and danmuji, so keep that in mind.

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What’s in the Set

Let’s take a quick look at what comes with it. I ordered half-and-half. I expected the sweet, peppery aroma typical of Yeopgi Tteokbokki to hit me the moment I opened the lid. Sure enough, there was no sense of heat at all. Ha. I was very happy with the look of it, since I ordered it just the way I like.

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Even though this is the mildest menu, it looks like they put in the same amount of cheese as the other menus. I usually eat Yeopgi Tteokbokki with cheese to tone down the heat a little, so I was curious how it would go this time.

Start with the sauce color, which is clearly lighter. Instead of the blood-red of the Original or the hot level, it has more of an orange tone. Just looking at it gives you the reassurance that you can handle this one, so it looks mild from the first glance. Overall, think of it as the usual Yeopgi Tteokbokki lineup with only the sauce’s heat turned way down. The ingredients haven’t changed. There is simply one more spice level.

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Taste Test: How Mild Is Deo Chakhan Mat?

Time to taste it. I picked up one rice cake and simply took a bite. It was quite a while ago, but when I had Chakhan Mat at Yeopgi Tteokbokki, it felt closer to “there’s still a little heat left.” This one lives up to its name. A spicy kick lingered in my mouth for a moment and then faded almost immediately. Ha.

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So even though a slight spiciness remains, sweetness reaches you before the heat. The good news is that the savory, umami-rich sauce base typical of Yeopgi Tteokbokki is still intact. That made it less heavy going than I expected. If you can’t handle spicy food well but have still been enjoying Yeopgi Tteokbokki, I think you’ll find this very easy to eat.

Pondang Cheese Dumplings and Fish Cake

Pondang Cheese Dumplings are a topping my spouse likes. I also tended to eat them often, because the condensed-milk cheese flavor helps neutralize the heat a bit. This time there was almost no heat, so I enjoyed them simply as a topping in their own right. The sauce also went quite well with the fish cake.

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Mild Heat, No Coolpis Needed

The heat is definitely mild. Honestly, even Chakhan Mat isn’t that spicy, but Deo Chakhan Mat feels like one more step down. Instead of making my lips tingle, it had me eating without pause. Even I (!) never reached for the Coolpis once while eating. Ha.

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That doesn’t mean the flavor went bland. A sweet, salty-savory depth fills the space where the heat used to be, so you still feel like you’re eating Yeopgi Tteokbokki. A subtle chili-powder aroma lingers underneath, so it tastes like proper tteokbokki, too. I only remembered the rice ball, which you normally eat to tame the heat, near the end: “Oh, right!” Ha.

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Final Verdict: Mild Enough to Keep the Same Pace to the End

The biggest strength of this level is that the heat doesn’t build up past the midpoint. With regular Yeopgi Tteokbokki, the heat accumulates as you eat and your pace slows down. With Deo Chakhan Mat, the pace holds to the end. Eating a bit of danmuji now and then also helps tame that distinctive sweetness, in a different way. I’d recommend it to people who can’t handle spicy food, people eating with kids, and people who always gulped down water at Yeopgi Tteokbokki. If you want to enjoy Yeopgi Tteokbokki without worrying about the heat, this extra-mild level is easy to try, since the price stays the same.

For more on the brand’s Rosé menu and its Chakhan Mat option, see the (Korean source) Insight report on the launch of Yeopgi Tteokbokki’s Rosé Tteokbokki.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How much does Yeopgi Tteokbokki’s Deo Chakhan Mat cost?

The basic Silsok Set is 17,500 won, and choosing Deo Chakhan Mat doesn’t change the price. I ordered half-and-half (rice cakes plus fish cake) and added extra rice cakes, Pondang Cheese Dumplings (7 pieces) and quail eggs (5 pieces). That came to 21,500 won in total.

Q. Is Deo Chakhan Mat really mild? How does it taste?

Personally, the heat lingered in my mouth for a moment and then faded almost immediately. Sweetness came before spice, and the savory sauce base typical of Yeopgi Tteokbokki was still there. I never reached for the Coolpis while eating.

Q. Which menus can you order with Deo Chakhan Mat?

Only the tteokbokki menus and Yeopgi Dakbokkeumtang (braised chicken stew). It doesn’t apply to popular existing menus such as Rosé, Mala, Mala Rosé and chicken feet, and there is no low-sugar option either.